Temperature-controlled freight courier services

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is conducting market research to identify qualified small business concerns capable of providing temperature-controlled freight courier services for the transport of sensitive biological materials, such as pupae, from Houston, Texas or McAllen Airport to Edinburg, Texas. This effort supports the USDA’s National Veterinary Stockpile mission related to animal disease outbreak response and requires reliable, secure, and compliant transportation with continuous environmental monitoring. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 492110, with a small business size standard of 1,500 employees, and the requirement is designated as a Total Small Business Set-Aside under FAR 19.5. Respondents must be small businesses that can demonstrate ability to maintain strict temperature control throughout transit, utilize tamper-evident seals, provide real-time GPS tracking, ensure digital chain-of-custody records, and submit detailed reporting including temperature logs, proof of delivery with digital signatures, incident reports within one hour of deviations, and weekly status updates. All materials must comply with DOT, TSA, and FDA regulations, as well as USDA biosecurity protocols, and data generated during performance is the sole property of the Government with unlimited usage rights. Interested parties must submit a Statement of Capability limited to three pages, along with their small business name, point of contact, DUNS number and CAGE code, and proof of small business status. Past performance on similar contracts must be included with references, including names and phone numbers, and respondents must indicate the degree of work self-performed. Electronic submissions via email to cody.grey@usda.gov are required, with a strict deadline of 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, May 21, 2026. No contract will be awarded based on this notice; responses are solely for market research purposes and will not be used in future solicitation evaluations. The Government has not yet determined the method of competition or award criteria, and no pricing, contract value, or line items are provided. Key personnel must be qualified in temperature-sensitive logistics with experience in federal or emergency response settings, and the Government reserves the right to approve or require replacement of any personnel. Travel and operational costs are the responsibility of the contractor unless otherwise authorized, and all electronic deliverables must meet Section 508 accessibility standards. No formal contract clauses or FAR provisions are currently applicable as this is a pre-solicitation market research effort.