Washington apple shipments for the 2014-15 season are expected to easily blow away the previous record set during the 2011-12 season.
The state’s apple growers harvested an estimated 150 million boxes this year, a little less than originally forecast.
So far, packers have shipped 35 million boxes, leaving 115 boxes currently in storage to fill the market throughout much of 2015. A box of apples typically weighs between 40 and 42 pounds.
The final count came in 3 percent shy of the previous forecast of 155 million boxes because of a November freeze and a port slowdown that prompted many packing companies to divert more fresh fruit to processors.
A labor dispute between dockworkers and the companies that operate the shipping terminals in Seattle and Tacoma, as well as 27 other cities along the West Coast, has drastically slowed down exports and imports of everything from fruit and airplane parts to clothing and kitchen goods.
Washington leads the nation in apple production, while Yakima County is the highest-producing county in the country.
Refrigerated trucks for hauling Washington apples continues to be in short supply.
Freight on apples out of the state have been fluctuating by $400 to $500 per truck load to the same destinations, depending on the day of the week, availability of equipment, etc.
Yakima Valley apples – grossing about $4800 to Chicago; about $7200 to Pittsburgh.