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As we approach fall, here is a look at the upcoming possibilities for fall loadings for Colorado potatoes, Georgia vegetables and imports of sweet onions from Peru.
Colorado Potato Shipments
Last year San Luis Valley Colorado potatoes were harvested off of 52,000 acres. This year acreage is about 50,900 acres.
Diggings started for some growers in August, with the harvest running into mid-October. There were 2,176 truck loads shipped during the 2015-16 season, down about 400 loads from the previous season. Russets account for nearly 99 percent of the crop last year and 97 percent in 2014-15.
Yellows last year were 0.2 percent, down slightly from 0.3 in 2014-15. Interestingly, yellows have declined since 2013, dropping 0.1percent each year. Red potatoes were 1 percent last year and 2.6 percent the year before, showing an increase of russets in 2015-16.
Shipments are increasing, but currently too light to quote freight rates.
Georgia Vegetable Shipments
While the volume doesn’t match that of spring and summer loadings, fall Georgia vegetable shipments are significant. A drawback may be multiple pick ups for lack of any one shipping having truckload volume at anyone time. Still, it is that time of year. Florida is dead and there’s not a lot of choices in the Southeast.
Generally speaking most fall Georgia vegetables are in the ground and harvest will be starting anytime. Heaviest volumes will be during October, although lighter shipments will be occurring in November and into December.
Among the fall veggie loading available are: bell peppers, squash, cabbage, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens (kale, collard, turnip and mustard), as well as carrots sweet potatoes and hot peppers.
Shipments are too light to get an accurate quote on freight rates.
Peruvian Onion Imports
Onion imports from Peru have started arriving at U.S. ports in light volume, but are increasing. Peru typically follows the Vidalia sweet onion season. The product from Southeastern Georgia enjoyed banner shipments this season and is virtually finished. Meanwhile, it’s making for a good transition to Peruvian imported onions, which will continue through the winter and dovetail into the sweet onion shipments that will be coming next spring out of Mexico and then Texas – and once again back to Vidalia.
Specialized carts designed to keep employees out on the floor culling produce and reducing wastage, is being implemented by Wal Mart Stores Inc., the latest step in a push to improve its fresh food offerings and revive sales growth, according to a recent news story by Reuters.
“Quality carts”, as they are being called by the world’s largest retailer, are being deloyed at 500 stores. There are plans to have them in all of its nearly 5,000 U.S. outlets by the end of the third quarter, Vice President for Central Operations Shana DeSmit told Reuters in an interview.
Equipped with weighing scales and a box to collect the discarded produce, the carts are being equipped weighing scales and a box to help employees carry out tasks that were typically carried out in the back room. With the carts, employees can sort fresh produce by removing items nearing expiration and weighing them to manage inventory counts and help with replenishment.
Wal-Mart’s service levels have suffered due to fewer employees in store interacting with consumers.
The retailer is introducing one such cart per store and will eventually add more, said DeSmit. The produce collected through the carts is either donated or sold through markdowns.
A renewed emphasis on fresh food, which includes produce, deli items, meat and baked goods, has been a crucial turnaround strategy under U.S Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran. Wal-Mart is the largest grocer in the United States, with nationwide sales of $167 billion in 2015.
Wal-Mart has started revamping the layout of the food section at 3,000 stores, in recent months, including supercenters and its smaller Neighborhood Market stores. It has taken steps such as lowering display cases and opening up floor space so that shoppers can see more clearly across the food area. It has replaced black plastic crates with ones that look like wood to give the store more of a farmer’s market feel.
In February, the retailer said it would hire hundreds of fresh food managers to improve its offerings. The company is on schedule to have such managers in a third of its stores nationwide by the end of the year, Wal-Mart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said.
By The Michigan Apple Committee
CHICAGO – Michigan’s apple growers will harvest approximately 31 million bushels (1.302 billion pounds) of apples this year, according to the official crop estimate announced August 26 at the USApple Outlook meeting in Chicago. This is an increase of 7 million bushels from last year, and would be a record-sized crop for Michigan.
“We have been seeing a steady increase in crop size each year,” said Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee. “This increase is in large part because of technological advancements, as well as an increase in the number of growers participating in high-density plantings (1,000 or more trees per acre).”
In 2015, Michigan growers harvested an about 24 million bushels of apples. Average Michigan apple harvest is about 22.83 million bushels per year. There are more than 11.3 million apple trees in commercial production, covering 35,500 acres on 825 family-run farms in Michigan.
“Michigan had favorable weather conditions for growing apples during spring and summer 2016. Growers are indicating that the crop is plentiful and looks beautiful as well. Thanks to plenty of heat during the summer, the flavor will be great, too.”
Michigan Apples are typically shipped from mid-August all the way through the following June. Michigan Apple packers and shippers work throughout the year to bring Michigan Apples to 27 states and 18 countries worldwide, according to Smith.
“Michigan Apple growers share a common goal of producing flavorful, high-quality apples,” said Smith. “They work with tree fruit researchers to implement the latest growing techniques and use new technology to monitor growing conditions. Michigan growers are committed to bringing the best quality fruit to the consumer.”
The Michigan Apple Committee is a grower-funded nonprofit organization devoted to marketing, education and research activities to distinguish the Michigan apple and encourage its consumption in Michigan and around the world. For more information, visit MichiganApples.com.
Michigan cucumbers and other vegetables – grossing about $900 to Chicago.
Late summer in the U.S. means increasing imports of items ranging from Canadian potatoes to various tropical fruits from several countries.
Prince Edward Island Potato Shipments
Prince Edward Island potato shipments from Eastern Canada could be down slightly this year due to less yields and planted acreage. Potato diggings typically start in late September. For example, Garden Isle Farms, Albany, Prince Edward Island, expects to begin digging the week of September 26th.
PEI potato growers have about 89,000 acres of potatoes were planted this year, 500 less than in 2015. PEI’s fresh-crop mix of russets, yellows, reds and whites should remain fairly steady, with the trend of fewer white potatoes continuing. Harvest should begin in the last week of September, with russets following at the beginning of October,
Processing markets may take a little higher percentage of the crop this year, with about 30 percent going to the fresh market. While some growers are looking at new yellow varieties, production still remains mostly russets.
Mango Imports
With Mexican imported mangos finishing the season within the next week or so, the focus will shift to Brazilian imported mangoes. Boats of Brazilian fruit began arriving at U.S. ports in August and should continue until November, with the peak volume coming in mid- to late October. Additionally imported mangoes are arriving from Ecuador and arrivals should hit record levels in late October or early November.
Pineapple Imports
Pineapples from Costa Rica face a normal production gap from mid-August to mid-September and it has been a so-so season due to weather factors.
Papaya Imports
Boat arrivals of golden papaya out of Brazil should experience increased volume by the second week of September. There also are papaya imports from Guatemala.
Lime Imports
Imported limes are arriving from Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia and Guatemala. Volumes are now increasing some, but are considered to be normal.
by Legion Logistics, LLC
Florence, KY – Legion Logistics, one of the region’s fastest growing third-party logistics providers, announced recently that they placed #513 on the Inc. 5000 list. This is the third straight year Legion has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list, and this year, they are the #1 company for growth in both Kentucky and the Cincinnati Region.
“I remember counting down the days until we could be eligible to be considered for the Inc. 5000 list.” Antony Coutsoftides, CEO and co-founder, says of this honor, “But now we have been ranked three years in a row and I continue to dream of ways we can improve our ranking in the nation and within our industry.”
The Inc. 500 is an annual list that began in 1982 ranking private companies that are booking the biggest sales growth throughout the year in their region. For 34 years, the Inc. 5000 list, an expansion of the Inc. 500, has been introducing and honoring the fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. and Legion has made the list three years in a row. This year, the magazine will formally congratulate all of the honorees at the Inc. 5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony in San Antonio, Texas in October.
Legion Logistics, LLC is a service disabled veteran-owned third-party logistics provider (3PL) based in Florence, Kentucky. What all those hyphens don’t tell you is that Legion is committed to exceptional customer service, fair dealings with trucking companies and an outstanding, veteran-friendly work environment. Founded in 2009, the Legion specializes in full truckload, less-than-truckload, government freight, hazardous materials and produce shipping. Learn more at jointhelegion.com.
Fairly normal shipments of U.S. apples is predicted this season, with the exception of one state that is expecting volume to rise by nearly one-third. Also, here’s a look at what to expect with potato shipments from Wisconsin.
Apple shipments in the U.S. this coming season should hit nearly 246 million bushels (42 pounds boxes) this fall, which is slightly over the five-year average. However, Michigan might edge out New York state as the second-leading apple producer and shipper for the first time, assuming the U.S. Apple Association’s annual forecast holds true to the end of the season.
The projection for U.S. apple shipments is 3 percent over the 2015 crop and the five-year average. This would make it the 11th-largest crop overall (with the USDA’s 248-million-bushel estimate). The estimate for Michigan apple shipments, at 31 million bushels, is 31 percent over its 2015 harvest, and exactly 1 million bushels higher than the apple association’s New York estimate for 2016.
The association’s Washington crop estimate of 149 million bushels (USDA’s is 152.4 million) is a 5 percent increase from last season’s shipments and 1 percent less than the state’s five-year average.
While production has been increasing in recent years, bearing acreage has dropped significantly in recent years due to higher yields per acre.
“We’re still growing the same sized crops, in fact, in the last five or six years we’ve had some of the bigger crops in history, with the 2014 crop of 272 (million bushels) just a shade below the record crop of 1998,” the apple association said. In four of the past five years, the association’s estimates have been closer than the USDA’s, which is released in the month before the annual Outlook conference.
Wisconsin Potato Shipments
This is a more normal year. Last year, Wisconsin had very high yields and a bumper crop.
In each of the last two seasons, Wisconsin growers have produced about 63,000 acres of potatoes. But in the booming production of 2015, there was an average of 460 bags per acre. This year the average will still be strong at 430 100-pound bags per acre. The total production for 2015 was 28.98 million hundredweight. This year this number is expected to be 27 million.
The vast majority of the acreage is harvested in September.
U.S. potato crop will be close to last year in shipments, or down no more than 1 or 2 percent.
Central Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $1000 to Chicago.
Merchants in the Hunts Point Terminal Market continue talking about new and modern facilities, but in reality they are going nowhere. Realistically, construction of such a facility will never happen.
For example, look at the 20014 agreement signed by market officials and the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which renewed the wholesale market’s lease for seven years.
There also have been major improvements by large produce wholesalers such as Nathel & Nathel Inc., S. Katzman Produce Inc., and E. Armata Inc., which operates from 24.5 market units and has made large investments into its facilities.
These wholesale distributors are not wasting their monies. When you see companies spending this kind of money, you know Hunts Point isn’t going anywhere.
The historic Hunts Point neighborhood location in the South Bronx, provides an ideal location for the facility because it is close to New York City’s area metropolitan boroughs.
There has been talk about a new market in New York for more than a decade.
How would you get all of these merchants into the new market over time or at the same time? I don’t foresee any change.”
“There’s been a lot of talk about this market moving or rebuilding,” said Sheldon Nathel, vice president of Nathel & Nathel recently. “This has been going on for 13-14 years. A lot of the people on the market seem to be putting a lot more money into their stores lately. We followed suit. Who knows where this market will be in five years?”
Federal government monies are being actively pursed by Hunts Point leaders to upgrade the world’s largest fresh produce terminal. There are 22 million people in the Tri-State area that Hunts Point serves.
The facilities at Hunts Point are antiquated and everything from old plumbing to grid lock is constantly causing problems. There often are electrical lines reported exploding and transformers breaking for lack of capacity.
Mushroom loadings increased in the United States during the past year. Additionally, looking at other types of shipments, here are updates on California grapes and Pennsylvania apples.
Mushroom shipments increased during the 2015-16 season, with about 946 million pounds of mushrooms were moved in 2015-16. This was a 2 perecent increase for the pervious season, according to the USDA.
The value of this season’s crop, at $1.19 billion, was down less than 1 perecent from 2014-15, while the average price for mushrooms in 2015-16, $1.26 per pound, which was two cents lower than the season before.
About 346 producers grew mushrooms in the U.S. in 2015-16, 12 fewer than the year before.
Agaricus mushroom volumes in 2015-16 totaled 922 million pounds, 2 percent more than the season before. As has historically been the case, Pennsylvania accounted for 64 percent of total shipments with California a distant second at 12 percent.
The agaricus crop was valued at $1.1 billion, down 2 percent from 2014-15. About 165 million pounds of portabello, crimini and other brown mushrooms were shipped this season, 3 percent more than last season.
The specialty mushroom category, which includes shiitakes, oysters and other varieties, registered the biggest value gain by percentage in 2015-16. Specialty sales rose 30 percent this season to $95 million. The average price, $3.94 per pound was up 40 percent.
California Grape Shipments
California grape shipments are comparable to last year at the same time. Through August 27th, about 1.78 billion pounds of grapes had been shipped in the U.S. for the season, down from 1.88 billion pounds last year at the same time.
In the week ending August 27, about 74 million pounds shipped, down from 82.5 million pounds in the same week last year.
San Joaquin Valley grapes, stone fruit and tomatoes – grossing about $5000 to Atlanta.
Pennsylvania Apple Shipments
Pennsylvania apple shipments should be normal, putting it at around its five-year average. This is approximately 10 million bushels. Harvest started the third week of August in most areas of the state and should be finished by early November. Pennsylvania has about 275 growers.
The national shipping outlook for sweet potatoes is looking good for the up coming season. Meanwhile, here’s a look at the soaring shipments of a newer apple variety.
Mississippi’s sweet potato crop has experienced a rise from 23,200 acres in 2015 to about 25,500 acres this year. Diggings are just getting underway.
In Louisiana, most of the damaging floods apparently occurred south of the sweet potato fields in the state. In North Carolina (with more than 80,000 acres of production), sweet potatoes is easily the nation’s major player and has a much bigger role than Louisiana, which has less than 9,000 acres.
more than two feet of rain have fallen. By Aug. 23, after it finally stops raining, it will be four or five days before crews can even get into fields, Vead said.
North Carolina ships about 53 percent of the nation’s sweet potatoes because the climate in North Carolina is ideal for growing product. The USDA’s report in March 2016, intended plantings of sweet potatoes nationally are up almost 8 percent (169,400 acres for 2016 crop compared to 156,900 for 2015 crop) with the largest increase coming from North Carolina with almost a 21 percent increase (105,000 for 2016, 87,000 for 2015).
North Carolina’s harvesting started in mid August runs through early November. The new crop will start being shipping around late September to early October.
Honeycrisp Apples
The 2015 season Washington State saw fresh market Honeycrisp shipments at about 8.5 million cartons. The 2015 season was aided by controlled-atmosphere storages allowing Honeycrisp apples to be shipped into late July. This is due to the technology of storing the variety, which has seen marked improvement in the past few years. Retail pricing of Honeycrisp ranged from $2.99 to $3.99 per pound for most of the 2015-16 season, meaning that supermarkets were making $160 gross for product on product that cost about $80 per carton.
You’ll be seeing more of the Honeycrisp variety in the future as the apple industry has an abundance of baby trees in the ground. Some observers see the total apple industry shipping 12 million boxes of Honeycrisp this fall.
Yakima Valley apples – grossing about $6,000 to New York City.
Supermarkets remain a “powerhouse in fresh,” despite an ever-growing variety of food shopping outlets, especially fresh produce, which resides as a “supermarket stronghold” among 68 percent of shoppers.
According to Anne-Marie Roerink, who reviewed the results of the Food Marketing Institute’s second annual Power of Produce report, Supercenters (16 percent) are the second most popular outlet for fresh produce purchases, followed next by warehouse clubs (5 percent).
Highlights of this year’s produce shopper study found nearly 25 percent of shoppers switch outlets when purchasing fresh produce versus the bulk of groceries, primarily to full-service supermarkets, farmers’ markets/produce stands and specialty organic stores.
Roerink, principal of 210 Analytics, which prepared the “mega trends” produce study, warned that younger generations are drawn to alternative channels. She sees this as “a red flag for traditional retailers, as losing the produce basket may result in losing additional spending in center store.”
Ringing up a whopping $61 billion in annual sales, fresh produce is in hot demand with no signs of a slow down. Powered by a 4 percent growth rate, the category is a lucrative and influential element for grocery baskets, which average nearly $30 more with fresh produce than one without.
Beyond price, the most successful incremental produce purchase drivers, per the Power of Produce study, include:
- Eye-catching displays, which are extremely influential
- Produce cross-merchandised in other parts of the store
- Impulse through ideation, including recipes, serving ideas and sampling
- Education/information, especially nutrition call-outs that are relevant to the audience
Notably, consumers are placing increased value on transparency – how and where the crop was grown – as evidenced by how support for the local farmers/economy overtook perceived freshness as the top reason for buying locally-grown. This sentiment also applies double-digit sales gains for organic fresh produce and an expressed need for “free-from” products. Still, organic remains a niche segment to date, according to the Power of Produce consumer research study, reflecting 8 percent of total produce sales, with usage skewing to the more affluent shoppers and families with children.
As we approach fall, here is a look at the upcoming possibilities for fall loadings for Colorado potatoes, Georgia vegetables and imports of sweet onions from Peru.
Colorado Potato Shipments
Last year San Luis Valley Colorado potatoes were harvested off of 52,000 acres. This year acreage is about 50,900 acres.
Diggings started for some growers in August, with the harvest running into mid-October. There were 2,176 truck loads shipped during the 2015-16 season, down about 400 loads from the previous season. Russets account for nearly 99 percent of the crop last year and 97 percent in 2014-15.
Yellows last year were 0.2 percent, down slightly from 0.3 in 2014-15. Interestingly, yellows have declined since 2013, dropping 0.1percent each year. Red potatoes were 1 percent last year and 2.6 percent the year before, showing an increase of russets in 2015-16.
Shipments are increasing, but currently too light to quote freight rates.
Georgia Vegetable Shipments
While the volume doesn’t match that of spring and summer loadings, fall Georgia vegetable shipments are significant. A drawback may be multiple pick ups for lack of any one shipping having truckload volume at anyone time. Still, it is that time of year. Florida is dead and there’s not a lot of choices in the Southeast.
Generally speaking most fall Georgia vegetables are in the ground and harvest will be starting anytime. Heaviest volumes will be during October, although lighter shipments will be occurring in November and into December.
Among the fall veggie loading available are: bell peppers, squash, cabbage, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens (kale, collard, turnip and mustard), as well as carrots sweet potatoes and hot peppers.
Shipments are too light to get an accurate quote on freight rates.
Peruvian Onion Imports
Onion imports from Peru have started arriving at U.S. ports in light volume, but are increasing. Peru typically follows the Vidalia sweet onion season. The product from Southeastern Georgia enjoyed banner shipments this season and is virtually finished. Meanwhile, it’s making for a good transition to Peruvian imported onions, which will continue through the winter and dovetail into the sweet onion shipments that will be coming next spring out of Mexico and then Texas – and once again back to Vidalia.
Specialized carts designed to keep employees out on the floor culling produce and reducing wastage, is being implemented by Wal Mart Stores Inc., the latest step in a push to improve its fresh food offerings and revive sales growth, according to a recent news story by Reuters.
“Quality carts”, as they are being called by the world’s largest retailer, are being deloyed at 500 stores. There are plans to have them in all of its nearly 5,000 U.S. outlets by the end of the third quarter, Vice President for Central Operations Shana DeSmit told Reuters in an interview.
Equipped with weighing scales and a box to collect the discarded produce, the carts are being equipped weighing scales and a box to help employees carry out tasks that were typically carried out in the back room. With the carts, employees can sort fresh produce by removing items nearing expiration and weighing them to manage inventory counts and help with replenishment.
Wal-Mart’s service levels have suffered due to fewer employees in store interacting with consumers.
The retailer is introducing one such cart per store and will eventually add more, said DeSmit. The produce collected through the carts is either donated or sold through markdowns.
A renewed emphasis on fresh food, which includes produce, deli items, meat and baked goods, has been a crucial turnaround strategy under U.S Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran. Wal-Mart is the largest grocer in the United States, with nationwide sales of $167 billion in 2015.
Wal-Mart has started revamping the layout of the food section at 3,000 stores, in recent months, including supercenters and its smaller Neighborhood Market stores. It has taken steps such as lowering display cases and opening up floor space so that shoppers can see more clearly across the food area. It has replaced black plastic crates with ones that look like wood to give the store more of a farmer’s market feel.
In February, the retailer said it would hire hundreds of fresh food managers to improve its offerings. The company is on schedule to have such managers in a third of its stores nationwide by the end of the year, Wal-Mart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said.
By The Michigan Apple Committee
CHICAGO – Michigan’s apple growers will harvest approximately 31 million bushels (1.302 billion pounds) of apples this year, according to the official crop estimate announced August 26 at the USApple Outlook meeting in Chicago. This is an increase of 7 million bushels from last year, and would be a record-sized crop for Michigan.
“We have been seeing a steady increase in crop size each year,” said Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee. “This increase is in large part because of technological advancements, as well as an increase in the number of growers participating in high-density plantings (1,000 or more trees per acre).”
In 2015, Michigan growers harvested an about 24 million bushels of apples. Average Michigan apple harvest is about 22.83 million bushels per year. There are more than 11.3 million apple trees in commercial production, covering 35,500 acres on 825 family-run farms in Michigan.
“Michigan had favorable weather conditions for growing apples during spring and summer 2016. Growers are indicating that the crop is plentiful and looks beautiful as well. Thanks to plenty of heat during the summer, the flavor will be great, too.”
Michigan Apples are typically shipped from mid-August all the way through the following June. Michigan Apple packers and shippers work throughout the year to bring Michigan Apples to 27 states and 18 countries worldwide, according to Smith.
“Michigan Apple growers share a common goal of producing flavorful, high-quality apples,” said Smith. “They work with tree fruit researchers to implement the latest growing techniques and use new technology to monitor growing conditions. Michigan growers are committed to bringing the best quality fruit to the consumer.”
The Michigan Apple Committee is a grower-funded nonprofit organization devoted to marketing, education and research activities to distinguish the Michigan apple and encourage its consumption in Michigan and around the world. For more information, visit MichiganApples.com.
Michigan cucumbers and other vegetables – grossing about $900 to Chicago.
Late summer in the U.S. means increasing imports of items ranging from Canadian potatoes to various tropical fruits from several countries.
Prince Edward Island Potato Shipments
Prince Edward Island potato shipments from Eastern Canada could be down slightly this year due to less yields and planted acreage. Potato diggings typically start in late September. For example, Garden Isle Farms, Albany, Prince Edward Island, expects to begin digging the week of September 26th.
PEI potato growers have about 89,000 acres of potatoes were planted this year, 500 less than in 2015. PEI’s fresh-crop mix of russets, yellows, reds and whites should remain fairly steady, with the trend of fewer white potatoes continuing. Harvest should begin in the last week of September, with russets following at the beginning of October,
Processing markets may take a little higher percentage of the crop this year, with about 30 percent going to the fresh market. While some growers are looking at new yellow varieties, production still remains mostly russets.
Mango Imports
With Mexican imported mangos finishing the season within the next week or so, the focus will shift to Brazilian imported mangoes. Boats of Brazilian fruit began arriving at U.S. ports in August and should continue until November, with the peak volume coming in mid- to late October. Additionally imported mangoes are arriving from Ecuador and arrivals should hit record levels in late October or early November.
Pineapple Imports
Pineapples from Costa Rica face a normal production gap from mid-August to mid-September and it has been a so-so season due to weather factors.
Papaya Imports
Boat arrivals of golden papaya out of Brazil should experience increased volume by the second week of September. There also are papaya imports from Guatemala.
Lime Imports
Imported limes are arriving from Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia and Guatemala. Volumes are now increasing some, but are considered to be normal.
by Legion Logistics, LLC
Florence, KY – Legion Logistics, one of the region’s fastest growing third-party logistics providers, announced recently that they placed #513 on the Inc. 5000 list. This is the third straight year Legion has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list, and this year, they are the #1 company for growth in both Kentucky and the Cincinnati Region.
“I remember counting down the days until we could be eligible to be considered for the Inc. 5000 list.” Antony Coutsoftides, CEO and co-founder, says of this honor, “But now we have been ranked three years in a row and I continue to dream of ways we can improve our ranking in the nation and within our industry.”
The Inc. 500 is an annual list that began in 1982 ranking private companies that are booking the biggest sales growth throughout the year in their region. For 34 years, the Inc. 5000 list, an expansion of the Inc. 500, has been introducing and honoring the fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. and Legion has made the list three years in a row. This year, the magazine will formally congratulate all of the honorees at the Inc. 5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony in San Antonio, Texas in October.
Legion Logistics, LLC is a service disabled veteran-owned third-party logistics provider (3PL) based in Florence, Kentucky. What all those hyphens don’t tell you is that Legion is committed to exceptional customer service, fair dealings with trucking companies and an outstanding, veteran-friendly work environment. Founded in 2009, the Legion specializes in full truckload, less-than-truckload, government freight, hazardous materials and produce shipping. Learn more at jointhelegion.com.
Fairly normal shipments of U.S. apples is predicted this season, with the exception of one state that is expecting volume to rise by nearly one-third. Also, here’s a look at what to expect with potato shipments from Wisconsin.
Apple shipments in the U.S. this coming season should hit nearly 246 million bushels (42 pounds boxes) this fall, which is slightly over the five-year average. However, Michigan might edge out New York state as the second-leading apple producer and shipper for the first time, assuming the U.S. Apple Association’s annual forecast holds true to the end of the season.
The projection for U.S. apple shipments is 3 percent over the 2015 crop and the five-year average. This would make it the 11th-largest crop overall (with the USDA’s 248-million-bushel estimate). The estimate for Michigan apple shipments, at 31 million bushels, is 31 percent over its 2015 harvest, and exactly 1 million bushels higher than the apple association’s New York estimate for 2016.
The association’s Washington crop estimate of 149 million bushels (USDA’s is 152.4 million) is a 5 percent increase from last season’s shipments and 1 percent less than the state’s five-year average.
While production has been increasing in recent years, bearing acreage has dropped significantly in recent years due to higher yields per acre.
“We’re still growing the same sized crops, in fact, in the last five or six years we’ve had some of the bigger crops in history, with the 2014 crop of 272 (million bushels) just a shade below the record crop of 1998,” the apple association said. In four of the past five years, the association’s estimates have been closer than the USDA’s, which is released in the month before the annual Outlook conference.
Wisconsin Potato Shipments
This is a more normal year. Last year, Wisconsin had very high yields and a bumper crop.
In each of the last two seasons, Wisconsin growers have produced about 63,000 acres of potatoes. But in the booming production of 2015, there was an average of 460 bags per acre. This year the average will still be strong at 430 100-pound bags per acre. The total production for 2015 was 28.98 million hundredweight. This year this number is expected to be 27 million.
The vast majority of the acreage is harvested in September.
U.S. potato crop will be close to last year in shipments, or down no more than 1 or 2 percent.
Central Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $1000 to Chicago.
Merchants in the Hunts Point Terminal Market continue talking about new and modern facilities, but in reality they are going nowhere. Realistically, construction of such a facility will never happen.
For example, look at the 20014 agreement signed by market officials and the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which renewed the wholesale market’s lease for seven years.
There also have been major improvements by large produce wholesalers such as Nathel & Nathel Inc., S. Katzman Produce Inc., and E. Armata Inc., which operates from 24.5 market units and has made large investments into its facilities.
These wholesale distributors are not wasting their monies. When you see companies spending this kind of money, you know Hunts Point isn’t going anywhere.
The historic Hunts Point neighborhood location in the South Bronx, provides an ideal location for the facility because it is close to New York City’s area metropolitan boroughs.
There has been talk about a new market in New York for more than a decade.
How would you get all of these merchants into the new market over time or at the same time? I don’t foresee any change.”
“There’s been a lot of talk about this market moving or rebuilding,” said Sheldon Nathel, vice president of Nathel & Nathel recently. “This has been going on for 13-14 years. A lot of the people on the market seem to be putting a lot more money into their stores lately. We followed suit. Who knows where this market will be in five years?”
Federal government monies are being actively pursed by Hunts Point leaders to upgrade the world’s largest fresh produce terminal. There are 22 million people in the Tri-State area that Hunts Point serves.
The facilities at Hunts Point are antiquated and everything from old plumbing to grid lock is constantly causing problems. There often are electrical lines reported exploding and transformers breaking for lack of capacity.
Mushroom loadings increased in the United States during the past year. Additionally, looking at other types of shipments, here are updates on California grapes and Pennsylvania apples.
Mushroom shipments increased during the 2015-16 season, with about 946 million pounds of mushrooms were moved in 2015-16. This was a 2 perecent increase for the pervious season, according to the USDA.
The value of this season’s crop, at $1.19 billion, was down less than 1 perecent from 2014-15, while the average price for mushrooms in 2015-16, $1.26 per pound, which was two cents lower than the season before.
About 346 producers grew mushrooms in the U.S. in 2015-16, 12 fewer than the year before.
Agaricus mushroom volumes in 2015-16 totaled 922 million pounds, 2 percent more than the season before. As has historically been the case, Pennsylvania accounted for 64 percent of total shipments with California a distant second at 12 percent.
The agaricus crop was valued at $1.1 billion, down 2 percent from 2014-15. About 165 million pounds of portabello, crimini and other brown mushrooms were shipped this season, 3 percent more than last season.
The specialty mushroom category, which includes shiitakes, oysters and other varieties, registered the biggest value gain by percentage in 2015-16. Specialty sales rose 30 percent this season to $95 million. The average price, $3.94 per pound was up 40 percent.
California Grape Shipments
California grape shipments are comparable to last year at the same time. Through August 27th, about 1.78 billion pounds of grapes had been shipped in the U.S. for the season, down from 1.88 billion pounds last year at the same time.
In the week ending August 27, about 74 million pounds shipped, down from 82.5 million pounds in the same week last year.
San Joaquin Valley grapes, stone fruit and tomatoes – grossing about $5000 to Atlanta.
Pennsylvania Apple Shipments
Pennsylvania apple shipments should be normal, putting it at around its five-year average. This is approximately 10 million bushels. Harvest started the third week of August in most areas of the state and should be finished by early November. Pennsylvania has about 275 growers.
The national shipping outlook for sweet potatoes is looking good for the up coming season. Meanwhile, here’s a look at the soaring shipments of a newer apple variety.
Mississippi’s sweet potato crop has experienced a rise from 23,200 acres in 2015 to about 25,500 acres this year. Diggings are just getting underway.
In Louisiana, most of the damaging floods apparently occurred south of the sweet potato fields in the state. In North Carolina (with more than 80,000 acres of production), sweet potatoes is easily the nation’s major player and has a much bigger role than Louisiana, which has less than 9,000 acres.
more than two feet of rain have fallen. By Aug. 23, after it finally stops raining, it will be four or five days before crews can even get into fields, Vead said.
North Carolina ships about 53 percent of the nation’s sweet potatoes because the climate in North Carolina is ideal for growing product. The USDA’s report in March 2016, intended plantings of sweet potatoes nationally are up almost 8 percent (169,400 acres for 2016 crop compared to 156,900 for 2015 crop) with the largest increase coming from North Carolina with almost a 21 percent increase (105,000 for 2016, 87,000 for 2015).
North Carolina’s harvesting started in mid August runs through early November. The new crop will start being shipping around late September to early October.
Honeycrisp Apples
The 2015 season Washington State saw fresh market Honeycrisp shipments at about 8.5 million cartons. The 2015 season was aided by controlled-atmosphere storages allowing Honeycrisp apples to be shipped into late July. This is due to the technology of storing the variety, which has seen marked improvement in the past few years. Retail pricing of Honeycrisp ranged from $2.99 to $3.99 per pound for most of the 2015-16 season, meaning that supermarkets were making $160 gross for product on product that cost about $80 per carton.
You’ll be seeing more of the Honeycrisp variety in the future as the apple industry has an abundance of baby trees in the ground. Some observers see the total apple industry shipping 12 million boxes of Honeycrisp this fall.
Yakima Valley apples – grossing about $6,000 to New York City.
Supermarkets remain a “powerhouse in fresh,” despite an ever-growing variety of food shopping outlets, especially fresh produce, which resides as a “supermarket stronghold” among 68 percent of shoppers.
According to Anne-Marie Roerink, who reviewed the results of the Food Marketing Institute’s second annual Power of Produce report, Supercenters (16 percent) are the second most popular outlet for fresh produce purchases, followed next by warehouse clubs (5 percent).
Highlights of this year’s produce shopper study found nearly 25 percent of shoppers switch outlets when purchasing fresh produce versus the bulk of groceries, primarily to full-service supermarkets, farmers’ markets/produce stands and specialty organic stores.
Roerink, principal of 210 Analytics, which prepared the “mega trends” produce study, warned that younger generations are drawn to alternative channels. She sees this as “a red flag for traditional retailers, as losing the produce basket may result in losing additional spending in center store.”
Ringing up a whopping $61 billion in annual sales, fresh produce is in hot demand with no signs of a slow down. Powered by a 4 percent growth rate, the category is a lucrative and influential element for grocery baskets, which average nearly $30 more with fresh produce than one without.
Beyond price, the most successful incremental produce purchase drivers, per the Power of Produce study, include:
- Eye-catching displays, which are extremely influential
- Produce cross-merchandised in other parts of the store
- Impulse through ideation, including recipes, serving ideas and sampling
- Education/information, especially nutrition call-outs that are relevant to the audience
Notably, consumers are placing increased value on transparency – how and where the crop was grown – as evidenced by how support for the local farmers/economy overtook perceived freshness as the top reason for buying locally-grown. This sentiment also applies double-digit sales gains for organic fresh produce and an expressed need for “free-from” products. Still, organic remains a niche segment to date, according to the Power of Produce consumer research study, reflecting 8 percent of total produce sales, with usage skewing to the more affluent shoppers and families with children.