Posts Tagged “California grape shipments”
It’s looking like another banner year for California grape shipments as the desert winds down and the San Joaquin Valley cranks up.
With the end of May, Coachella volume appeared down 20% from 2014. Early starts can make for early finishes. Some Coachella shippers are just finishing their desert grape season, about a week early. However, a few shipments will occur in the last week of June….Mexican grape shipments face a similar situation. Some loadings will end the around June 20th, when July 4th is typical.
While Coachella and Mexico are finishing up early, shipping gaps are not seen because the San Joaquin Valley grape shipments are ahead of schedule. Initial light harvests are expected by June 20-22. Shipments should be moving into good volume by the second week of July.
Preliminary estimates for California grape shipments out of the San Joaquin Valley are pegged at 113.3 million 19-pound boxes for 2015. This is up from 110.9 million last year. The state’s record, set in 2013, was 116.3 million. Loadings of California grapes should be available through November.
California Tomato Shipments
California shipped its first load of mature green tomatoes on June 2. Several more loads were shipped during the week of June 8th, putting the crop about a week ahead of schedule. If all goes as expected, California will have mature greens through about mid-November. The mature green tomato is popular with foodservice companies and also is used by repackers across the country. Acreage is down about 10 percent this year due to the California drought.
While the California season gets under way, there are also tomatoes from several other locations including crossings from Mexico into California, Arizona and Texas.
San Joaquin Valley tomatoes, stone fruit and vegetables – grossing about $5000 to Chicago; $7400 to New York City.
More East Coast sweet potato loads are expected this season….As the California grape season finishes, be extra careful of loading fruit with quality problems.
North Carolina sweet potato shipments should be back to normal this season as the harvest for 2014 has pretty much wrapped up.
A return to normal yields after a rain-damaged 2013 shortfall caused many growers to run out of cured 2013 sweet potatoes and ship uncured or “green” potatoes in the early harvest weeks this year. An interesting side note this year is several North Carolina growers have formed a co-op, Yamco, which is making making sweet potato puree used in vodka, beer, jams, pastry mixes, and soon, whiskey…..Truck supplies are in short supply.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – grossing about $3000 to Boston.
Lower volume California grape shipments are expected as 2014 comes to a close. Loadings are expected to be down from this same time a year ago. The persistent drought in California meant less water for grapes, resulting in smaller sized fruit and subsequently lower volumes, plus hot weather at times has been an issue. Due to the drought and heat, quality has been hit and miss this season. As the season winds down, grape haulers should pay extra attention to what is being put in the truck to help reduce your chances of claims at destination.
California grape shipments will continue through Thanksgiving and perhaps up to Christmas. The first South American grape imports from Chile are not expected on the East Coast until December 8th and on the West Coast until December 24th.
Central San Joaquin Valley grapes – grossing about $6800 to New York City.
This isn’t one of the better times of the year for hauling produce from California as seasonal shifts to different growing areas or varieties are underway, with items ranging from lettuce to citrus and strawberries.
California Produce Shipments
Lettuce shipments continue from Huron in California’s San Joaquin Valley, but a shift is slowly taking place to the desert of Yuma, AZ to be followed shortly by the nearby Imperial Valley in California.
Yuma lettuce shipments should hit decent volume within about a week. Shipments have been light out of California and Arizona for weeks and could very well remain lighter than normal through Thanksgiving, if not the end of the year.
Romaine volume is particularly light and you should use caution hauling this product coming out of Huron. Warmer than normal weather during October is resulting in romaine growing too fast, leading to some quality issues – particularly with the product going to seed.
Lettuce shipments shifted from Salinas to Huron the last half of October. Now the shift is from the short Huron harvest to Yuma and the Imperial Valley.
California Citrus Shipments
Valencia shipments are coming to a seasonal end, while light loadings of navel oranges have started from Central and Southern California, as well as Arizona.
California Strawberry Shipments
While Salinas and Santa Maria strawberry shipments are nearly finished for the season, light, but increasing volume is taking place from Ventura County.
California Grape Shipments
Meanwhile, grapes continue to provide some of the heaviest volume out the San Joaquin Valley. Loadings are averaging over 1,700 truck loads per week.
Central San Joaquin Valley grapes, other items – grossing about $5400 to Atlanta.
California grape shipments should remain in good volume, providing steady loading opportunities through the end of the year. Meanwhile, the state’s citrus shipments will be picking up soon, while vegetable loadings will be limited as volume gradually shifts to the the desert areas.
Grape shipments at this point in the season are right on the heels of last year’s record loadings of 116 million, 19-pound boxes. If this year’s grape shipments don’t break last year’s volume, at the least it will be the second largest on record. About 70 percent of the total crop has been shipped .
Citrus Shipments
It is estimated California will ship 81 million, 40-pound cartons of navel oranges this season. Of that total, 78 million cartons will be shipped from California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Shipments are modest, but will be increasing in the weeks ahead.
Mandrian orange shipments are also on the rise, with greater volume than a year ago being forecast.
Vegetable shipments
Salinas vegetables ranging from broccoli to cauliflower, among others, will be shifting from the Salinas Valley to the desert areas. The shift to California’s Imperial Valley and the Yuma District in Arizona will be taking place around the third to fourth week of November. Head lettuce from the Huron District is winding down and also will be shifting the desert areas.
Central San Joaquin Valley grapes and other fruit – grossing about $7100 to New York City.
While peak summer California produce shipments continue, few record shipments are taking place, with the possible exception of table grapes.
Most commodities and are having normal volume, or being slightly off of average shipments. Record California grape shipments occurred last year, totaling 116.2 million boxes of grapes (19-pound equivalent). This year, shipments are estimated to bet over 116.5 million boxes. The San Joaquin Valley is California’s largest grape shipping region, and loadings started earlier than usual. As of the week ending July 4, shipments were well ahead of the prior year, amounting to six million boxes out of the Coachella Valley and the San Joaquin Valley. This year, during the same period, 9.2 million boxes were shipped. The vast majority California grape shipments will take place after September 1st, when as much as 65 or 70 percent the volume will take place during the fall an into the winter.
The Central San Joaquin Valley also has good, steady volume with peaches (averaging about 425 loads per week) as well as plums and nectarines. There also are tomatoes, sweet corn and dozens of other vegetables loadings taking place, plus Westside district melons.
Further south in the valley in the Bakersfield area are avocados, with truckloads averaging over 1,000 per week, plus steady movement with carrots.
Moving to the Salinas area, strawberry shipments from Watsonville continue. Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and celery lead a wide contingent of other veggies being shipped from the Salinas Valley. A similar situation exists just to the south in the Santa Maria shipping district, although on a smaller scale.
Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $8300 to New York City.
Central San Joaquin Valley stone fruit and grapes – grossing about $5200 to Chicago.
Tennessee Produce Shipments, Kentucky Produce Shipments
Looking around the nation, here are a number of active produce shipping areas ranging from Kentucky and Tennessee to Georgia, South Carolina, and California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Although they are a couple of weeks late, shipments of vegetables from Kentucky and Tennessee are underway.
Just want you to know though, most of these loadings are only to regional, if not local markets. Items range from beans to cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and a few peaches.
Loadings occur at shipping operations in such Tennessee towns as Lebanon (near Nashville), Crossville (about halfway between Nashville and Knoxville and Rutledge in Northeastern Tennessee.
California Produce Shipments
California pear shipments from the Sacramento River District are just getting underway this week. Shipments from Mendocino County will get started around August 4th, followed by Lake County about August 11th.
Total Bartlett pear volume should hit about 2.6 million cartons, down from 2.9 million a year ago. About 500,000 cartons of other pear varieties also will be shipped led by the boscs variety.
California Grape Shipments
Table grapes from the Arvin District in the Bakersfield are picking up in volume as the new season for the San Joaquin Valley heads towards good volume.
Peach Shipments
California’s San Joaquin Valley has been shipping moderate amounts of peaches for a few weeks and is averaging about 425 truckloads per week.
Meanwhile, in the Southeast, peach shipments are building and will hit a peak very soon in Georgia (Fort Valley area), as well as South Carolina (primarily from shippers in an area south of Columbia).
San Joaquin Valley fruit – grossing about $6900 to Atlanta.
Warm winter weather throughout California and south of the border is expected to bring shipments of Coachella Valley grapes, as well as Mexican grapes through Noglaes, earlie than usual this spring.
Mexico and Coachella typically start within days of each other, although Mexican grape shipments tend to be a few days earlier. Shipments of green grapes from Mexico should start in light volume in late April, with Coachella grape shipments getting underway by early May.
Loadings of red grapes will typically start within a week or so after the green fruit is underway. Good volume of both Mexican and Coachella Valley grapes are expected for Memorial Day. Peak shipments from both areas should occur from the last week of May through the middle of June.
While a forecast has yet to be made for the upcoming grape shipping season, during the 2013 season California shipped 117.4 million boxes of fresh grapes.
Over the past 10 years the volume has significantly increased. In 2003 California grape shipments were under 80 million boxes. In 2012 the 100 million box mark was crossed for the first time in history, and in 2013 another record was set with the crop totaling 117.4 million boxes.
Top shipments to export markets last year were Canada at 11.9 million boxes, followed by Hong Kong/China at 7.9, and Mexico at 6.6. The 2013 season started with shipments in early May and continued into February 2014.
California table grapes have been shipped at a record pace in recent weeks. According to USDA data through Sept. 13, five of the past six weeks have seen week-ending shipment totals of over 4 million boxes. Last year, only one week in the entire season surpassed 4 million.
Idaho, which rules potato shipments, will have less loads available this season, but there are still a lot of spuds for hauling.
With nearly 45 million boxes of California grapes already shipped, the industry is on pace for another record crop year.
The vast majority of California grape shipments are delivered by trucks to markets throughout North America.
August 2013 saw 18.4 million boxes shipped, a record-high for that month. This is 6 percent more than August 2012. The previous record of 18.1 million boxes was set in August 2007.
The total volume surpassed the 100 million 19-pound box equivalent mark for the first time in history last year and set a new record. The 2013 season estimate is 105.7 million 19-pound box equivalents.
Grape loadings from California will be available through January 2014.
Idaho Potato Shipments
The 2012 potato harvest in Idaho was remarkable in several respects. Acreage was up about 25,000 acres over the previous year. In fact it was so huge potato farmers in effect dumped (or at least sold spuds very cheap) totalling over 4 million cwt to feedlots.
The 2013 harvest, which got underway with Russet Norkotah potatoes as well as some red, gold and fingerling varieties in August, should have more normal shipments. Loadings should be down eight to 10 percent for the season compared to last year for Idaho.
San Joaquin Valley grapes and other produce – grossing about $7200 to New York City.
Idaho potatoes – about $3200 to Chicago.
Harvesting of pears in Washington state and Oregon got underway last week and there are light shipments taking place. Volume is increasing on a weekly basis.
California grapes are now in heavy volume.
The region is expected to ship about 19.4 million, 44-pound boxes of pears this season, which would be up about two percent from the 2012-13 crop.
If estimated pear shipments hold true for the season this would be 4 percent higher than the five-year average for loadings.
Pear volume for summer/fall pears from the Pacific Northwest is expected to be 4.7 million boxes, which would be about 5 percent less than 2012 season. Volume for Northwest winter pears is expected to come in at 15 million boxes. The total Northwest winter pear volume is anticipated to be approximately 15 million boxes, up 4 percent from 2012.
California Grape Shipments
After an early and fast start to the California table grape season, the rapid paces is expected to continue well past Labor Day. Shipping volume is running about two weeks earlier than normal.
During the 2012 season, California harvested 100.1 million 19-pound box equivalents of table grapes. Last April the preliminary estimate for this season was 106.9 million boxes.
San Joaquin Valley grapes – grossing about $7500 to New York City.
Washington pears and apples – grossing about $6500 to New York City.
The last potatoes of the shipping season, which have been held in storages for months, may have quality problems which could result in rejected loads or claims. The good news is there are very few russetts left in major shipping states such as Idaho.
What started out as a huge crop last fall, has faded quickly since spring. Packouts have been off due to quality problems and some spuds have even been used a cattle feed.
There is light volume with the new crop of red and yellow potatoes out of Washington and Oregon with shipments picking up the week of July 22. Russet loadings should get going between July 22 and Aug. 1.
Overall potato shipments are going to be very light around the country until about the second week of August, as the new crop starts gaining steam.
Blueberries
Big volumes of blueberries are seen from Oregon and British Columbia in July and August — and likely even into September. There have been few complaints regarding size, or taste, which means fewer problems for drivers at unloading docks.
Grapes
In California, record shipments of table grapes are still being seen for this season. Another forecast will be issued in late July.
Last year California topped 100 million boxes of grapes shipped for the first time. This season observers are looking at shipments hitting nearly 107 million, 19-pound cartons. Hang on sloopy, that’s a lot of fruit! Grape loadings are taking place from the Arvin district.
Over half of California’s grapes will be shipped after Labor Day and extending into December, a trend that has come as newer, late variety grapes have been developed.
San Joaquin Valley grapes and stone fruit – grossing about $8,000 to New York City.