Author Archive

Wishing Each of You the Best Christmas Ever

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DSCN2876Here’s hoping each of you are able to spend Christmas with those closest to you.  What a gift to be able to love and be loved.

When the folks are opening a Christmas gift this year, it most likely was delivered to your city or town by truck.

The DOT reports trucks moved 73.7 percent of the country’s freight in 2012, carrying $10 trillion worth of the country’s $13.6 trillion in freight.

The figuress come from the DOT’s recently released Commodity Flow Survey, which is done about every five years.

Trucks also carried 70 percent of the tonnage moved in 2012, hauling 8 billion of the 11.7 billion tons shipped last year.

The for-hire trucking industry carried $6.6 trillion in freight — 48.5 percent of the total — the CFS says, while private trucks hauled 25.2 percent, or $3.4 trillion.

Trucks were slightly edged by rail, though, in ton-miles last year, as rail moved 44.5 percent and trucking moved 38.1 percent. Ton-miles is a measurement of weight multiplied by distance shipped.

Over half of the total tonnage moved in 2012 went less than 50 miles, while shipments traveling fewer than 250 miles accounted for more than 60 percent.

The CFS is only conducted every five years, with the first coming in 1993, and the subsequent ones coming in 1997, 2002, 2007 and last year. Final data from the survey will be released in December 2014.

Meanwhile, consumers show remember that whether it is the Christms tree at the home, the toys under that tree, or the furniture, or produce and other food in the refrigerator, chances are it came by truck.

To HaulProduce.com subcribers, sponsors and others who visit this website, this is wishing you the best Christmas ever!  God Bless.

— Bill Martin

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Washington State Apple Shipments to Remain Heavy into Next Summer

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DSCN2904There will be about 7 millions fewer boxes of Washington state apples shipped  from the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys this season, but it still should end up next August being the second largest crop of all time.

Last year’s record apple loadings hit 128.2 million fresh boxes, and is competing with larger New York and Michigan shipments, after devasting freezes hit those states in 2012.

As of December 1, 28 million boxes had been shipped compared to 31.5 million at the same time last year and 25.3 million two years ago.   Loadings  are still clipping along at 2.7 million boxes per week and should remain at that level into spring, possibly peaking around 3 million per week in January.

The crop’s current standing at 113.3 million boxes is up .1 percent from the November 1 storage report, down 5.5 percent from the August 1 forecast of 119.8 million boxes and pff 11.7 percent from the record 128.2-million-box 2012 crop.

Exports are down 10 percent from a year ago at 8.4 million boxes as of December 1 compared with 9.4 million at the same time in 2012 and 7.8 million in 2011.

Mexico and Canada are Washington’s largest apple export markets.

Mexico normally takes 10 million to 11 million boxes annually but hit 13.6 million last year.  Canada averages 5 million to 6 million and last year took 6.35 million boxes.

Thus far this season, Canada is at 1.2 million boxes and Mexico is just getting started at 1 million

Washington state apples – grossing about $6700 to Orlando.

 

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Florida Tomato Shipments are Increasing After Rocky Start

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DSCN2886Florida always has light produce volume in the fall and the winter, but the Sunshine state’s  produce loads has been even lighter this year.  After a tumultuous fall which brought lighter shipments with central Florida’s tomatoes, volume is finally, a long last, picking up.  Still, don’t expect spring like volumes.

Yet, the higher volume has actually led to some rate increases.

Florida tomato shipments out of Immokalee have been just okay in terms of quality, but apparently have looked pretty good compared to the early stuff out of the Palmetto-Ruskin area.

Heavy August and September rains stunted yields and certainly did not help the quality in the early fall.  As late fall growing conditions become more favorable with moderated temperatures and lower humidity levels, volume and loading opportunties  showed some improvement.

Fall tomato shipments yields were down 30 to 70 percent  from normal depending on plantings, but the Palmetto-Ruskin region has been increasing.

The quality of the central Florida mature green tomatoes is reported good and Florida is now entering the time of year — early winter is when you should be hauling the best quality tomatoes that have been available in awhile.

Central Florida usually starts in early October with grape and cherry tomatoes and begins harvesting mature-greens by early November.

Central Florida freight rates have increased 10 to 15 percent  to places such as New York, Philly and Boston due to increasing volume with tomatoes, strawberries out of Plant City and exisiting light production of veggies.

Central Florida produce – grossing about $3000 to New York City.

 

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Desert Vegetable Shipments are Rebounding; California Citrus Freeze Update

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DSCN1848Produce shipments can be a crap shoot anytime of the year, but the odds certainly increase when trying to grow and ship perishable products in the wintertime.  Sometimes you dodge the bullet, sometimes not.   The proverbial bullet was dodged recently in the California and Arizona deserts, although some vegetables may have been grazed.  But shipments are pretty much back to normal…At the end of the report is an update on the California citrus freeze.

Vegetable volumes out of the California and Arizona deserts are returning to normal after freezes in the first half of December.  Record lows slowed growth across the board, but broccoli and cauliflower were hit the hardest.

Desert lettuce shipments are warmer in the Imperial Valley from such places as  Holtville, compared to the Yuma district in Western Arizona.

Iceberg or head letttuc, as well as  mixed leaf mostly escaped the freezing weather but cauliflower, broccoli, spring mix, arugula and other leaf items suffered a little bit with damage such as tip burn.

It is too early to get a handle on whether desert celery plantings and its resulting shipments will come off later than their typical early January start because of the December cold.

Whether we are talking Imperial Valley vegetable shipments, or Yuma vegetables shipments, it is particularly wise to keep an eye on the weather, and when you do load, make sure your receiver knows the quality of the product.  Winter veggies tend to get beat up by Mother Nature and are not always pretty.

California Citrus Shipments

Early inspections of freeze-damaged citrus in California’s Kern County pegged mandarin orange and lemon losses at around 20 percent, and navel losses at less than 5 percent.

Still, the toll of a Dec. 4-10 cold snap remains unclear in Kern County and in Fresno and Tulare counties…..We’ll still ring in the New Year before we start getting a significant feel for how much California citrus shipments will be affected.

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Book Teaches Children Healthy Eating Habits Through Entertainment

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by Robert Orchanian
ABCsBookAs an author and longtime educator, Robert Orchanian leaned heavily on his personal experiences when he came up with the idea for the VEDGE Kids project. The goal of the initiative, which stands for Vigorous, Educated and Good Eaters, is to instill healthy eating habits in children between the ages of two and five, and his book, titled The ABCs of Nutrition: Learning the Alphabet the Healthy Way, Volume 1, encourages those healthy habits while teaching children the alphabet as they are having fun.

“I’m a father of five,” said Orchanian, “and VEDGE Kids is a reflection of how I raised five healthy children.” He explained that kids under five years of age are in a highly formative state, so they’re essentially metabolically programmed during that time to eat the food they will crave for the rest of their lives. Because that age is so important, Orchanian stressed that it’s essential to make eating fruits and vegetables a fun and tasty thing for children early on.

“We feel we needed a different approach to get kids to eat healthy, so we went for something that’s fun and entertaining, as opposed to something that’s fact-based,” said Orchanian. The ABC’s of Nutrition introduces each letter of the alphabet with a VEDGE’ Kid and a colorful illustration of a fruit or vegetable. Drawing on his experience as a teacher, Orchanian also focused very much on the details of each page of the book tailoring it to the learning needs of toddlers.

“We paid close attention to the sizing of letters and counters, for example, because toddlers and see letters and form words in a special way” said Orchanian. “We also spent a lot of time collaborating with our illustrator over the details of each of the VEDGE’ Kids so toddlers would be drawn to them.  Andrew is extremely talented and is now a lead illustrator of Angry Birds.  We wanted fun, color and energy and that’s what he gave us.”  Orchanian is sure the book, which came out in September and is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, will set kids on the right path in terms of eating habits.

“The idea is to get children to eat healthy at the earliest possible age,” said Orchanian. “And we feel we have a unique approach to accomplish that with this book.”

On the business side, several online organic home delivery companies are now using Orchanian’s book as a premium.   “Companies whose customer base is mommies, see The ABCs of Nutrition: Learning the Alphabet the Healthy as a great way to say thank you during the holiday season.  Moms want their kids to eat right and grow up healthy.  The ABCs of Nutrition helps make the connection.   Those companies see it as something that’s special and a lot more targeted than say a calendar.  It’s a way for companies to distinguish themselves and build good will in a crowded market place.”  Orchanian is also in early negotiations with one of those companies to license the VEDGE’ Kids.  “Branding one’s product with recognizable cartoon characters is a sure win in the marketplace.”  Orchanian says to stay tuned.  “There’s a lot more to come!”  You can see an electronic version of The ABCs of Nutrition: Learning the Alphabet the Healthy Way, Volume 1 at: TheABCsofNutrition.com

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San Antonio to Get New Wholesale Produce Market

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SAwholesaleMktConstruction of a new wholesale produce market in San Antonio is scheduled to start in late December by Abasto Properties LLC of Mcllen, TX.

The project will be built in at least three phases, including a total of 200 warehouses. The first phase, consisting of 60 warehouses, should be finished by the end of 2014 or early in 2015.

The 80-acre site near the corner of Loop 410 and I-37 in south San Antonio will be about 3½ hours from McAllen.

San Antonio was selected because it can serve a large local and regional market that includes Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Marcos.

The market will feature mostly of small- and medium-sized warehouses operated by Mexican exporters desiring a presence in the market.

The facility will mostly handle imported Mexican product,  but also will include some U.S. product destined for south of the border.

Among the San Antonio wholesale produce market features are: 

  • All warehouse units are 3,100 square feet with an additional 900-square-foot mezzanine for offices;
  • All warehouses will be refrigerated;
  • Each cold room can hold up to 156 pallets — about seven truckloads;
  • Temperature in the loading areas will be controlled to ensure cold chain continuity;
  • Each warehouse features a 450 square-foot covered dock;
  • The project will feature extra-wide streets for easy truck maneuvering; and
  • Each warehouse will have plenty of vehicle parking in front plus ample general parking for visitors and trucks.

 San Antonio will differ from McAllen, which ships nearly all of its product out of state, in that about half of its product will be distributed locally or regionally.

Some of the tenants will be McAllen firms that are expanding their operations, while others will have their sole location in San Antonio.

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Potato Shipments Estimated Down 5%, but Plenty of Loads Remain

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DSCN2123 U.S. potato shipments from the fall crop, which will be shipped well into next summer,  is down 5 percent from 2012, but never fear, there are still plenty of spuds for hauling.

Idaho’s 2013 potato production is an estimated 132.9 million hundredweight (cwt) , down 6.3 percent from a year ago. In Washington, the crop is estimated at 96 million, up less than 1 percent.  Wisconsin’s estimated potato production for the year is 27.9 million hundredweight, down 5.2 percent, and Oregon’s estimate is 21.6 million, down 5.9 percent. Colorado this year is down 1.5 percent to 20.3 million, and Michigan is up 5.4 percent to 16.8 million.

North Dakota’s 2013 potato crop will come in at 22.6 million cwt, down about 10.1 percent from last year.  Some were forecasting shipments to be down more than double from last year.

Minnesota potato production dropped from 18.8 million hundredweight in 2012 to 17.5 million this year, a drop of just under 7 percent.

While Idaho potato shipments, and to a lesser extent, Washington state move a significant amount of tubers via the railroads, most shipping areas do not have access to rails.  Most produce shipped by rail establish their shipping costs based on truck rates, and the rails tend to under cut those rates.

Meanwhile, trucks continue for the most part to deliver faster and better service, that includes providing a lot more flexibility.

Central Wisconsin potatoes  – grossing about $3000 to Atlanta.

Idaho potatoes – about $5500 to New York City.

 

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Californa Citrus Shipments will Certainly be Cut Due to December Freezes

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DSCN2885California citrus shipments could very well will be hit even harder than rather than less from recent freezing temperatures.  Initally, close observers in the Central San Joaquin Valley were talking slight to moderate damage, but now you are hearing more serious descriptions such as “moderate to severe” damage. 

However, specific results on how bad navels and madrians were hit won’t be known until around New Years.

Temperatures in citrus-growing areas in California’s San Joaquin Valley once again dipped to potentially damaging levels  for seven of eight days between December 5th and 11th.

Temperatures below 27 degrees for several hours can damage Navel oranges and lemons, while more sensitive Mandarins are susceptible to damage at 32 degrees.

Frost-protection measures such as wind machines and application of water to the groves can provide three or four degrees of protection.

Approximately  12 to 15 percent of the Navel crop and 20 percent of the Mandarin crop has been harvested, leaving a significant percentage of the crop at risk of damage.

There is no doubt that damage has occurred across the citrus belt.

Damaged fruit will be eliminated from the fresh market and directly shipped to  juice plants.  For California citrus, juice plants are, by design, a salvage operation for lower-quality fruit.

California citrus and berries – grossing about $4600 to Chicago.

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Florida Strawberry Shipments Ahead of Schedule; Grapes Arriving from Peru at Miami Port

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IMG_6053Florida strawberry shipments have started a little earlier than usual, and good volume shipments for the pre-Christmas deliveries are expected.

The season typically builds through December, with the decent volume hitting right after Christmas.

In early December,  at least one Florida strawberry shipper had truckload quantities.

 The quality of berries truckers were loading early in the season left something to be desire, but with the last two cold snaps  received the strawberries were sweetening.

Florida strawberries – grossing about  $2700 to New York City.

Peruvian Grapes

The Port of Miami received  its first ever shipment of Peruvian grapes  last month, it is believed to the first of the product to arrive at a Florida port for distribution directly to Southeastern states.

Prior to this shipment, Peruvian grapes could only be imported to the U.S. through ports in Los Angeles and New York. Each shipment must go through cold treatment before entering U.S. borders.

 By importing directly to Miami it saves the shipper  the cost of freight in having to bring the grapes from New York to Miami.  This should translate into  providing e consumers with fresher product at a lower cost.

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Cruisin’ Down a Mexican Highway Means More Loads in South Texas

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DSCN0252After several delays, the Autopista Durango-Mazatlan highway, a 143-mile road from the growing regions of west Mexico to Texas ports of entry, now is expected to open sometime during the first half of 2014.

If you haul produce out of South Texas, this is significant.

It is open, but there are still sections of the road that are not 100 percent  complete.

The route’s 1,280-foot-high Baluarte Bridge already has been completed.   It is the highest bridge in North America and the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world, according to the website highestbridges.com.

There is no need for trucks to travel up and down the mountain, because they bridges allows the 18 wheelers to go through  the mountain.

The highway between Durango and the coastal city of Mazatlan has 61 tunnels and seven bridges that exceed 300 feet in height.

Nearly two-thirds of the produce Texas ships to the rest of the country comes from Mexico.

That only will increase when the new road opens, allowing Mexican growers to easily move product from growing areas in west Mexico to the eastern part of the country in an efficient manner.

Historically it has been impossible  to do this because of the mountain ranges.  However, the  new road system flattens out the trip and making it  entirely feasible for big rigs.

The shortcut should allow Mexican shippers and U.S. importers to save $2,000 when they ship a load east of the Rockies through Texas rather than Arizona or California.

Besides importing Mexican product, shippers may bring in Asian products shipped to deep water ports in west Mexico.  This would allow importers to avoid Southern California’s Long Beach-Los Angeles harbor area, which is expensive and frustrating.

Completion of the road could boost south Texas to become the business port of entry for produce.  Traditionally, Nogales, Ariz., has held the number one spot.

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