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The Hunts Point Terminal Market in New York City’s South Bronx isn’t going anywhere soon.   Thousands of refrigerated big rigs deliver fresh fruits and vegetable to the world’s largest wholesale operation on a weekly basis.

Negotiations between New York City and the wholesale produce maket have stalled.  Hunts Point merchants have used New Jersey as a bargaining tool as wholesalers have threated to move Hunts Point across the Hudson River if NYC didn’t meet their demands.

Now the wholesalers are biding their time until 2014 when Mayor Bloomberg will be replaced by a new major.

There was an exclusive agreement between the two parties which prevented relocation of Hunts Point to New Jersey.  The Garden State has been attempting to lure Hunts Point for decades.

However, a lease extension offered by New York City was recently rejected by the market’s board of directors.

One of the issues is Hunt Point tenants wants the city’s Business Integrity Commission, which is responsible for ending organized crime influence, to settle some issues that could disrupt the operations of wholesalers.

While Hunt Point officials have long said they are considering moving the market to New Jersey, most really want to remain right where they are, with New York City paying for major infrastructure improvements on the market.

The South Bronx location is ideal since it is nestled in the nation’s most heavily populated metroplex, plus has easy access to New England states.  Meanwhile, many produce haulers would prefer the market did move to New Jersey, lessening their gridlock woes in having to cross various Hudson River Bridges to get to the market.

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It has been  unseasonably warm in Florida, which has been good for winter shipments of  bell peppers, squash and other vegetables from Immokalee.  Consistent loadings are continuing as south Florida transitions from shipments to winter shipments.

Earlier than normal loadings are predicted for watermelons coming out of south Florida.   Shipment normally starting in mid to late April could get under this year as early as March 10, the earliest ever.

As for Florida blueberries, if warm weather continues, loadings could start one to two weeks early — around the end of March.”

CITRUS

The outlook isn’t near a good if you haul Florida citrus.   Volume is decreasing  primarily because of the dry weather and a disease called greening.  More fruit is falling to the ground before harvest, which means less  citrus — in some cases 20 or 30 percent is being picked than last year.

Florida citrus shipments  have been describedhe as the worst in 40 years, with the only comparison be the last major freeze which too place in 1989.

STRAWBERRIES 

Meanwhile Florida strawberries from the Plant City area seem to basking in the sun.  Strong shipments are expected to continues with the peak harvest well underway.

South Florida produce – grossing about $2400 to New York City.

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A loss in equipment capacity and rising freight increases are coming if new trucking hours of service regulations are implemented by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) come July 1st.

A FMCSA field study analyzing the effect of new rules, particularly the 34-hour restart provisionwhich is due at the end of March, could change those new regulations.  The American Trucking Associations and others have challenged the rules in court.

The FMSCA hels nationwide meetings across the USA before issuing  its new rules in December 2011.  Rules were finalized in early 2012, requring  with full compliance by July 2013.   Despite truck related accidents being the lowest ever the past two years, rules were specifically designed to improve the safety record of long-haul drivers as the result of a few accidents tied to driver fatigue.

A point of contention is many in trucking want to continue the regulation allowing 11 hours of drive time in any day, while many highway-safety activists are promoting  a 10-hour maximum drive day.  FMCSA maintained the 11-hour day but reduced maximum driving hours per week to 70 hours from 82, and mandated a 30-minute break after every eight hours of driving. Additonally, there is a new regulation involving the 34-hour mandated layoff at the start and end of each driver’s work week.

Under the existing rules, it is possible for a driver to include a 34-hour restart every six days. Under the new rules, only one restart is allowed per week.

In addition, under the new rules, the restart period must include two consecutive free periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Many in the trucking industry believe  these two provisions combined are going to greatly reduce the productivity of drivers.  For example, a solo driver  currently making 26 cross-country round trips per year would be limited to a maximum of 24  coast-to-coast trips under these new rules. That will mean either a 7 percent drop in capacity or the need to hire additional drivers to maximize the use of the tractor-trailers. Both scenarios would mean higher costs.

The new restart provisions is believed by many to adversely affect on-truck owner operatiors or small fleets even more than larger carriers because the smaller operators are the back bone of produce trucking.

For example,  middle-of-the-night East Coast unloading or produce  is commonplace. If a driver ends his trip unloading produce at an East Coast terminal in the middle of the night, which is common, and then begins his restart period, he’ll be off the road for more than 48 hours because he has to include two consecutive middle-of-the-night free periods.

A truck  making a 2 a.m. delivery to the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, for example,  on a Monday morning, marks the end of a cross-country long haul.  He will then have to park his truck the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday before scheduling a pickup after 5 .a.m. Wednesday.

Under the old rules, if it was 4 a.m. by the time he unloaded and got back to the terminal, he could begin driving again 34 hours later, or 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Over time, these delays will result in fewer cross-country trips.

The FMCSA claims that off-duty breaks, including the amended 34-hour restart rule, provides the greatest safety benefit and will result in fewer crashes and fewer highway deaths.

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Wisconsin potato shipments from the Central part of the Badger state remain steady for the most part, averaging about 500 truckloads per week.

Shipments are coming from potatoes harvested from about  63,500 acres, which up only slightly from the 2011 harvest.

Excellent quality and few rejections or claims are being reported from shipments.  Fresh potatoes  are accounting for  44 percent of the total crop, while frozen and fries make up  23.5 percent of the crop.  Chip potatoes are making up 23 percent of the crop, while seed potatoesare accounting for 9.5 percent of the 2012 crop.

Wisconsin ships mostly russet potatoes although there are a significan amount of  red potatoes, as well as yellow, gold and  fingerlings.   Truckers are even hauling some blue and purple potatoes, which seem to be gaining in popularity.

Wisconsin remain the nation’s third-largest potato producer and has the most shipments of any state east of the Mississippi River.

Shipments originate from Northern Wisconsin in the Rice Lake area, as well as from around Antigo and Stevens Point.

Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $3200 to New York.

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At parties and other events surrounding the Super Bowl February 3 an estimated 79 million pounds of avocados are expected to be served.  This is enough avocados to fill a football field end zone to end zone 30 feet deep, according to a news release from the Irvine, Calif.-based Hass Avocado Board.

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Their is a growing desire for convenience and variety with potatoes (and many other produce items), according to recent consumer trend studies.

For example, more consumer are purchasing microwaveable bags, specialty mini potatoes, and packaging refreshes.  A number of produce companies are increasing their offerings of products that fit these categories, including using microwave technology to offer consumers a way to bring baby potatoes to the table in just a few minutes.

Potatoes sold in supermarkets that are not in bags or sold in bulk are referred to as value-added potatoes and are offered in everything from single, double, or three-spuds to a wrap, or have been enhanced in some other fashion.  One company offers steamer potatoes in sauce,  for example.  Any value added product also costs more.  It also is associated with speed of preparation and convenience.

Another produce company is offering C-size potatoes in a microwavable tray.  Consumers also can sprinkle on spices,  toss it with olive oil or butter, and it’s ready to be taken to the table and served in the tray.

Some folks like having this quick dish as a side, or even an after-school snack. Paired with a salad, it can even make a satisfying main dish for a meatless meal.

One new line of specialty potato products  includes red and gold fingerlings and “B” and “C” sizes available in 24-ounce fresh poly mesh bags.  It also includes a 12-ounce microwave plastic bag offering that will cook in only a few minutes.

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There’s been heat followed by freeze in California, heat in Florida and pretty mild stuff going on in South Texas.  Yet amazingly, citrus hauls have not been as adversley affected as one might think by the weather.

California navel orange loadings may be the most consistent produce item coming out of that state.  Mandarin freeze damage will not be known for a couple of weeks, but the speciality citrus item is minor compared tothe volume with navels.

It has been warmer than Floridia citrus shippers like, but there are still oranges and grapefruit available with good quality and adequate volume.

At the same time Texas  has overall good citrus and not enough adverse weather to mention.

Five nights of freezing in mid January had everyone concerned in California, but it appears navels will mostly be in good shape, although lemons shipments are expected to be moderately affected.  Mandarin losses could be substantial.

Overall, about three-quarters of California’s winter citrus crop was yet to be harvested when the cold hit in mid January.

In Florida, it has been one of the warmer fall and winter shipping season on record.   As a result the coloring of  Honey tangerines is behind schedule, which may extend shipments through February.

Otherwise, the shipping outlook for Valencia oranges is good, and should continue into the summer months.

In mid January, the USDA revised its Florida citrus shipping estimated for the  2012-13 season.  It is projected to be down another  3 percent , but still remains at an impressive 142 million boxes.  Most of the decline was with Valencias, which dropped 3 million boxes to 76 million.

The USDA predictes about 18 million boxes of grapefruit will be shipped from Florida.

Florida citrus – grossing about $3100 to Boston.

Texas citrus – about $2800 to Chicago.

California citrus, about $6100 to New York.

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