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Florida spring produce shipments continue to roll along, while Georgia is starting to show signs of life.
Over a 1,000 truck loads of mature green, plum and roma tomatoes are being shipped weekly from central and southern portions of Florida. Over 700 trucks loads of sweet corn also are be loaded each week, while good volume also is found with potatoes, bell peppers, cabbage and cucumbers. Dozens of other spring veggies also are being shipped in smaller quantities.
April has seen a big increase in volumes of Florida blueberry shipments. In late March there was virtually no movement, but volume exploded the week of April 6th as shipments took off. However, peak volumes in Florida should start tapering off this week. Total Florida blueberry shipments could be 5 to 7 million pounds above last season.
Florida vegetable shipments – grossing about $3200 to New York City, $2700 to Chicago.
Georgia Produce Shipments
Georgia now is shipping blueberries in light, but increasing volume. Other Georgia produce shipments are mostly light with items ranging from carrots to greens (collards, kale, mustard, turnips, etc.) . There is light, but increasing volume with squash. Cabbage remains light, but should be in good volume by the week of May 4th.
Vidalia onion shipments are increasing, hitting good volume by early May. Peaches from the Fort Valley area should start the third week of May.
While we tend to focus more on imported produce during the winter months when Southern Hemisphere fruits and vegetables are in good production, there is still a substantial amount of product crossing our borders or arriving at ports.
Mangos have become a major commodity over the past couple of decades in America and there currently are larger-than-normal volumes expected from Mexico during the second quarter of 2015. Mexican mango imports will be approximately 36 million boxes during Q2 of 2015, which is about 10 percent more compared to approximately 33 million boxes of mangos imported during the same period from Mexico a year ago.
Additionally, Mexican mango imports in Q2 of 2015 are expected to be 3 percent higher than in 2013, which is the year that had the highest volume of Mexican mango imports on record. The tropical fruit is crossing the border both at Nogales and in South Texas.
Peruvian Avocados
Peruvian avocado exporters expect to ship 204,000 tons of fruit for the 2015 season, an increase of more than 16,000 tons from the 2014 season. Over 71,000 of those tons will be destined for the U.S. market, arriving primarily at East Coast ports. Hass avocados will begin in late April, with production hitting its stride in the summer months and winding down in September.
Nogales Produce Shipments
Mexican imports through Nogales are past a peak for the year, but there is still substantial product, ranging from cucumbers to melons, squash and peppers. The first Mexican grapes should start crossing the border any time now.
Lower Rio Grand Valley Produce
Mexican produce items crossing the border in South Texas range from watermelons to papayas. Texas items range from sweet onions to citrus and cabbage.
Apple shipments, an amazing amount: 61 million bushels fresh-market apples had yet to ship as of April 1, an astounding 27 percent more than last year at the same time.
The April total also was 37 percent higher than the five-year average. As usual, Washington accounted for about 55 million bushels of the fresh-market apples still in storage. New York had 2.4 million bushels, Michigan 2 million bushels and Pennsylvania 694,000 bushels.
The big numbers apply to all major apple varieties. About 23.4 million bushels of red delicious had yet to ship, up from 17.5 million bushels.
Galas still to be shipped increased from 6.7 million to 9.7 million bushels, granny smith from 7 million to 7.2 million bushels, golden delicious from 5.4 million to 6.6 million bushels, fuji from 4.6 million to 5.7 million bushels, Pink Lady from 1.4 million to 1.9 million bushels and Honeycrisp from 329,000 to 670,000 bushels.
Michigan apples – grossing about $900 to Chicago.
Hudson Valley, NY apples – grossing about $1600 to Baltimore.
Yakima Valley, WA apples – grossing about $6700 to New York City.
Apricot Shipments
In an average year California ships about 1.5 million 24-pound packages of apricots. Harvest should get underway in the southern San Joaquin Valley in late April and moves up the state’s Central Valley throughout the spring and early summer.
California apricot shipments, which tend to mirror California cherry shipments, should be finished by the end of June.
Around 400 growers produce apricots from orchards covering 21,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley and Northern California. About 95 percent of the apricots grown in the United States come from California.
While the Nogales port of entry has under gone major upgrades during the past couple of years, there’s concerns that although trucks from Mexico are crossing the border more efficiently, once they get into Arizona, there’s gridlock getting out of town to deliver loads of fresh produce to points across North America.
Last January, for example, two 18-wheelers collided on Grand Avenue in route to Nogales and nearby Rio Rico warehouses. Traffic was brought to a screeching halt. The upgrades to the border crossing allows for more inspections to be made faster, but the growing gridlock getting to distribution warehouses, not to mention leaving town, causes plenty of headaches for produce handlers and produce truckers alike.
As a result Nogales produce shippers as well as the locally based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas are pushing state and federal government officials for major upgrades that would allow big rigs to get from the border to Interstate 19 without running into any traffic lights or making the steep climb onto the highway from Mariposa Road.
The state of Arizona has budgeted $6 million for a feasibility study. Some estimates for the total project have ranged from $60 million to $150 million.
Supporters are calling for construction of a “fly over” bypass allowing trucks to get from the border to Interstate 19. In addition to the flyover, the project would include improvements to Exits 12 and 17 in Rio Rico, the exits for many of the Nogales area’s distributors.
The Nogales port of entry now has a capacity for 4,000 vehicles a day, but even during peak times of the year, only about 1,800 vehicles are crossing daily.
Carrier Transicold of Athens, GA is celebrating a double anniversary this year: 75 years of Carrier road transport refrigeration innovation and the 45th anniversary of the Carrier Transicold business. Carrier Transicold helps improve global transport and shipping of temperature controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment for refrigerated trucks, trailers and containers, and is a part of UTC Building & Industrial Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
“Carrier’s history encompasses more than a century of innovation in air conditioning and refrigeration, and pioneering achievements in truck and trailer refrigeration have been an integral part of this story,” said David Appel, president, Carrier Transicold & Refrigeration Systems. “Now in our 75th year of providing products for road transport refrigeration, we continue to drive the industry forward with highperformance, environmentally sustainable refrigeration solutions.”
The Carrier Transicold brand was formed in 1970, when Carrier acquired the California-based transport refrigeration equipment maker Transicold Co. and combined it with its Special Products Division, which had experience in trucking applications extending back to 1940. The business was responsible for all types of transport refrigeration, including ocean-going container refrigeration that it had pioneered in 1968.
Carrier’s first foray into truck refrigeration in 1940 included the application of its model 7K refrigeration compressors in early systems. Although haulers had experimented with mechanical refrigeration since the 1920s, most transport refrigeration methods by 1940 still used ice/salt or dry-ice/gravity flow refrigeration systems.
The initial success with the rugged 7K compressor led to the development of a complete truck refrigeration system for trucks and trailers, Carrier’s Type 68D unit. Available in two sizes, the Type 68D used a four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to a high-speed compressor. The relatively compact and adjustment-free unit boasted minimal moving parts, making it durable enough for the often rough conditions encountered by refrigerated trucks with bodies ranging up to 35 feet in length. The logistical improvement eliminated the need for haulers to replenish ice and assured more uniform temperature control over greater distances, helping to pave the way for long-haul refrigerated trucking.
Today, streamlined designs with minimal moving parts remain hallmarks of Carrier Transicold systems, as demonstrated by Vector™ trailer units, featuring EDrive™, all-electric refrigeration technology and Carrier’s X4™ series of mechanical trailer units, which have a reputation for high capacity, reliability and ease of service. In contrast to those early systems, today’s transport refrigeration units provide cooling power to haul perishable and frozen loads in 53-foot trailers, intermodal containers and railcars ranging up to 72 feet in interior length. Recent innovations from Carrier Transicold, driven by Tier 4 engine emissions regulations, have further improved fuel economy and reduced carbon emissions.
“Our X4 series and Vector trailer units and our Supra truck refrigeration units deliver the high capacities that our customers require, while also enhancing the sustainability profiles of their operations,” said Appel. “Benefits include low total cost of ownership and compliance with transport refrigeration emissions regulations.”
Carrier Transicold’s operations have expanded worldwide, with manufacturing facilities located in Athens, Ga., Rouen, France, Singapore and Shanghai. Today, Carrier Transicold plays a growing role as a critical link in enhancing the efficiency of the cold-chain, ensuring that perishables such as food and pharmaceuticals reach consumers in developed and developing countries.
“Our products have long served an important need delivering food and other temperature-sensitive goods to expanding population centers,” said Appel. “It’s a heritage we’re proud of and one that we intend to build further upon with more sustainable and innovative transport refrigeration solutions. It is this higher purpose that motivates and excites us to continue.”
(The purveyor of this website has written off and on for decades about railroads hauling produce. More specifically, stories about how the rails often lacked an understanding of perishables transportation, as well as not making it a priority. If the following lawsuit has merit this could prove to be another example of the risks involved in transporting perishable fruits and vegetables by rail.)
A multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against BNSF Railway Co., blaming the railroad for the failure of the refrigerated rail service for fresh produce has been filed by Steven Lawson, former president and CEO of Cold Train, and Mike Lerner, former managing member of the company. Both claim they had to shut down their rail service for fresh produce because BNSF failed to meet its promise for 72-hour delivery times.
Seeking $1 million in damages, the case was filed in federal court in Spokane, WA recently.
The lawuit alleges that the 72-hour “on-time percentage” steadily dropped from 92% in August 2013 to 3% in April 2014 because BNSF was favoring oil and coal over fresh produce in its scheduling. This resulted in Cold Train losing most of its fresh produce business, including apples, onions, pears, potatoes, carrots and cherries, which was more than 70% of the company’s business, the complaint alleges.
“The shutdown of Cold Train was caused by a significant slowdown in BNSF’s service schedules on its northern corridor line beginning in the fall of 2013 because of increased rail congestion as a result of BNSF hauling larger volumes of oil and coal from the Northern Plains region,” according to the April 7 news release.
A spokeswoman for the railroad said as of April 8 BNSF had not been served with the complaint and therefore its officials could not comment on specific allegations.
“But any suggestion that BNSF would intentionally seek to cause harm to any customer runs completely contrary to how BNSF conducts business,” BNSF communications director Amy Casas said.
“BNSF did experience well documented service issues following unprecedented demand levels and historic winter weather events beginning late in 2013, but we worked to remedy those situations and regularly communicated with our customers throughout the period so that they could anticipate when service would improve and plan accordingly.”
Cold Train shipped approximately 300 containers a month in 2011, according to the release. By 2013 it was shipping 700 per month with a goal of 1,000 per month by the end of that year. BNSF required the Cold Train to acquire a minimum of 111 refrigerated containers.
“BNSF also required the Cold Train to ship a minimum of 95% of the Cold Train’s entire container movements with BNSF, effectively prohibiting the Cold Train from using other carriers,” according to the news release.
By May 2012, Cold Train had 175 containers in service with another 100 on order for delivery in January 2013. Cold Train continued to purchase and lease containers, and by September 2013, the company had over 400 refrigerated shipping containers in service.
“In March 2014, representatives of Cold Train and Federated Railways Inc. met with BNSF representatives in Fort Worth to discuss the Cold Train’s business and its future with BNSF. At the meeting, BNSF continued to encourage Cold Train and Federated to proceed with the sale. Immediately after the meeting, Federated provided Cold Train a $1.25 million capital infusion based solely on that meeting, and announced that it was acquiring Cold Train,” according to the news release.
Ultimately Federated withdrew its offer to buy Cold Train. Lerner and Lawson contend they had to “walk away with nothing” from a business that had been worth more than $30 million before April 2014.
Produce truckers should find good seasons ahead for two of Georgia most popular agricultural commodities – Vidalia sweet onions and peaches.
The largest amount of Vidalia onion shipments is expected since 2011. The industry may ship at least 5 million 40-pound equivalents this year, which would be close to its 10-year average. In other words, an average size crop is seen. The past three years have been rough on Vidalia onion shipments because of downy mildew, seed stems and freezing temperatures hitting shortly before harvest in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The reported total volumes shipped in the past three seasons were:
- 2012 — 4.4 million 40-pound equivalents;
- 2013 — 5.6 million 40-pound equivalents;
- 2014 — 4.7 million 40-pound equivalents.
Georgia Peach Shipments
Growers anticipate seeing the first shipments of fruit the week of May 18th. Varieties include the Flavorich, which will start around Memorial Day, all the way to the August Prince in late August. Weather has been on the side of Georgia peach growers so far this year. Each year, Georgia produces more than 80 million pounds of the fruit from mid-May to mid-August, and the vast majority of fruit is picked, packed and shipped the same day.
90 percent of Georgia Peaches are grown in a 10,000-acre area known as the Fort Valley Plateau.
By TransFresh Corporation
TransFresh® Corporation of Salinas, CA has announced that usage has expanded for its high velocity Tectrol® application systems, recently placed in multiple cooler locations ahead of peak Strawberry production, increasing efficiency and throughput for berries bound for US and Canadian markets.
According to TransFresh, the specialized equipment systems facilitate the proficient application and sealing of poly sheeting in a seamless and reliable operation, meeting significantly higher demand for Tectrol. TransFresh and its Tectrol Modified Atmosphere Packaging systems are best known industry-wide for adding a level of protection to help ensure the quality and marketability of fresh berry products throughout the supply chain.
Every step of the Tectrol process is happening simultaneously with the high velocity systems: gripping and lifting pallet cartons to apply bottom sheeting, installing and sealing bags and adding beneficial atmospheres to immediately trigger the slowing of senescence.
According to Rich Macleod, vice president, TransFresh, the high-performance method substantially increases the number of Tectrol pallets processed per hour, increasing the total volume of Tectrol strawberries that move through each cooler facility. “In sum,” he stated, “the TransFresh investment in research, equipment development and installation has resulted in greater efficiency and throughput as well as enhanced sealing efficacy.”
Macleod further stated that the continuing strong interest in Tectrol Modified Atmosphere Packaging systems was spurred by a comprehensive research initiative conducted by two leading academic postharvest departments under the US Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Project with the mission to increase the consumption of specialty crops, such as strawberries, through enhanced quality and safety. Under the project, teams from the University of California at Davis and the University of Florida jointly evaluated the efficacy of pallet cover systems to maintain strawberry fruit quality during commercial shipment. Findings concluded that “transporting strawberries in the sealed TransFresh Tectrol pallet cover system in which CO2 concentrations were elevated at consistent levels was most effective in complementing low temperature management practices to reduce decay and maintain fruit quality.” The research, Comparison of Pallet Cover Systems to Maintain Strawberry Fruit Quality during Transit (HortTechnology, Aug. 2012), also concluded that after a two-day shelf life, fruit from the Tectrol pallets achieved “significantly less decay” than other systems evaluated.
Macleod concluded that the development and installation of the high performance equipment system at these multiple cooling locations is the result of TransFresh’s commitment to support the berry trade as a whole by fulfilling its fundamental mission to protect berry quality.
About TransFresh®
TransFresh is a pioneering and established global entity with nearly 50 years of experience in perishables transport. Tectrol® is the trademarked brand name for the TransFresh® family of proprietary modified and controlled atmosphere systems and processes developed and owned by TransFresh. The Tectrol Service Network™ services, markets and supports the Tectrol pallet systems operations and technologies. Since inception, TransFresh’s innovations in packaging, equipment and sealing processes have established Tectrol as an industry standard. For more information, visit www.transfresh.com.
Here’s a round up California produce loadings as Salinas Valley vegetable shipments are increasing.
Items such a broccoli, head lettuce and other lettuces are among many vegetables increasing in volume from the Salinas Valley as they head towards full stride in the next couple of weeks or so. Lettuce from the Huron district in the San Joaquin Valley is on the decline as volume is being replaced by product from Salinas. Overall Salinas shipments are only moderate at this time, although these shipments still exceed those from the Santa Maria district to the south.
Light to moderate spring shipments of broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables are off to an early start from California’s Santa Maria district. Items ranging from anise, to cauliflower and broccoli are shipped year-round from Santa Maria. Mixed leaf kicked off in early March, iceberg started in late March, cilantro and spinach should start harvesting anytime and celery in May.
There also is a wide range of Santa Maria vegetable shipments, including mixed leaf, red, green, and romaine lettuce, romaine hearts, and celery, as well as mixed baby carrots, mixed beets and mixed radishes.
Concerning Ventura County produce shipments, there are loadings of strawberries, raspberries, celery, romaine and leaf lettuce, as well as cabbage.
Ventura County produce – grossing about $6800 to New York City.
Santa Maria vegetable shipments – grossing about $4400 to Chicago.
There is strong demand for refrigerated trucks for Florida produce shipments, although there appears to be no shortages.
Florida tomatoes are providing the heaviest volume averaging about 750 truck loads weekly. There also is good, but increasing volume with sweet corn, cucumbers, bell peppers and potatoes. A number of other mixed vegetables also are being shipped.
Spring growing conditions in Florida is resulting in mostly good quality product for hauling for items originating out of central and southern areas of the state.
Blueberries shipments have become a big item in Florida and growers expect to harvest between to 21 million-22 million pounds, up from the 17 million shipped last year. Volume will be increasing through mid-April. Steady shipments are now expected through May, overlapping an expected later than normal start in Georgia.
Growers in northern Florida began harvesting the week of April 6th with much higher shipments seen this week. Florida typically finishes blueberry shipments by Mid May, but due to excellent growing weather, loadings are expected to continue further into May.
Because of February freezes, Georgia is expected to increase harvests in early May, later than the typical mid- to late-April start.
Central Florida blueberries – grossing about $2800 to Chicago.
Southern and Central tomatoes and vegetables – grossing about $3200 to New York City.
Florida spring produce shipments continue to roll along, while Georgia is starting to show signs of life.
Over a 1,000 truck loads of mature green, plum and roma tomatoes are being shipped weekly from central and southern portions of Florida. Over 700 trucks loads of sweet corn also are be loaded each week, while good volume also is found with potatoes, bell peppers, cabbage and cucumbers. Dozens of other spring veggies also are being shipped in smaller quantities.
April has seen a big increase in volumes of Florida blueberry shipments. In late March there was virtually no movement, but volume exploded the week of April 6th as shipments took off. However, peak volumes in Florida should start tapering off this week. Total Florida blueberry shipments could be 5 to 7 million pounds above last season.
Florida vegetable shipments – grossing about $3200 to New York City, $2700 to Chicago.
Georgia Produce Shipments
Georgia now is shipping blueberries in light, but increasing volume. Other Georgia produce shipments are mostly light with items ranging from carrots to greens (collards, kale, mustard, turnips, etc.) . There is light, but increasing volume with squash. Cabbage remains light, but should be in good volume by the week of May 4th.
Vidalia onion shipments are increasing, hitting good volume by early May. Peaches from the Fort Valley area should start the third week of May.
While we tend to focus more on imported produce during the winter months when Southern Hemisphere fruits and vegetables are in good production, there is still a substantial amount of product crossing our borders or arriving at ports.
Mangos have become a major commodity over the past couple of decades in America and there currently are larger-than-normal volumes expected from Mexico during the second quarter of 2015. Mexican mango imports will be approximately 36 million boxes during Q2 of 2015, which is about 10 percent more compared to approximately 33 million boxes of mangos imported during the same period from Mexico a year ago.
Additionally, Mexican mango imports in Q2 of 2015 are expected to be 3 percent higher than in 2013, which is the year that had the highest volume of Mexican mango imports on record. The tropical fruit is crossing the border both at Nogales and in South Texas.
Peruvian Avocados
Peruvian avocado exporters expect to ship 204,000 tons of fruit for the 2015 season, an increase of more than 16,000 tons from the 2014 season. Over 71,000 of those tons will be destined for the U.S. market, arriving primarily at East Coast ports. Hass avocados will begin in late April, with production hitting its stride in the summer months and winding down in September.
Nogales Produce Shipments
Mexican imports through Nogales are past a peak for the year, but there is still substantial product, ranging from cucumbers to melons, squash and peppers. The first Mexican grapes should start crossing the border any time now.
Lower Rio Grand Valley Produce
Mexican produce items crossing the border in South Texas range from watermelons to papayas. Texas items range from sweet onions to citrus and cabbage.
Apple shipments, an amazing amount: 61 million bushels fresh-market apples had yet to ship as of April 1, an astounding 27 percent more than last year at the same time.
The April total also was 37 percent higher than the five-year average. As usual, Washington accounted for about 55 million bushels of the fresh-market apples still in storage. New York had 2.4 million bushels, Michigan 2 million bushels and Pennsylvania 694,000 bushels.
The big numbers apply to all major apple varieties. About 23.4 million bushels of red delicious had yet to ship, up from 17.5 million bushels.
Galas still to be shipped increased from 6.7 million to 9.7 million bushels, granny smith from 7 million to 7.2 million bushels, golden delicious from 5.4 million to 6.6 million bushels, fuji from 4.6 million to 5.7 million bushels, Pink Lady from 1.4 million to 1.9 million bushels and Honeycrisp from 329,000 to 670,000 bushels.
Michigan apples – grossing about $900 to Chicago.
Hudson Valley, NY apples – grossing about $1600 to Baltimore.
Yakima Valley, WA apples – grossing about $6700 to New York City.
Apricot Shipments
In an average year California ships about 1.5 million 24-pound packages of apricots. Harvest should get underway in the southern San Joaquin Valley in late April and moves up the state’s Central Valley throughout the spring and early summer.
California apricot shipments, which tend to mirror California cherry shipments, should be finished by the end of June.
Around 400 growers produce apricots from orchards covering 21,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley and Northern California. About 95 percent of the apricots grown in the United States come from California.
While the Nogales port of entry has under gone major upgrades during the past couple of years, there’s concerns that although trucks from Mexico are crossing the border more efficiently, once they get into Arizona, there’s gridlock getting out of town to deliver loads of fresh produce to points across North America.
Last January, for example, two 18-wheelers collided on Grand Avenue in route to Nogales and nearby Rio Rico warehouses. Traffic was brought to a screeching halt. The upgrades to the border crossing allows for more inspections to be made faster, but the growing gridlock getting to distribution warehouses, not to mention leaving town, causes plenty of headaches for produce handlers and produce truckers alike.
As a result Nogales produce shippers as well as the locally based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas are pushing state and federal government officials for major upgrades that would allow big rigs to get from the border to Interstate 19 without running into any traffic lights or making the steep climb onto the highway from Mariposa Road.
The state of Arizona has budgeted $6 million for a feasibility study. Some estimates for the total project have ranged from $60 million to $150 million.
Supporters are calling for construction of a “fly over” bypass allowing trucks to get from the border to Interstate 19. In addition to the flyover, the project would include improvements to Exits 12 and 17 in Rio Rico, the exits for many of the Nogales area’s distributors.
The Nogales port of entry now has a capacity for 4,000 vehicles a day, but even during peak times of the year, only about 1,800 vehicles are crossing daily.
Carrier Transicold of Athens, GA is celebrating a double anniversary this year: 75 years of Carrier road transport refrigeration innovation and the 45th anniversary of the Carrier Transicold business. Carrier Transicold helps improve global transport and shipping of temperature controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment for refrigerated trucks, trailers and containers, and is a part of UTC Building & Industrial Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
“Carrier’s history encompasses more than a century of innovation in air conditioning and refrigeration, and pioneering achievements in truck and trailer refrigeration have been an integral part of this story,” said David Appel, president, Carrier Transicold & Refrigeration Systems. “Now in our 75th year of providing products for road transport refrigeration, we continue to drive the industry forward with highperformance, environmentally sustainable refrigeration solutions.”
The Carrier Transicold brand was formed in 1970, when Carrier acquired the California-based transport refrigeration equipment maker Transicold Co. and combined it with its Special Products Division, which had experience in trucking applications extending back to 1940. The business was responsible for all types of transport refrigeration, including ocean-going container refrigeration that it had pioneered in 1968.
Carrier’s first foray into truck refrigeration in 1940 included the application of its model 7K refrigeration compressors in early systems. Although haulers had experimented with mechanical refrigeration since the 1920s, most transport refrigeration methods by 1940 still used ice/salt or dry-ice/gravity flow refrigeration systems.
The initial success with the rugged 7K compressor led to the development of a complete truck refrigeration system for trucks and trailers, Carrier’s Type 68D unit. Available in two sizes, the Type 68D used a four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to a high-speed compressor. The relatively compact and adjustment-free unit boasted minimal moving parts, making it durable enough for the often rough conditions encountered by refrigerated trucks with bodies ranging up to 35 feet in length. The logistical improvement eliminated the need for haulers to replenish ice and assured more uniform temperature control over greater distances, helping to pave the way for long-haul refrigerated trucking.
Today, streamlined designs with minimal moving parts remain hallmarks of Carrier Transicold systems, as demonstrated by Vector™ trailer units, featuring EDrive™, all-electric refrigeration technology and Carrier’s X4™ series of mechanical trailer units, which have a reputation for high capacity, reliability and ease of service. In contrast to those early systems, today’s transport refrigeration units provide cooling power to haul perishable and frozen loads in 53-foot trailers, intermodal containers and railcars ranging up to 72 feet in interior length. Recent innovations from Carrier Transicold, driven by Tier 4 engine emissions regulations, have further improved fuel economy and reduced carbon emissions.
“Our X4 series and Vector trailer units and our Supra truck refrigeration units deliver the high capacities that our customers require, while also enhancing the sustainability profiles of their operations,” said Appel. “Benefits include low total cost of ownership and compliance with transport refrigeration emissions regulations.”
Carrier Transicold’s operations have expanded worldwide, with manufacturing facilities located in Athens, Ga., Rouen, France, Singapore and Shanghai. Today, Carrier Transicold plays a growing role as a critical link in enhancing the efficiency of the cold-chain, ensuring that perishables such as food and pharmaceuticals reach consumers in developed and developing countries.
“Our products have long served an important need delivering food and other temperature-sensitive goods to expanding population centers,” said Appel. “It’s a heritage we’re proud of and one that we intend to build further upon with more sustainable and innovative transport refrigeration solutions. It is this higher purpose that motivates and excites us to continue.”
(The purveyor of this website has written off and on for decades about railroads hauling produce. More specifically, stories about how the rails often lacked an understanding of perishables transportation, as well as not making it a priority. If the following lawsuit has merit this could prove to be another example of the risks involved in transporting perishable fruits and vegetables by rail.)
A multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against BNSF Railway Co., blaming the railroad for the failure of the refrigerated rail service for fresh produce has been filed by Steven Lawson, former president and CEO of Cold Train, and Mike Lerner, former managing member of the company. Both claim they had to shut down their rail service for fresh produce because BNSF failed to meet its promise for 72-hour delivery times.
Seeking $1 million in damages, the case was filed in federal court in Spokane, WA recently.
The lawuit alleges that the 72-hour “on-time percentage” steadily dropped from 92% in August 2013 to 3% in April 2014 because BNSF was favoring oil and coal over fresh produce in its scheduling. This resulted in Cold Train losing most of its fresh produce business, including apples, onions, pears, potatoes, carrots and cherries, which was more than 70% of the company’s business, the complaint alleges.
“The shutdown of Cold Train was caused by a significant slowdown in BNSF’s service schedules on its northern corridor line beginning in the fall of 2013 because of increased rail congestion as a result of BNSF hauling larger volumes of oil and coal from the Northern Plains region,” according to the April 7 news release.
A spokeswoman for the railroad said as of April 8 BNSF had not been served with the complaint and therefore its officials could not comment on specific allegations.
“But any suggestion that BNSF would intentionally seek to cause harm to any customer runs completely contrary to how BNSF conducts business,” BNSF communications director Amy Casas said.
“BNSF did experience well documented service issues following unprecedented demand levels and historic winter weather events beginning late in 2013, but we worked to remedy those situations and regularly communicated with our customers throughout the period so that they could anticipate when service would improve and plan accordingly.”
Cold Train shipped approximately 300 containers a month in 2011, according to the release. By 2013 it was shipping 700 per month with a goal of 1,000 per month by the end of that year. BNSF required the Cold Train to acquire a minimum of 111 refrigerated containers.
“BNSF also required the Cold Train to ship a minimum of 95% of the Cold Train’s entire container movements with BNSF, effectively prohibiting the Cold Train from using other carriers,” according to the news release.
By May 2012, Cold Train had 175 containers in service with another 100 on order for delivery in January 2013. Cold Train continued to purchase and lease containers, and by September 2013, the company had over 400 refrigerated shipping containers in service.
“In March 2014, representatives of Cold Train and Federated Railways Inc. met with BNSF representatives in Fort Worth to discuss the Cold Train’s business and its future with BNSF. At the meeting, BNSF continued to encourage Cold Train and Federated to proceed with the sale. Immediately after the meeting, Federated provided Cold Train a $1.25 million capital infusion based solely on that meeting, and announced that it was acquiring Cold Train,” according to the news release.
Ultimately Federated withdrew its offer to buy Cold Train. Lerner and Lawson contend they had to “walk away with nothing” from a business that had been worth more than $30 million before April 2014.
Produce truckers should find good seasons ahead for two of Georgia most popular agricultural commodities – Vidalia sweet onions and peaches.
The largest amount of Vidalia onion shipments is expected since 2011. The industry may ship at least 5 million 40-pound equivalents this year, which would be close to its 10-year average. In other words, an average size crop is seen. The past three years have been rough on Vidalia onion shipments because of downy mildew, seed stems and freezing temperatures hitting shortly before harvest in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The reported total volumes shipped in the past three seasons were:
- 2012 — 4.4 million 40-pound equivalents;
- 2013 — 5.6 million 40-pound equivalents;
- 2014 — 4.7 million 40-pound equivalents.
Georgia Peach Shipments
Growers anticipate seeing the first shipments of fruit the week of May 18th. Varieties include the Flavorich, which will start around Memorial Day, all the way to the August Prince in late August. Weather has been on the side of Georgia peach growers so far this year. Each year, Georgia produces more than 80 million pounds of the fruit from mid-May to mid-August, and the vast majority of fruit is picked, packed and shipped the same day.
90 percent of Georgia Peaches are grown in a 10,000-acre area known as the Fort Valley Plateau.
By TransFresh Corporation
TransFresh® Corporation of Salinas, CA has announced that usage has expanded for its high velocity Tectrol® application systems, recently placed in multiple cooler locations ahead of peak Strawberry production, increasing efficiency and throughput for berries bound for US and Canadian markets.
According to TransFresh, the specialized equipment systems facilitate the proficient application and sealing of poly sheeting in a seamless and reliable operation, meeting significantly higher demand for Tectrol. TransFresh and its Tectrol Modified Atmosphere Packaging systems are best known industry-wide for adding a level of protection to help ensure the quality and marketability of fresh berry products throughout the supply chain.
Every step of the Tectrol process is happening simultaneously with the high velocity systems: gripping and lifting pallet cartons to apply bottom sheeting, installing and sealing bags and adding beneficial atmospheres to immediately trigger the slowing of senescence.
According to Rich Macleod, vice president, TransFresh, the high-performance method substantially increases the number of Tectrol pallets processed per hour, increasing the total volume of Tectrol strawberries that move through each cooler facility. “In sum,” he stated, “the TransFresh investment in research, equipment development and installation has resulted in greater efficiency and throughput as well as enhanced sealing efficacy.”
Macleod further stated that the continuing strong interest in Tectrol Modified Atmosphere Packaging systems was spurred by a comprehensive research initiative conducted by two leading academic postharvest departments under the US Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Project with the mission to increase the consumption of specialty crops, such as strawberries, through enhanced quality and safety. Under the project, teams from the University of California at Davis and the University of Florida jointly evaluated the efficacy of pallet cover systems to maintain strawberry fruit quality during commercial shipment. Findings concluded that “transporting strawberries in the sealed TransFresh Tectrol pallet cover system in which CO2 concentrations were elevated at consistent levels was most effective in complementing low temperature management practices to reduce decay and maintain fruit quality.” The research, Comparison of Pallet Cover Systems to Maintain Strawberry Fruit Quality during Transit (HortTechnology, Aug. 2012), also concluded that after a two-day shelf life, fruit from the Tectrol pallets achieved “significantly less decay” than other systems evaluated.
Macleod concluded that the development and installation of the high performance equipment system at these multiple cooling locations is the result of TransFresh’s commitment to support the berry trade as a whole by fulfilling its fundamental mission to protect berry quality.
About TransFresh®
TransFresh is a pioneering and established global entity with nearly 50 years of experience in perishables transport. Tectrol® is the trademarked brand name for the TransFresh® family of proprietary modified and controlled atmosphere systems and processes developed and owned by TransFresh. The Tectrol Service Network™ services, markets and supports the Tectrol pallet systems operations and technologies. Since inception, TransFresh’s innovations in packaging, equipment and sealing processes have established Tectrol as an industry standard. For more information, visit www.transfresh.com.
Here’s a round up California produce loadings as Salinas Valley vegetable shipments are increasing.
Items such a broccoli, head lettuce and other lettuces are among many vegetables increasing in volume from the Salinas Valley as they head towards full stride in the next couple of weeks or so. Lettuce from the Huron district in the San Joaquin Valley is on the decline as volume is being replaced by product from Salinas. Overall Salinas shipments are only moderate at this time, although these shipments still exceed those from the Santa Maria district to the south.
Light to moderate spring shipments of broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables are off to an early start from California’s Santa Maria district. Items ranging from anise, to cauliflower and broccoli are shipped year-round from Santa Maria. Mixed leaf kicked off in early March, iceberg started in late March, cilantro and spinach should start harvesting anytime and celery in May.
There also is a wide range of Santa Maria vegetable shipments, including mixed leaf, red, green, and romaine lettuce, romaine hearts, and celery, as well as mixed baby carrots, mixed beets and mixed radishes.
Concerning Ventura County produce shipments, there are loadings of strawberries, raspberries, celery, romaine and leaf lettuce, as well as cabbage.
Ventura County produce – grossing about $6800 to New York City.
Santa Maria vegetable shipments – grossing about $4400 to Chicago.
There is strong demand for refrigerated trucks for Florida produce shipments, although there appears to be no shortages.
Florida tomatoes are providing the heaviest volume averaging about 750 truck loads weekly. There also is good, but increasing volume with sweet corn, cucumbers, bell peppers and potatoes. A number of other mixed vegetables also are being shipped.
Spring growing conditions in Florida is resulting in mostly good quality product for hauling for items originating out of central and southern areas of the state.
Blueberries shipments have become a big item in Florida and growers expect to harvest between to 21 million-22 million pounds, up from the 17 million shipped last year. Volume will be increasing through mid-April. Steady shipments are now expected through May, overlapping an expected later than normal start in Georgia.
Growers in northern Florida began harvesting the week of April 6th with much higher shipments seen this week. Florida typically finishes blueberry shipments by Mid May, but due to excellent growing weather, loadings are expected to continue further into May.
Because of February freezes, Georgia is expected to increase harvests in early May, later than the typical mid- to late-April start.
Central Florida blueberries – grossing about $2800 to Chicago.
Southern and Central tomatoes and vegetables – grossing about $3200 to New York City.