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Fernado Jemenez is both a Company Driver, Small Fleet Owner

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DSCN0503While the Peterbilt may be considered the Cadillac of trucks with many drivers, Fernado Jemenez will take a Freightliner anyday.  He’s driven both.

Fernado is both a company driver and a small fleet owner.  HaulProduce.com caught up with the Los Angeles-based trucker a couple of months ago at a Pilot Truck Stop  in Vienna, GA, while he was waiting word from dispatch for his next load.

He is driving for I&F Transportation and operating a 2005 Peterbilt, powered by a 470 h.p. Cat diesel, and pulling a 53-Utility trailer with a Carrier reefer unit.

The 40-year-0ld trucker says, “I’m just not happy with this Pete.  It shakes too much; rides rough, and there just is not enough room in the sleeper.  I want to drive a Classic.  I own two Freightliners, and I like them a lot.”

He says the Peterbilt consumes too much fuel and only averages 4.5 mpg.

As the small fleet owner of FJ Transport, he prefers his Freightliners.  His own company uses a combination of working directly with some shippers on loads, while using brokers on others.

Fernado has been trucking six years and wishes the rates on dry freight would pick up, noting that produce loads are paying a lot more.

He had a load of produce from Californa, requring six pick ups that took three days to get loaded.  It was delivered to Pompano Beach, FL.   He deadheaded to Georgia and had been waiting seven hours at the truck stop for his dispatcher to assign a load.

No one said trucking was easy, but Fernado was trying to show patience, waiting on a load to take him back to the West Coast.

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In-Transit Issues – Part VI: Reducing Claims and Rejected Loads

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Hauling fresh produce tends to provide much higher freight rates than dry freight, obviously because of the perishability of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the extra care required with temperature, humdity, air circulation in the load, etc.

The higher risk to which truckers are exposed, also includes the possibilites of claims that reduce a driver’s pay check, or even worse, having the load rejected.

The degree of exposure to problems upon arrival at destination can depend on the honesty and integrity of the parties involved.  Did the shipper pre-cool the product?  Did the driver maintain proper temperature settings?  Did the buyer or receiver pay too much for that product five days ago when the order was placed, and now the fruit on the market is worth $2 a box less?  All of these examples can lead to claims or rejections with produce loads.

There have been studies over the years including the recent one titled Comparison of Pallet Cover Systems to Maintain Strawberry Fruit Quality During Transport which provides some interesting information.  For example, this research concludes that TransFresh Corp’s Tectrol process reduces fruit decay  by increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in pallets covered by bags. 

With CO2 levels increased by 11 to 16 percent, Tectrol beats its competitors in the important area of decay in strawberries by up to seven percent following delivery and two days on the shelf.

So how does this translate into a reduction in claims and load rejections for the produce trucker, if there is less decay in product being transported?

“That’s an interesting equation,” states Rich Macleod of TransFresh Corp. ,  Salinas, CA.  “No one will ever talk about that.  No one gives us their data.  We’ve never been able to prove that (fewer claims, rejected loads), because we get it (information) by hersay.”

Macleod  says experienced drivers know if they pick up a load of strawberries covered with bags, they are confident there will be no problems with that load.  The expert in controlled atmosphere loads has been told by retailers “…their strawberry program is much easier” since using Tectrol.

However, when he asks that customer  for data relating to load rejection and claims for strawberries comparing shipments with and without CO2 infused bagged pallets, he hits a stone wall.  Those receivers acknowledge the benefits of Tectrol, but refuse to provide any statistics.

(This is the last of a 6-part series featuring an interview with Rich Macleod, vice president, pallet division North America for TransFresh Corp., Salinas, CA.  He has been with company since 1976, and has a masters degree in post harvest science from the University of California, Davis.)

 

 

 

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Jimmy DeMatteis: Takin’ It to the Streets Fighting the Feds

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JimmyDeMatteisWhen it comes to being proactive in working for improvements in the trucking industry, by speaking out and pushing for improved, if not fewer regulations, Jimmy DeMatteis certainly seems to do his share.

You might say he’s takin’ it to the streets fighting the bureaucracy in an effort to improve the trucking industy for everyone.

As the president of Des Moines Truck Brokers in Norwalk, IA, his company was named in 2009 as the National Broker of the Year by the National

Jimmy DeMatteis                                       Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC).  DeMatteis serves on the executive committee of ASECTT (Alliance for Safe Efficient and Competitive Truck Transportation) and  is chair of the Transportation Intermediaries  Association (TIA) Political Action Committee.

While involved in these groups, not to mention others, he recently led a $12 million building project that now is the new headquarters for Capital City Fruit and Des Moines Truck Brokers.

A lot of DeMatteis’ efforts have been through the ASECTT trying to get some sanity put into the CSA-210, which is administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).  In the past he has blasted federal bureaucrats over the program which rates the safety of motor carriers.  It also ends up rating many safe carriers as being unsafe, he states.

“The CSA scores are unproven, unreliable and based on factors the FMCSA doesn’t even understand,” DeMatteis states.  “There has been  massive amounts of costly research conducted and proven to be faulty.  Yet every motor carrier on the road is subject to the CSA score at any given time.  This could result in them being black balled from hauling freight.”

DeMatteis accuses the FMCSA of refusing to recognize their responsibility in this whole equation.  His problem with this federal agency is it wants to “deputize” the trucking industry to police and do the job the bureaucrats should be doing.  Instead, the FMCSA expects shippers and brokers to judge  carrier fitness.

He points out  FMCSA bases its safety program on percentages and no matter how many bad carriers are removed from the industry, there are always going to be 35 percent that are going have “alerts.”  This is because the system only allows 65 percent of carriers to be considered safe operations at any one time.

As a result, DeMatteis contends some shippers are including requirements in contracts based on CSA scores that blacklist many good, small trucking companies.  This results in many of these good small fleets going out of business because shippers and brokers refuse to work with them, due to so-called unsafe scores.

In the April issue of  Dashboard, DTMB’s online newsletter, it lists goals of the ASECTT regarding CSA-210.  They are:

Short Term Goal:

 To require the FMCSA to redact publication of CSA 2010 methodology pending rulemaking or to otherwise affirm that data cannot be used in a court of law to establish vicarious liability and that shippers and brokers may rely upon the Agency’s current fitness determination of satisfactory, unsatisfactory or unrated (which is equivalent to satisfactory).

Long Term Goal:

To reestablish primacy of FMCSA for certifying safety, including preemption of state law.

For more details, visit www.asectt.blogspot.com

 

 

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Wal-Mart Working to Upgrade its Handling of Produce

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WalMartYou buy a tasteless cantaloupe at Wal-Mart, or a sour grape sold as being sweet, just bring your receipt back to the store and they’ll refund you money, under a new police in U.S. stores selling produce.  This according to a recent story by Reuters news service.

As the largest grocer and seller of produce in the United States, Wal-Mart  has already lowered prices on produce as it tries to get its shoppers, many of whom are on limited budgets, to buy more healthy fare.   The huge chain, which made a splash in produce nearly 20 years ago, but has since seen its produce departments lose some of their shine, says it is now working on getting fresher produce to its stores more quickly and training its staff to do a better job of selling the goods.

Walmart is buying directly from growers and relying on its own distribution centers and trucking systems to get product from the field to shelf faster.  It has produce experts working with farmers in key growing regions and aims to double its sales of locally grown produce by December 2015.

Buying more local produce and cutting supply chain costs have helped Walmart keep a lid on prices, which has been key in its push to stay ahead of rivals that include traditional grocers such as Kroger Co and drugstores such as Walgreen Co. Walmart started to see sales gains in produce earlier this year after it began making improvements in produce handling.

Other chains, such as Safeway Inc and Texas’ H-E-B, have already offered guarantees on their produce, but Walmart’s push will be the biggest as it is the nation’s biggest retailer.

Walmart customers not satisfied with the produce can bring their receipt back to the store for a refund. Walmart said the shoppers will not need to bring back the produce to qualify.

To ensure that fresh produce makes it to the stores, Walmart said unnamed third-party service providers will do weekly checks in more than 3,400 of its stores selling produce. Walmart said it would benchmark itself and its competitors week over week.

Walmart also said it recently began a produce training program for 70,000 employees. Store managers, market managers and produce department managers are set to learn more about handling fruits and vegetables. Quality guides for workers will illustrate how to identify top produce, the company said.

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Shipments Set for Arkansas Tomatoes, Florida Avocados

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DSCN0236Following early shipments the past couple of years, Arkansas tomato loadings are expected to be more normal time-wise with light volume starting around June 10.  Primary production is centered in south-central Arkansas around small towns such as Hermitage.  Shipments should continue until about July 20th.

Florida Avocados

We’ll soon be entering the time of year when the bottom will drop out on Florida produce shipments as overall volume plummets.  An exception is with Florida avocados.

South Florida had  7,500 acres in the  2012-13 season, shipping  1.16 million bushels.  This was  higher than the 819,594 bushel average growers shipped on an annual basis between  2006 and 2010.

Very light avocado shipments have started, but good volume will not hit until about July 1st.  Peak shipments should take place in July through September.

Citrus

It is the tail end of the Florida shipping season for citrus, but there may be a little more product for hauling than originally predicted.  The updated estimate shows an increase in grapefruit and a small decline in tangerines, with orange volume remaining the same.

The grapefruit forecast has been increased by 1.3 million equivalent cartons in May from its April estimate.

Colored grapefruit production increased 500,000 cartons while white grapefruit jumped 800,000 cartons, according to the USDA.  About 95% of the state’s grapefruit has been shipped.  The tangerines  forecast has been dropped by 100,000 boxes to 3.4 million boxes.  About 97% of the state’s honey tangerines has been shipped.

As for oranges, volume remains at 138 million cartons, with the late season valencias volume staying at 71 million cartons.  The majority of the Florida’s oranges are processed.    As for the fresh market, about 70% of navels, half of the grapefruit and two-thirds of the tangerines are for fresh.

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Blueberry Recipe Contest Winner to Receive $500

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Waycross, GA – The Georgia Blueberry Commission will host its first-ever “Sweet Georgia Blues Recipe Contest” throughout the month of June in celebration of Georgia Blueberry Month.

Georgia Blueberry fans are invited to create and photograph an original recipe using Georgia Blueberries.  Submissions will be posted on the Georgia Blueberry Commission’s website and Facebook page for voting. 

Contestants are encouraged to share information about the contest with family and friends to gain more votes.  Recipe submission and voting will begin on June 1 and continue through June 30.  Winners will be announced on July 8th. 

The recipe creator with the most votes will win $500. Contestants who receive the second and third most votes will receive a Sweet Georgia Blues Basket (includes blueberry jams, autographed cookbook, etc) and an autographed copy of Hugh Acheson’s A New Turn in the South Cookbook, respectively.

“June is the peak of our season and we want consumers to be as excited about Georgia Blueberry Month as we are,” explained Joe Cornelius, chairman of the Georgia Blueberry Commission. “Hosting this month-long recipe contest is a great way to do that.  Plus, we’re looking forward to seeing all the new recipes we can try! ”

According to the Georgia Farm Gate Value Report, blueberries make up nearly 40% of all fruits grown in the state and have an estimated value of $134 million, compared to just $22 million a decade ago.   Georgia is one of the largest blueberry-producing states in the United States and boasts the longest season from mid April to the end of July.

Full of antioxidants, Georgia Blueberries are a delicious way to lower cholesterol and decrease your risk of heart disease and cancer. They’re high in fiber, contain no fat and at just 80 calories per cup, Sweet Georgia Blues are an easy and convenient snack or an excellent addition to nearly any recipe.

For more information and contest rules, log onto www.GeorgiaBlueberries.org

About the Georgia Blueberry Commission

In 2008, the Georgia Department of Agriculture formed the Georgia Blueberry Commission as a program to support research, education and promotion on behalf of the state’s growers. Georgia claims the longest season in the U.S. lasting from mid-April through the end of July to enjoy fresh Georgia Blueberries – our very own “Sweet Georgia Blues.” For more information, recipes and background on Georgia Blueberries, log onto www.GeorgiaBlueberries.org                    

Source: Georgia Blueberry Commission

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Health

California Produce Loads Continue to Crank Up

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IMG_5643California’s Santa Maria district currently leads the state in strawberry volume with nearly 800 truck loads being shipped a week, but the Watsonville district will be catching up – and surpassing  Santa Maria very soon.  Meanwhile, Salinas Valley vegetables are continuing to increase is volume led by lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower.   The San Joaquin Valley in cranking up with everything from stone fruit to vegetables.

The Imperial and Coachella valleys are shipping melons and mixed veggies, plus Coachella table grapes are now being shipped in volume.

Some produce loads, particularly from more northern Calilforna shipping areas, are already exceeding a rate of $9,000 to the East Coast.

Mexican tomatoes are being shipped in volume from Baja peninsula via distribution centers around San Diego.  Product ranges from romas to grape, cherry and vine ripe tomatoes.

Looking ahead, warm April temperatures have pushed the California pear crop about 10 days ahead of last year.  Early variety pears from the Sacramento River district should get underway around July 2-3, followed by bartletts about July 5.

The projected California almond crop is expected to reach 2 billion pounds this year.  This would fall short only to 2011’s 2.03 billion pound crop and is 6% higher than 2012’s output, which was about 1.89 billion pounds.   Almonds are the state’s largest agricultural export, with California alone producing 80 percent of the world’s supply.

California almond shipments come from over 810,000 acres.

Salinas vegetables – grossing about $9000 to Boston.

San Joaquin Valley stone fruit – about $6,000 to Chicago.

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Haul Produce Update on NC, Georgia, Pennsylvania

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DSCN0152North Carolina is shipping light to moderate amounts of  greens ranging from cilantro to kale, plus cabbage.  These items handle the colder weather better than a lot of other vegetables which would normally be shipping now, but are up to two weeks behind schedule.

In mid June there should be loadings of veggies such as sweet corn, bell peppers, and tomatoes, among others. 

North Carolina continues, pretty much on a year around, to ship sweet potatoes.

Georgia Vegetables

The Georgia Vidalia onion shipping season started out as a disaster due to disease problems caused by weather factors.  Now Mother Nature has since shined on Southeastern Georgia, and suddenly, shippers have more onions than they know what to do with.  The crop is now past the disease problems, quality is good, and shippers are shipping like crazy.  Loadings are expected to continue into August.

Meanwhile, mixed vegetable loadings have got underway, primarily from Southern Georgia.

Mushrooms

Mushroom may not be at the top of your list when looking for produce loads, but it continues to grow in popularity.  Pennsylvania is huge when it comes to growing and shipping mushrooms, along with California and Illinois.  However, many states have mushroom growing facilities.

Sales of the 2011-12 U.S. mushroom crop totaled 900 million pounds, up 4 percent from the 2010-11 season.. This amounts to 22,500 truckload equivalents of mushrooms being hauled annually.

Vidalia onions – grossing about $2400 to Chicago.

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Win $5,000 in Mushroom Promotional Contest

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MushroomsSan Jose, CA – The Mushroom Council’s inaugural “Swap It or Top It” summer promotion will kick off the summer grilling season on June 1. The contest challenges consumers to transform their typical summer grilling recipes into healthier versions, by adding mushrooms, for the chance to win $5,000.

“The Trend is to Blend” states Mushroom Council President, Bart Minor, “Mushrooms and meat are a natural pairing, this contest will elevate the concept with the consumer while increasing mushroom sales” continues Mr. Minor. Summer grilling represents a huge opportunity for increased mushroom consumption. It is the ideal time as consumers are looking for lighter fare, to create retail sales lift, increase shopper awareness and build shopper impulse purchases of mushrooms.

The contest is called “Swap It or Top It” because there are two cooking techniques with mushrooms that can add a healthy flair to summer favorites. Swapping, for example, is the technique of blending finely chopped mushrooms with ground meat before cooking. By swapping 50 percent of beef in a burger with fresh mushrooms, it’s possible to reduce intake of calories, fat and saturated fat by 24, 25 and 37 percent, respectively. The other technique is to top dishes with mushrooms to add more vegetables to the plate, such as topping a turkey burger with roasted brown mushrooms.

Vice president of sales and marketing for Premier Mushrooms, Bob Murphy, states “By supporting ‘Swap It or Top It’ retailers can uphold promoting healthier choices to consumers at their market, which consumers continue to demand.”

Retailers can support the promotion to lift sales by stocking participating mushroom products, offering participating mushroom growers premium shelf space and by promoting the program via the Council’s Point-of-Sale material.

The contest is in partnership with the Produce for Better Health Foundation and MyPlate will further amplify program awareness, while drawing in the consumer with the use of each logo on all Point-Of-Sale material.

Encouraging consumers to Swap It or Top It using mushrooms is an important nutritional message in the movement to promote healthier eating with Americans. The contest fully supports the MyPlate message of boosting consciousness around meal time. Creating a MyPlate burger will engage consumers with portion size awareness while developing healthy eating patterns.

Mushrooms provide vitamins and nutrients such as B vitamins, potassium (8% DV), ergothioneine and many more. Mushrooms are also the ONLY item in the produce aisle with naturally occurring vitamin D. Mushroom’s umami enhances the flavor of the meat pairing resulting in both a healthy AND delicious meal. Adding mushrooms to a grill night enhances the upscale feel while maintaining an affordable budget.

Categories for entry include: Swapability/Blendability, Best Topped Burger, and MyPlate Burger. Consumers can enter one, two or all three categories. The top two recipes in each category will be put to public vote to determine the grand prize winning recipes. With a total of $8,500 up for grabs, the grand prize winner will walk away with $5,000 in cash and gift cards. The contest begins Saturday, June 1 on MushroomInfo.com.

About The Mushroom Council:

The Mushroom Council is composed of fresh market producers or importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad. These industry self-help programs are requested and funded by the industry groups that they serve. For more information on the Mushroom Council, visit mushroomcouncil.org.

Source: The Mushroom Council

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In-Transit Issues – Part V: How Safe are Modified Atmosphere Shipments?

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TF_Chart1_v2While studies have shown transporting strawberries and some other produce items in a modified atmosphere  extends the quality and lifespan of the items, how safe are these food items to eat that have been exposed to carbon dioxide (CO2) for nearly a week?

Rich Macleod, a scientist and basically the manager of the pallet divison for Transfresh Corp. feels this is a reasonable question for people to ask.

“The use of carbon dioxide in the handling of perishables is incredibally common,” Macleod states.  He points to the use of CO2 in soda, which are the bubbles you see.

As for TransFresh, Macleod says  the Organic Material Research Institute has certified the Tectrol application as organic.  “So we are certified for use as an organic product,” he states.  “The impact of CO2 in terms of maintaining the quality of the product….using a gas we breath in the environment, is an excellent trade off for what you get for enjoying more strawberries.”

As previously reported in this series, using the pallet covered system, Tectrol (CO2), results in less decay in strawberries (see chart). 

Macleod, who started out as a lab assistant with a masters degree in post harvest science, sees the next step in research being to define what CO2 does for the nutrient value of strawberries.  Such a study has never been done, he notes.  He is hopeful such research will take place within the next five years.

While Tectrol’s primary use is with strawberries, it also is used with raspberries, blueberries and other items.

However, it also is found in containers on shipments by boat with items such as avocados, asparagus, and stone fruit for both imports and exports that are in transit eight to 10 days.

“Your cut salads are all cousins to the wrapped pallet program (with modified atmospheres).  In fact, the cut salad program preceeded the pallet covered program,” Macleod says.

(This is Part 5 0f 6, featuring an interview with Rich Macleod, vice president, pallet division North America for TransFresh Corp., Salinas, CA.  He has been with company since 1976, and has a masters degree in post harvest science from the University of California, Davis.)

 

 

 

 

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