Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
The USApple forecast for Washington state’s 2026-27 season stands at 176 million bushels, valued at around $2 billion. The figure is two percent below the 2025/26 crop and accounts for 62 percent of US apples for the upcoming season.
The decline is volume represents a five to 10 percent drop from the 2025-26 production.
Shipments have been pretty strong since the start of the year, which has helped create a better supply and demand balance in the market. This trend is expected to continue into the new crop year
Commercial acreage in top apple-producing states has been declining. Washington state has led the way by removing 3,000 planted acres since 2022.
The Washington State Apple Commission reports state growers expect a smaller Honeycrisp season since it’s an off-year for the variety. However, the decline might be easily offset by the expansion of Cosmic Crisp, the Washington State-developed cultivar that in May was renewed to be grown exclusively in North America by Washington growers for five more years.
Washington exports about one-third of its apple production.
Eagle Eye Produce of Idaho Falls, ID, a leading grower, packer, and shipper of potatoes and onions, has started its 2026 new crop shipping season from facilities across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, according to a press release.
Early reports from the field point to strong quality across both crops. With harvest underway across Idaho and the Pacific Northwest and expected to continue through October, Eagle Eye Produce is looking forward to another strong potato and onion season.
Joe Ange, Director of Onion Sales, shared his outlook on this year’s onion crop: “Overall, we’re very pleased with how the onion crop is coming together. Above-average rainfall in Idaho and Eastern Oregon delayed some early planting, and periods of smoke have reduced sunlight at times during the growing season. Even with those conditions, the crop has developed well. We’re seeing very nice quality across our yellow, red, and white onions, with skin setting well and great color. Harvest is underway and will continue through September, and we’re in a good position to support our customers throughout the season.”
Ange added, “This is also our second season shipping out of our new Ontario, Oregon facility, and we’ve continued making improvements to the operation over the past year. The facility features state-of-the-art technology and automation that help us improve efficiency, consistency, and quality throughout the packing process. We learned a lot during our first season and have continued building on that foundation to make the operation even stronger heading into 2026.”
Coleman Oswald, Director of Sales at Eagle Eye Produce, commented on this season’s potato crop: “The potato crop is looking good as we get into new crop. We’ve had plenty of heat this summer, which has made consistent irrigation especially important, and our growing teams have done a great job managing the crop through those conditions. We’re seeing strong quality and a little smaller size compared to last year so far. Overall volume is expected to be lower this season with fewer acres planted, but we’re well positioned to support our customers and their programs throughout the year.”
Oswald added, “We also continue to make significant investments in our potato operations. We’re currently completing a multi-million-dollar upgrade to our red and yellow potato packing operation that will improve efficiency, capacity, and consistency. It’s an exciting project for our team, and we look forward to sharing more details very soon. Along with the investments we’ve made in our fields and other packing operations over the last several years, it’s another step toward becoming a smarter, more efficient supplier for our customers.”
Eagle Eye Produce offers a full range of retail and foodservice pack styles for potatoes and onions, with options for private label programs and support from a nationwide sales and marketing team. With a fully integrated approach that covers everything from Roots to Routes, including growing, packing, and shipping, Eagle Eye stands out as a reliable and innovative partner in the produce industry.
About Eagle Eye Produce
Eagle Eye Produce, based in Idaho’s potato country, is a major grower and shipper of potatoes and much more. The company is one of the largest onion grower shippers in the Pacific Northwest and the leading watermelon supplier in the western United States. It also offers a strong program of mixed dry vegetables grown in Mexico. Eagle Eye cultivates thousands of acres of fresh produce each year and operates state of the art warehouses across the western United States and Mexico, supported by a national sales and marketing team. With an asset-based transportation division serving customers coast to coast, Eagle Eye Produce is committed to being the Partner of Choice, driven by exceptional customer service and innovative, efficient farming and warehousing practices.
Generally it’s been a typical North Carolina sweet potato growing season and quality and sizing look to be good, with some fields seeing larger sizing while others are fields will be harvested later once sizing increases.
Triple J Produce of Sims, NC reports mixed reports related to acreage changes this season, though there’s a sense at this point that the crop is large. Harvesting started last month.
The grower, shipper, packer is hoping it is around 70,000 acres in North Carolina, which would mean better prices as well as good supplies.
The company notes growers are running out of supply and many have had to cut back on customers in the past few months.
Pennsylvania’s 2026 apple shipments are underway, although growers are anticipating a lighter crop this season. Yet optimism abounds.
Rice Fruit Company of Gardners, PA expects to ship a full range of varieties this season, though volumes will be lighter in some cases.
Timing is pretty much on schedule although the company notes the apple season tends to start earlier each year because of varieties which have been developed to spread harvest out between August and October. This avoids having to harvest all the fruit in September. Earlier varieties such as Gala and Honeycrisp, which start in the first or second week of August, make this possible.
Rice Fruit is a grower, shipper and packer that also works with 40 other family growing operations.
Northwest pear harvesting for CMI Orchards got underway in mid August and there is plenty of optimism for the season.
The Wenatchee, WA shipper reports overall production is expected to return to more typical levels following last year’s exceptionally large crop. It expects an abundant supply of high-quality pears.
After an extraordinarily large crop in 2025, particularly in organic pears, this season sees a return to more normal production levels. Supplies are good and there will be plenty of fruit available for shipping throughout the season.
The company offers a comprehensive pear portfolio, including Bartlett, Bosc, Comice, Green and Red D’Anjou, Forelle, GEM, Seckel, and Starkrimson pears.
Apple season is starting to take shape, and Washington will be carrying even more
weight than usual this year, according to a website posting by Pro*Act of Monterey, CA.
Cold and wet weather disrupted parts of the Northeast growing season, which means more program demand is expected to lean west as schools and retail fall sets begin to build.
New crop Galas will be the first major variety to watch. Availability started in
early to mid-August depending on the shipper, with Honeycrisp following shortly
behind. From there, the crop will continue to build into September with Granny
Smith, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Red Delicious, and other fall varieties coming online.
Early fruit will help bridge the gap, but overall relief will take time as each variety
starts, colors, packs, and settles into volume.
Markets are expected to remain elevated as customers look to Washington for
coverage and the Northeast works through weather-related challenges. School
demand will add another layer, especially on smaller, pouch-friendly, and
lunchbox-style fruit. As new crop volume builds, we should get a clearer picture
on size, color, pressure, and overall pack-outs.
Galas and Honeycrisp will get the season moving, but Washington will need time
to build into full fall volume. Lead time, variety flexibility, and a willingness to
adjust sizing will be the best way to stay covered as the new crop apple season
gets underway.
As of mid August California table grape loadings were 9 million boxes more than at this time last season.
Direct Source Marketing, a distributor from Mount Kisco, NY reports an early start this season has pushed earlier volume this year. Mexico had a similar situation with its grape season ending sooner than normal.
Since California shipped so much fruit so early in the season many growers are projecting to finish the season by Thanksgiving. While some growers will store their best fruit to carry into December, a shortage is anticipated.
The good news is that Peru’s grape season will also start early. Some growers in the northern part of the country have already started harvesting and where most of Piura normally starts in October, this year the region expects to start harvest in mid to late September.
California grape shipments are now peaking. There is plenty of supply, but average daily temperatures of 105F for nearly two weeks is having an adverse impact fruit quality.
California fig growers expect the main crop to follow the successful breba crop, which delivered the first Mission figs of the season in May and June. All varieties are available from July through November, with the industry expecting a crop comparable to last year’s harvest of nearly 10 million pounds, according to the California Fig Advisory Board of Madera, CA.
Nearly all commercial figs in California are grown in the Central San Joaquin Valley with most orchards concentrated in and around Madera, Fresno and Merced.
While California fresh figs are available seasonally, California dried figs remain available year-round and can be used in salads, sandwiches, pizzas, sauces, and baked goods.
The Emerald, introduced commercially in 2025, has quickly become established in the market. Similar in shape, color, and flavor to the Calimyrna, which is no longer grown in California, Emerald has a creamy, crème brûlée-like flavor profile and is self-pollinating, as are all commercially grown California figs.
California produces five main fresh fig varieties. Brown Turkey has light purple to black skin with a balanced flavor, Emerald has light green skin with a creamy, crème brûlée-like flavor, Mission has purple to black skin with a deep, earthy flavor, Sierra has light-colored skin with a fresh, sweet flavor, and Tiger has light yellow skin with dark green stripes and a bright red-purple interior with raspberry-citrus notes.
California freestone shipments are forecast at 310,000 short tons for 2026, accounting for 65 percent of the state’s total peach output.
While the estimate is three percent below the bumper harvest of 2025, it remains 12 percent above the previous three-year average.
About three-quarters of California freestone peaches move directly to fresh-market retail outlets, with the remaining balance allocated to freezing and drying operations.
California peach producers are looking at a 10 percent yield reduction for the 2025/26 season, according to the latest Economic Research Service (ERS) Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The assessment places peach production at 480,000 short tons, with warmer-than-average spring temperatures accelerating orchard development across major Central Valley growing regions.
The overall crop drop points primarily to clingstone varieties, which are predominantly grown for industrial canning.
In July of last year, Del Monte Foods, one of two major peach canning processors in the state, filed for bankruptcy, canceling multi-year contracts with clingstone growers and selling its assets. However, the firm’s largest fruit canning plant in Modesto was not purchased and was subsequently closed in April 2026.
California garlic shipments have been ongoing now for about two months. Yields have been similar to last season, relates Global Farms Enterprises of Los Angeles.
The season got of with soft demand, with possible reasons being school is out, with summer vacations.
While the first half of the year saw garlic supply coming from Argentina, it has wound down production with the focus turning to Mexico in mid May. Mexico hasa lot of acreage but overall the yields haven’t been good They attributed that to the quality of the seed and the lack of cold snap when the garlic was first planted.
Global Farms sources garlic from every region including Mexicali and Sonora.
While there’s still a good supply of Chinese garlic, the shortage in Mexico was anticipated to impact the market significantly. However, Spain has emerged with very good yields.