United States Cold Storage recently opened its third facility in Laredo, Texas.
The 232,366 square-foot-warehouse was built in eight months by engineering firm Stellar, and completed with a tight schedule driven by the timing of the Mexican strawberry season, according to a news release from Stellar, Jacksonville, Fla.
The $35 million facility distributes a variety of produce, including Mexican avocados.
U.S. Cold Storage, Camden, N.J., has operated in Laredo for more than 50 years, George Cruz, senior vice president of U.S. Cold Storage’s Southern Region, said in the press release.
“As food trade with Mexico continues to grow, we found ourselves in a position to respond to our customers’ growing needs with more space,” Cruz said in the release.
Cruz credited Stellar with building the facility in time for Mexican harvests.
The cold storage facility’s features include:
Refrigerated loading dock with 21 truck doors;
Separate cross-dock area with four truck doors for inspections/transloads;
Refrigerated repacking room;
27,000 pallet positions; and
Secure trailer yard for ease of importing and border crossings.
U.S. Cold Storage, a subsidiary of John Swire & Sons Ltd. in the United Kingdom, has 40 facilities in 13 states.
LGS Specialty Sales of New Rochelle, N.Y., is importing more Spanish fruit including lemons, clementines and Vanilla Persimmons, also known as rojo brillante.
LGS also imports and distributes citrus, grapes and avocados. The Spanish fruit is grown in the Valencia and Murcia regions. The company imports lemons from Spain year-round.
“Spain’s Mediterranean climate consistently grows exceptional fruit and we are excited to export more of their products to provide the U.S. market with top-quality produce year-round,” Rebekah McMurrain, persimmons category manager at LGS, said in a news release. “Both Spanish lemons and ready-to-eat Vanilla Persimmons are favorite varieties in Europe and we are pleased to offer them to U.S shoppers.”
The Vanilla Persimmon, a hybrid of the hachiya and fuyu varieties, is available now through February, according to the release. Like the fuyu, it is ready to eat.
California Avocados
California avocado shipments for the 2018-19 season are expected to plunge by nearly 50 percent compared to the 2017-18 season. The California Avocado Commission 2018-19 preseason crop estimate for all varieties is 175 million pounds, with 167 million pounds of the hass variety.
The lower volume is due to various weather factors including a severe heat wave in July 2018.
Because of the expected drop in shipments, most avocado loads will be destined to California and other western markets.
Shipments will be building into March with peak availability from April through August.
La Cañada Flintridge Calif. – Concluding its 15th year in participation, Allen Lund Company announces record produce donations for the 2018 Navidad en el Barrio event. Navidad en el Barrio, which was established in 1972 by Danny Villanueva, former NFL kicker, continues their mission to provide a healthy Christmas dinner to the most underserved families in Southern California.
“2018 was a remarkable year for Navidad en el Barrio,” states Nora Trueblood, MarCom Director for ALC, “we had growers from Texas, Idaho, Washington, and California participate this year, which translated to four full truckloads of fresh produce. We were able to provide an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables to every family, which does not happen every year.”
“What made this year especially wonderful was the new growers, many of whom we met at PMA Fresh Summit, that were first-time donors to this program,” continued Trueblood. “From potatoes, and carrots to citrus, apples, pumpkins, mixed greens, and avocados, every family had fresh items in their dinner baskets.” The fresh items are added to a basket which includes staples featuring rice, tortillas, water, pasta, tomato sauce, beans, and fresh chicken.
ALC provided the coordination of donated product as well as the logistical support of moving produce from Texas, Idaho, Washington, and in-state California to the warehouse for distribution on December 15, 2018. ALC contract carriers, Wanship and Chevez Express stepped in and donated their time and equipment to assist in this year’s Navidad en el Barrio event.
2018 donors included: Rainer Fruit, Bonipak Produce, Wada Farms, Grimmway, Cacique, Inc., Coca-Cola Refreshments, Faribault Foods, Mother’s Nutritional Center, Northgate Supermarkets, Wonderful Citrus, Mission Produce, Garofalo Pasta/Advantage Solutions, El Dorado Growers, Naturipe, J & D Produce, Gem-Pack Berries, Sage Fruit Company, Novamex, and American Fresh Produce.
About Allen Lund Company:
Specializing as a national third-party transportation broker with nationwide offices and over 500 employees, the Allen Lund Company works with shippers and carriers across the nation to arrange dry, refrigerated (specializing in produce), and flatbed freight; additionally, the Allen Lund Company has a logistics and software division, ALC Logistics, and an International Division licensed by the FMC as an OTI-NVOCC #019872NF. If you are interested in joining the Allen Lund Company team, please click here.
Established in 1976, the Allen Lund Company was recognized by Logistics Tech Outlook for our software division ALC Logistics as a 2018 Top 10 Freight Management Solution Providers, 2018 Food Logistics’ Top 3PL & Cold Storage Providers list, 2017 Supply & Demand Chain Executive Top 100, 2017 Food Logistics 100+ Top Software and Tech Provider, a 2016 Top IT Provider by Inbound Logistics, 2015 Coca-Cola Challenger Carrier of the Year, 2015 Top Private Company in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal, 2015 Top 100+ Software and Technology Providers, 2015 Top 100 Logistics IT Provider by Inbound Logistics, a 2014 Great Supply Chain Partner, and was placed in Transport Topics’ “2014 Top 25 Freight Brokerage Firms.” The company manages over 365,000 loads annually, and received the 2013 “Best in Cargo Security Award.” In 2011, the company received the TIA 3PL Samaritan Award, and NASTC (National Association of Small Trucking Companies) named Allen Lund Company the 2010 Best Broker of the Year. More information is available at www.allenlund.com.
U.S. citrus shipments crashed big time in the 2017-18 season.
American citrus loads plunged to 6.13 million tons last season, down 20 percent compared with 2016-17 season, and a whopping 66 percent less than the record high production of 17.8 million tons in 1997-98, according to the USDA.
Total fresh U.S. citrus shipments in 2017-18 were 3.308 million tons, off 7 percent from 2016-17 and 13 percent below 2015-16.
California represented 87 percent of all U.S. fresh citrus shipments in 2017-18, compared with 7 percent from Florida, 5 percent from Texas and 1 percent from Arizona.
Florida accounted for 36 percent of total U.S. citrus loadings, compared with 59 percent for California. Texas and Arizona shipped the remaining 5 percent.
Florida Citrus Shipments
Thanks to citrus greening disease and Hurricane Irma in 2017, Florida’s citrus volume continued to plunge in the 2017-18 season.
Florida’s orange shipments stood at 45 million boxes last season, which was down 35 percent from the previous season. Grapefruit volume in Florida, at 3.88 million boxes in 2017-18, crashed by 50 percent from the previous season. Florida’s total citrus shipments decreased 37 percent from the previous season, the USDA said.
Fresh shipments of Florida citrus were rated at 221,000 tons, down 30 percent from 317,000 tons in 2016-17 and off 50 percent from 2015-16.
Bearing citrus acreage in Florida, at 400,900 acres in 2017-18, was 9,800 acres below the 2016-17 season.
In California, the USDA reported citrus loadings dropped 7 percent from the 2016-17 season. California’s total orange shipments, at 45.4 million boxes, was 6 percent lower than the previous season. The state’s grapefruit volume was down 9 percent from the 2016-17; tangerine and mandarin loadings were off 19 percent.
California’s fresh citrus shipments was 2.88 million tons in 2017-18, down 5 percent from 2016-17 and down 9 percent from 2015-16.
In Texas, loadings of citrus was up 9 percent from the 2016-17 season. Orange volume is up 37 percent from the previous season, but grapefruit volume was unchanged.
Texas citrus shipments was 175,000 tons in 2017-18, up 8 percent from 2016-17 and 11 percent higher than 2015-16.
Arizona lemon loadings in 2017-18 was down 35 percent from last season. Arizona fresh citrus shipments was 32,000 tons in 2017-18, down 29 percent 2016-17 and down 32 percent from 2015-16.
Gloucester Marine Terminal LLC based in Gloucester City, NJ received its first arrival of fresh Chilean fruit three weeks ago when the M/V Baltic Jasmine unloaded nearly 2,500 tons of Chilean grapes, plums, nectarines and other products.
Weekly service for Chilean winter fruit will continue through April.
“Having the first vessel is a responsibility that we take seriously,” Peter Inskeep, of the Gloucester Marine Terminal, said in a press release. “We have placed a huge emphasis on the culture of food safety, and once again our terminal has been awarded the highest SQF Level II certification. This means that the delicious products that pass through our hands from Chile, Peru, Brazil, Spain, Morocco, Central America and South Africa are guaranteed safe handling.”
The M/V Baltic Jasmine is part of the fleet owned and managed by Baltic Shipping, a long-time customer of the Gloucester Terminal.
“The 2018/2019 fruit season promises to be a good one, and this means increased consumer access to lots of fresh and healthy products from our partners around the world,” Eric Holt, with Holt Logistics Corp., said in the release.
Mexican avocado imports by U.S. importers will remain strong in 2018-19. A new report from the USDA notes Mexican hass avocado production is forecast at 1.9 million metric tons or more for marketing year 2018-19.
By way of comparison, production estimates for the 2017-18 season are about 2 million metric tons, according to industry estimates.
Mexico’s Michoacán region is the world leader in avocado production and accounts for 80 percent of total Mexican avocado volume.
Total area planted for Mexican avocados for 2017-18 is about 571,000 acres, up a little more than 5 percent from about 540,000 acres in 2016-17.
Export outlook
Mexico’s avocado exports for 2018-19 are forecast to be close to 1 million metric tons, according to the report. That is similar to 2017-18, according to the USDA report.
Exports have been increasing over the past few years, and the depreciation of the peso against the dollar has helped international sales in general.
The USDA report said the U.S. is the top importer from Mexico, consuming between 74 and 79 percent of total Mexican exports. About 6 percent of exports are sent to Japan and 7 percent to Canada.
About 45 packers in Michoacán are eligible to export avocados to the U.S., according to the report, while other producing states have concentrated on exporting to Japan, Canada, France and Spain.
While Mexican hass exports to the U.S. have increased with year-round access to all 50 states, the USDA report said exports to Canada, Japan and Europe have also risen.
The USDA report said a price dispute between producers in Michoacán and packing companies caused growers to cease harvesting activities Oct. 29 for approximately two weeks.
The report said an agreement was reached to end the strike on November 14,th when the parties along with the Mexican government agreed to have public reports of market information including:
Product exported;
Product sent to domestic market;
Volumes sold; and
Destination
Growers in Michoacán generally sell their fruit on the spot to a packer in terms of pesos per kilo.
“The intention is to have transparent commercial value information of the avocado trade,” the USDA report said. “Parties agreed that market prices will be adjusted according to the supply/demand principle.”
Mexican producers said the strike caused a deficit of 38,000 metric tons in the U.S. market, but that resumption of packing was expected to erase that shortage within a few weeks, according to the USDA report.
Electronic logging device regulations have resulted in truckers being more selective with which shippers and receivers they work.
For example, Zipline Logistics of Columbus, OH has surveyed over 150 trucking companies asking how their business has changed following the ELD mandate. A significant 54 percent report they no longer spend as much time waiting to load or unload their truck, while 80 percent note there are shippers or receivers they refuse to go to because wait times are too long.
The Zipline report stated one respondent commented, “Locations that are known to have little to no regard for a driver’s (hours of service) are no longer serviceable.”
Another company reported it monitors load and unload times so it can avoid going to places with unreasonably long loading and unloading delays.
“Anyone that can’t unload or load on time, why go to them and waste hours?” one respondent wrote. “Time is money now.”
Over 90 percent of the companies with which Zipline works service grocery and retail facilities, and some of them named major retailers and wholesalers among the worst offenders.
“A select population of drivers are now unwilling to go into locations such as Kroger, C&S Wholesale and (United Natural Foods) because of debilitating wait times,” Zipline wrote in its report. “If this issue is to be solved, shippers and retailers will need to improve their speed of operations and better cater to the needs of truckers.”
Walmart, Supervalu, Dollar General, Aldi, Wakefern Corp., Safeway and Meijer were also mentioned in comments by survey respondents.
The Zipline report stated trucking companies were divided 60-40 on whether the ELD mandate improved safety.
Some reported that it forced drivers to stop, rest and follow hours-of-service requirements, but other companies reported drivers were speeding more, driving in inclement weather, and driving while tired to maximize their hours.
Companies pointed to the driver shortage, rather than the mandate itself, as the main cause of rising rates. However, there were a few comments about drivers leaving the industry so as not to have to deal with the new regulations. Still, most companies pegged the mandate as a contributor to higher rates rather than the main cause of them.
There were 16 percent fewer U.S. fresh apples remaining to be shipped as of December 1st compared to a year ago, according to a new report from the U.S. Apple Association.
Total fresh apples in storage totalled 103.3 million 42-pound cartons, down from 122.9 million cartons last year and 11 percent less than the five-year average holdings of 116.7 million cartons.
Apples in storage for processing were off even more sharply, with 25.5 million cartons down 44 percent from a year ago and off 42 percent from the five-year average.
Red River Valley Potatoes
By Ted Kreis, NPPGA Communications
As we near the halfway point of the Red River Valley fresh potato crop shipping season, marketers are pleased, especially when comparing this year to last year.
The good fortune started early in the season when a heavy snow cover protected about 4,000 acres of unharvested potatoes from the very cold temperatures that settled in for a few days after the snowstorm.
The color and quality of this year’s crop is excellent and supplies are much more manageable after a nearly 10 percent cut in fresh acres in the Red River Valley.
Demand is strong. Big potato crop losses in Wisconsin and Canada has pushed more business to the Red River Valley.
Last year’s biggest problem, without the doubt, was the truck shortage. It was responsible for lost sales, higher freight rates, backed-up inventory which in turned caused falling prices and higher shrink later in the season. This year trucks have been much more available and nobody knows exactly why, but we are all hoping it continues through the second half of the season.
The Star Group Tomatoes
The Star Group of Voorhees Township, is producing tomatoes in a new greenhouse facility in Culiacan, Mexico.
The Big Taste brand roma tomatoes are entering the market the U.S. market through McAllen, Texas, and Nogales, Ariz., according to a news release.
The company will be shipping the romas, beefsteaks, grape tomatoes and slicer cucumbers through the winter from the new Culiacan facility.
Other Big Taste branded products from The Star Group in Mexico are tomatoes on-the-vine, grape tomatoes and Big Taste berries.
Records for both truck rates and shipping volumes were broken in the second quarter of 2018, according to a new report from the USDA.
The Agricultural Refrigerated Truck Quarterly, reviewed truck rates from April through June this year and provided an outlook for refrigerated trucks through the end of 2018.
“Indicators point to sustained high rates and tight capacity for the trucking industry, including the refrigerated truck market, through the end of 2018 and possibly beyond,” the report said.
In addition, the report said Hurricane Florence may have effects on the truck market in the months ahead, adding pressure to an already tight market.
“With demand for truck services projected to remain high, these combined factors could keep truck capacity scarce and rates high for the foreseeable future,” the report said.
Hauling the freight
Trucks continue to be the dominant carriers of freight, carrying 70.2 percent of domestic freight in 2017, according to the American Trucking Associations. Strong economic growth kept truckers rolling in the first half of the year, as real gross domestic product increased 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018, the USDA reported.
While the economy was heating up, unemployment reached a 10-year low of 3.8 percent in May.
Construction, manufacturing, or local driving positions through ride-sharing services offer competition to long-haul trucking positions.
Some trucking companies have increased drivers’ wages as a result.
Through the first half of 2018, ATA reported the freight tonnage hauled by trucks increased 7.9 percent,up from a 3.8 percent increase in 2017.
The report said DAT Solutions reported strong demand for trucking services caused truckload spot rates to reach a record high in June, topping a 15-month run of spot market rate increases. In the refrigerated truck market, DAT reported the national average spot market truck rate hit the highest point ever recorded, at $2.69 per mile in June, up $0.58 from June 2017, and $0.11 higher than the contract rate. While increases in contract rates typically lag four to six months, after a sustained increase in spot market rates, this year the lag has been only a few weeks.
Refrigerated truck market
Strong demand for trucks and large volumes has mostly affected truck rates for shipments of 500 to 2,500 miles, according to the USDA. The U.S. average refrigerated truck rate reached a record high in the second quarter, for shipments between 501 and 1,500 miles ($2.96 per mile), up 12 percent from the previous quarter ($2.64 per mile).
The U.S. average truck rate for shipments between 1,501 and 2,500 miles was still higher than usual at $2.45 per mile, but was 3 percent lower than the record high of $2.54 per mile, set in the first quarter of 2018. In contrast, average truck rates for shipments less than 500 miles, and over 2,500 miles, have remained within normal ranges.
Fruit and vegetable shipments
Reported U.S. truck shipments of fresh produce during the second quarter of 2018 were a record 9.65 million tons, 21 percent higher than the previous quarter, and 1 percent higher than the same quarter last year.
Shipments from Mexico were the highest in the second quarter, totaling 2.85 million tons and accounting for 30 pecent of the total reported shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables. Loadings from California totaled 2.24 million tons, accounting for 23 percent of the reported shipments. Movements from the Pacific Northwest totaled 1.55 million tons, representing 16 percent of the reported total.
The study noted until 10 years ago, California and Florida were the two biggest suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables, during the second quarter. In recent years, both states have lost market share to the Pacific Northwest and Mexico, the USDA said.
The volume of shipments from Mexico through Texas reached a new high of 1.30 million tons during the second quarter of 2018, an increase of 8 pecent over the same period last year (1.21 million tons). Five commodities accounted for 42 percent of the reported truck movements during the second quarter of 2018:
Here’s a shipping update on three companies in the Western U.S.
Peppers Plus LLC of Rio Rico, AZ began shipping peppers December 1st, and will continue shipping Mexican vegetables into the spring.
While the company will continue shipping green, red, yellow and orange blocky Bell peppers, it has discontinued shipping mesh-house bells. Meanwhile the operation increased from 100 to 112 acres of peppers this season.
Peppers Plus also is shipping hard shell squash and will continue until about June 1st. Peppers should wrap up in mid May. The company has been expanding its growing operation on average of 10 to 15 percent per year.
Fresh Farm is Shipping
Fresh Farms’ winter vegetable program “will be up ten percent for every item,
The operation has been shipping green Bell peppers, pickles, eggplant and hard squash since mid November and should continue with good volume until May.
The firm’s English cucumbers will be shipped until mid-April.
Fresh Farms’ green bean shipping started earlier this month and was soon followed by yellow and bi-colored sweet corn.
The company’s organic program this season includes zucchini, yellow, butternut and spaghetti squash, as well as American and English cucumbers and green beans.
Sunions
Shipments of Sunion onions has got underway in its second season.
Sunions, a long-day sweet onion variety grown in Washington and Nevada, was developed by Nunhems Vegetable Seeds and is distributed by Generation Farms of Lake Park, GA; Onions 52 LLC of Syracuse, UT and Peri & Sons Farms Inc. of Yerington, NV.
Unlike other long-day onions, Sunions actually become sweeter and tearless in storage, according to a news release.
Sunions are released for sale using a certification process that includes a sensory panel with the authority to determine Sunions ship dates, and the panel uses three separate tests for both flavor and tearlessness before releasing Sunions for shipping.
United States Cold Storage recently opened its third facility in Laredo, Texas.
U.S. citrus shipments crashed big time in the 2017-18 season.
Mexican avocado imports by U.S. importers will remain strong in 2018-19. A new report from the USDA notes Mexican hass avocado production is forecast at 1.9 million metric tons or more for marketing year 2018-19.
Electronic logging device regulations have resulted in truckers being more selective with which shippers and receivers they work.
Records for both truck rates and shipping volumes were broken in the second quarter of 2018, according to a new report from the USDA.