Cold Storage FAQ's

What are the shipping/receiving hours?
What about shipping/receiving after normal hours?
What if I have an emergency?
How do you handle a missed appointment?
Do you have a pallet exchange program?
Do you sell pallets?
What about floor loads or slip-sheeted loads?
Do all of your cold storage facilities have rail service?
Are drivers required to load/unload their own trailers?
Can you load my car or small truck?
Are contracts required to do business with Northland Cold Storage?
What type of insurance do you carry on my product?
Can I sell my product to someone while it's in your warehouse?
How Do You Charge for Services?
How often do rates change?
Do I have to use the same billing method for all types of product?
Why do the invoices dated at the end of a month arrive a week into the next month?
Why doesn't my invoice match up with my inventory?
Can I use the internet to look at my inventory?
Can you ship samples for me?
Can you re-deliver my product?

What are the shipping/receiving hours?

There are differences at each storage facility. At most cold storage facilities, shipping and receiving is done simultaneously between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Appointments are typically required for all shipments. Scheduled receipts and shipments will be given priority treatment versus unscheduled. Receiving does not require appointments, however, it is advisable to call ahead and book a time in order to avoid extended waiting.

What about shipping/receiving after normal hours?

After hours shipping and receiving is available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. There are additional charges that may be billed to customer or carrier. We require an appointment to be made during normal office hours for after hours shipping and receiving.

What if I have an emergency?

Emergency shipments and receipts can be accommodated also. Again, charges will be assessed for the service, but it is available. For emergency situations at our Green Bay cold storage facility, call our automated attendant at 920-431-4601 and select option 3. For emergency situations in Wausau, contact our Facility Manager at 715-573-0699. Make sure to leave a call back number as well as the nature of the emergency in the message.

How do you handle a missed appointment?

A dock appointment is considered "missed" if the carrier fails to check in within 10 minutes of the agreed upon time, or if the carrier is unable to be loaded within 10 minutes of the agreed upon time due to the carrier's equipment failure or unsanitary condition of trailer. Note that in summer months, the carrier may be required by the shipper to pre-cool the trailer. The carrier is responsible to have the trailer pre-cooled by the appointment time.

Our CSR's will do their best to reschedule for the next available appointment time on the same day. If no appointments are available for the same day, we will on request hold staff over past their normal shift, but overtime charges will be assessed.

Do you have a pallet exchange program?

All transactions require even pallet exchange. However, customers of Northland Cold Storage are allowed to keep a floating pallet balance. Northland will not give credit for, exchange, or require exchange for substandard pallets. Substandard is generally accepted to mean missing or broken boards, or missing or broken stringers or double stringers. Read Policy.

Do you sell pallets?

Pallets are available to purchase at all storage facilities. Pallets are taxable unless the purchaser is an exempt entity with an exemption certificate on file. Carriers must pay for pallets with cash or recognized commercial carrier drafts such as Comchek's.

What about floor loads or slip-sheeted loads?

All Northland facilities can accommodate floor or slip sheeted receipts and shipments. Additional handling charges will apply and may be charged to the carrier or the customer, depending on the circumstances.

Do all of your cold storage facilities have rail service?

The Green Bay storage facility has on-site rail siding serviced by the Canadian National Railroad. The Wausau facility has a trans-loading agreement with the neighboring warehouse, also serviced by the Canadian National Railroad.

Are drivers required to load/unload their own trailers?

Drivers are not permitted to operate material handling equipment owned by Northland Cold Storage. All palletized loads will be loaded or unloaded by Northland personnel only. Drivers may be required to hand stack floor loaded product onto pallets, or sort mixed pallets for proper counting.

Can you load my car or small truck?

Both of our cold storage facilities have ground level loading/unloading capability. There is a small surcharge for this service.

Are contracts required to do business with Northland Cold Storage?

Yes. Contracts, unless by mutual agreement, do not contain term commitments. Our contract outlines the legal terms and conditions covering our services, including the limits of our liability. All product received at Northland Cold Storage is governed by the terms of our contract. Terms and Conditions.

What type of insurance do you carry on my product?

None. Public warehouses do not insure product that does not belong to them. While we do not require you to carry insurance on your product, we will not reimburse you for losses that are not directly related to errors or negligence on our part. Even then, there are limitations to our liability.

We do have legal liability, general liability, and workers compensation insurance, but those policies are not a substitute for carrying your own insurance on your product.

Can I sell my product to someone while it's in your warehouse?

Yes. However, the holder of the warehouse receipt we issue when the product arrives is considered the legal owner of the product to us. If you would like to have new receipts created for the new owner, you must contact us in advance of the date of transfer. This is called a "transfer of title in storage."

How Do You Charge for Services?

All rates are individually quoted based on storage and handling requirements.

Rates are generally quoted on a per pallet basis. However, customized quotes based on net weight, gross weight and case count are available.

Handling is generally quoted as an up-front, one-time charge that includes receiving pallets of product from a dock height truck, placing pallets in storage, and returning pallets to a dock height truck for shipping. Handling can also be rated on weight or case count.

Storage - there are several storage schemes available. Monthly anniversary - the day of the month that your product first arrives at Northland becomes its anniversary date. Initial storage is charged on that day. If product is still on hand on that same day the following month, recurring storage is charged. Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly anniversary - similar to monthly anniversary, however the storage period becomes a single day, a week, or every two weeks. Split-month - product received on the first through the 15th of the month is charged a full month of storage. Product received after the 15th of the month is charged one-half month's storage. All product still on hand on the first of every month after that is charged a full month's storage.

How often do rates change?

Unless rate terms are specifically negotiated in our contract, rates typically will be adjusted no more than once per year. The only other condition which may trigger a rate change is a new or modified handling or storage requirement.

Do I have to use the same billing method for all types of product?

No. Different products have different characteristics, and therefore, we allow for different billing schemes. The only constraint is that once a billing method is chosen for a particular product, it cannot be changed until all product has been shipped and storage has been invoiced.

Why do the invoices dated at the end of a month arrive a week into the next month?

We intentionally wait two to four days after the close of the month before generating invoices. By doing so, we can make sure that adjustments are properly posted prior to generating invoices.

Why doesn't my invoice match up with my inventory?

This is a common question when anniversary billing is being used. The quantities and weights shown on the invoice will reflect what was "on hand" as of each items anniversary date, not what was "on hand" at the end of the calendar.

Can I use the internet to look at my inventory?

Northland Cold Storage offers, free of charge, internet access to inventory, transaction data, shipping data, invoices, etc. Inventory and transaction reports can be printed locally at your pc in either .pdf or excel formats.

Can you ship samples for me?

Yes. We keep a small supply of insulated shipping containers and we can use refrigerated or frozen gel packs, or even dry ice to keep the product cold.

Can you re-deliver my product?

Yes. Local and long distance delivery service is available through Northland Freight Services. Feel free to contact us.

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