A Look at National Produce Shipments

Supplies of refrigerated a equipment are tightening some as we get further into spring.   How big a shortage of trucks for hauling produce will be this year will start to reveal itself in the weeks ahead and should be really interesting by late May and onward through the summer.

In Florida, blueberry loadings from Central and North Florida are now in good volume and hauls are available into June….Meanwhile, Georgia “blues” are right behind Florida.  Good Georgia blueberry shipments should be available by next week….Back to Florida, rates for hauling watermelons out of the southern part of the state have jumped 20 percent in recent days.  Vegetable volume from Florida continues to be heavy.

In South Texas, vegetables continue to be loaded, combined with a lot of veggies and tropical fruit from Mexico crossing the border into Texas.  Cantaloupe shipments have started from the Rio Grande Valley.  There’s still no overall damage reports on storm-hit watermelons in South Texas.  There will be fewer loads, but who knows how much less?  Loadings are light, but will be increasing and continue into mid-June.

In California, the Imperial Valley is quieter with the seasonal end of vegetable shipments.  However, cantaloupe shipments will start in mid-May….About 300 truckload equivalents of carrots are being shipped weekly from the Bakersfield area.

Southern California continues to ship good volumes of avocados, strawberries and citrus…..The Santa Maria district, along with the Salinas Valley will become more active with produce shipments in the weeks ahead.

In Washington state, there are steady loadings of apples and pears from the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys.

Washington state apples and pears – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.

Southern California produce – grossing about $5000 to Chicago.

South Texas produce  – about $4800 to New York City.

South Florida veggies – about $3600 to New York City.