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We’re not talking huge volumes of loads involving fresh produce in the 
Midwest, or Central USA, but there are quite a few areas shipping this time of the year. Even a partial load may allow you to get to another destination to fill out the trailer, or deliver and get a full haul.
Texas – There are 350 to 400 truckloads of Mexican avocados crossing the border into the Lower Rio Grande Valley each week. There’s also a significant amount of Mexican watermelons moving into Texas as well. The valley itself continues to ship various vegetables.
New Mexico — It may not be big volume, but onions are being shipped from the Las Cruces area.
Michigan — Light to moderate volumes of apples are available from Western Michigan. In about a month vegetable shipments will get underway.
Wisconsin — Potato loadings continue from the Stevens Point (central Wisconsin) area in moderate volume.
Colorado — The San Luis Valley is averaging around 500 truckloads of potatoes a week.
Nebraska — The Cornhusker state is certainly no Idaho, or even a Colorado or Wisconsin, when it comes to potato shipments. However, there are spuds in limited amounts coming out the Southwestern (Imperial) and Northeastern (O’Neill) parts of the state.
Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $2000 to Houston.
South Texas produce – about $4600 to New York City.
With over 30 million bushels of apples in the USA remaining in storages to be 
shipped, steady loading opportunties through much of the summer are expected, especially from Washington state. There is one percent more fruit remaining in storages than last year’s large crop, and three percent more tonnage remaining compared to the five-year average.
The Yakima and Wenatchee valleys of Washington state are averaging about 2500 truckload equivalents of apple shipments a week, although this amount includes some shipments by rail….By contrast, Michigan apple loadings are amounting to around 125 truck loads per week….New York state apple shipments are similar, but declining as the season winds down.
Washington apples – grossing about $6200 to Atlanta.
Michigan apples – about $2800 to Oklahoma City.
FREEZE UPDATE — I reported on May 9 a major freeze hitting Ontario and Michigan apple shipping areas, as well as New York and possibly Pennsylvania. This will affect your loading opportunities starting in late July and August and continue for the 2012-13 apple shipping season.
It will be June, if not July in some instances, before it is known how much next season’s apple shipments will be hurt, but it will be substantial. The damage to Ontario’s 16,000 acres of orchards has been termed “catastrophic,” a pretty harsh term for normally optimtistic produce shippers. It also known there is significant damage to apples in Michigan and upstate New York.
Better treatment of truckers was a primary theme at a session titled, Transportation Best Practices for the Produce Industry, 
held during the annual show of the United Fresh Produce Association, May 1, at the Dallas (TX) Convention Center.
The theme of the meeting is based around a set of transportation guidelines released earlier this year by The North American Produce Transportation Working Group (NAPTWG). The group has released a document combining various transportation guidelines for the produce industry to use, with the end result being better treatment of truckers leading to more refrigerated equipment and drivers being available to haul fresh fruits and vegetables.
A member of the audience tells the panel there is a shortage of 200,000 drivers and “we’ve got some problems coming up” with an improving economy.
Panel member Ken Lund, vice president, support services, Allen Lund Co., said the average age for truckers is over 55, and not that many drivers are entering the industry. There are 2.7 million Class 8 trucks and 98 percent of those are companies with 10 trucks or less. Most refrigerated produce haulers have a one truck operation, he says.
“We want drivers to be treated well,” Lund states. He adds that today more retail receivers are treating drivers better.”
Lund notes the USA is looking at an eight and one-half to nine percent unemployment rate, yet there are “tens of thousands of openings” in transportation. “But there are not a lot of people entering the industry and we want to make it better for them.”
He points out the Allen Lund Co. has a transportation education program for drivers providing them various kinds of information such as how to take the pulp temperature of produce to ensure product being loaded has been pre-cooled.
Panel member Frank Swanson, category manager, U.S. Foods said, food safety is a concern for his company. “We look at how to get transportation companies that take care of the product and maintain the correct temperature.”
Panelist Ken Nabel, president, Kingston and Associates Marketing, LLC points out a lot of military personnel are coming home, receiving discharges and should provide a lot of potential for jobs as drivers.
Another member of the audience asks the panel what is the leading cause of produce loads being rejected?
Bret Smith, director of commodities procurement, Safeway Inc., responds the majority of kicked loads results from temperature problems with fruits and vegetables, as well as issues relating to quality.
“We need to know if a problem exists in route, not when the load arrives,” Smith says. He adds having a driver check list, plus ensuring the driver has been trained to “check all components” associated with the load helps to avoid problems with claims.
Lund points out that there are seperate points on the NAPTWG website for shippers, truckers and receivers. Those points can be found at: www.naptwg.org
What is the number one issue for produce transportation in 2012?
Nabel believes it is the cost of diesel fuel.
Smith cites “having good companies (carriers) with a good driver base.” He also says the high cost of goods Safeway must purchase for its stores is a concern. On the plus side, Smith believes docks used to consolidate loads are becoming more efficient, which is making consolidated loads more attractive to drivers.
Lund, obviously looking weeks ahead to the peak spring and summer shipping season for produce states, “When rates get high, a lot of people jump into the market (especially) when rates hit $10,000 from California to New York….Prices (rates) have gone up. Ten years ago it was $3,000 from California to Atlanta; now it’s $10,000. If we had those prices 10 years ago….” he notes
The transportation broker then adds, “Thre are a lot of shady brokers out there and a lot of double brokering going on.” Lund relates a lot of times a shipper will list the Allen Lund Co. on the document as a shipper. “We are not a shipper, we’re a broker. This is where a lot of theft occurs, as well as double brokering.”
On another topic, the panel discusses railroads and its role in hauling fresh produce.
Smith of Safeway says the retail chain has not been very successful using rail, although the company continues to consider it.
Swanson of U.S. Food cites the service of RailEx, a company working with major railroads, providing coast-to-coast unit trains. He likes the RailEx “door-to-door” service, but says over all the service is very limited.
Lund points out that only one to two percent of the nation’s fresh produce is shipped by rail.
“Some people on Capitol Hill think 50 percent of produce should be on the rails. But the infrastructure changes would be monumental,” Lund says.
Ending the session was an audience member asking the panel about 18 wheelers being powered by natural gas.
Lund says there has been a lot of testing in this area, however the infrastructure for cross country trucking is not available. Most trucks using natural gas are doing local hauls.
(For more information on the NAPTWG, see press release published on HaulProduce, titled, Transportation Group Releases Best Practices. It ran on Jan. 17, 2012)
By Bully Dog
Let the engine of your rig breath easy with Bully Dog’s premium exhaust manifolds! Stock manifolds are often leaky, which can 
keep your engine from exhaling efficiently and choke your truck’s performance. Bully Dog exhaust manifolds are carefully designed to fit the stock mounting points, which reduces install headaches and the amount of hardware needed.
Heavy Duty trucks are the workhorses of the open road. Bully Dog gets that, and we’ve built our manifolds to withstand the high temps and long hours they’re sure to endure. While stock manifolds are generally made from cast iron, we have chosen to use a premium alloy that expands and contracts at a more consistent rate than cast iron. This will reduce leaks around the joints and prevent cracking. We’ve also coated every manifold with temperature-resistant ceramic, which contains engine heat within the manifold where it belongs and reduces the temperatures radiating from the manifold by up to 300 degrees.
With a Bully Dog manifold, your truck can also flow more air safely, with no clamps. Stock manifolds with multiple parts are put together loosely, and loose connections equal leaks. Every Bully Dog manifold is pressure fit together. What does this mean for you? Less leaks and more performance!
We have adjusted all the angles of the manifold, making them more gradual and producing up to 20% better airflow. In English? Better airflow means exhaust escapes quicker, your turbo flows better and you get faster-acting performance!
Instead of letting your truck puff along with a restrictive exhaust, give it the tools it needs to exhale smoothly. And just because you’re special, we’ve hand ported and polished every manifold, reducing back pressure and giving your engine every opportunity to breath easy.
Find out more online or contact your local Bully Dog dealer today.
For owner operator Ruben Velez, nothing has been given to him. He has worked hard all his life.
“I didn’t finish high school because I grew up working to help my mother pay the bills,” Ruben says.
HaulProduce caught up with the resident of Orlando, FL several weeks ago at The Polish Shop, located at exit 2 along I-75 at Lake Park in far southern Georgia. Ruben has his 2012 386 model Peterbilt polished here about three times a year. This blue beauty, with only 90,000 miles, houses a 455 h.p. Paacar diesel, featuring a 13-speed tranny, and a 242-inch wheelbase. He pulls a 53-foot Utility trailer mounted with a Carrier reefer unit.
Ruben primarily hauls tomatoes out of Southern and Central Florida. He had recently delivered a load of Florida tomatoes to New Jersey. He was returning to Florida with a load of dry freight. It had six drops. He’d already unloaded some of the freight in Atlanta, with further drops set for Lakeland and Deerfield, FL. Then he planned to pick up more Florida tomatoes to haul back north.
Ruben, 43, started trucking as a company drive at age 18. He’s been an owner operator for the past 18 years, owning nothing but Petes. Although he hauls a lot of tomatoes, his favorite loads are with frozen foods. He cites no particular reason, except, “I’ve always hauled it.”
Among his concerns as a small business owner, is the high cost of diesel fuel. “The high price of diesel is hurting me and everyone,” he notes. As for fuel surcharges, the trucker says he receives them, primarily on dry freight, but it is often too little and lags behind the increasing cost of fuel.
Ruben states trucking is becoming more difficult, not only for new entries into the profession, but the veteran drivers as well.
“This (trucking) industry has ate up a lot of guys,” he says. “If you’re entering this industry, go to work for a carrier where you have the benefits. The fuel, tolls, insurance, etc.; all of these costs are very high.”
Asked about his biggest challenge as a trucker, Ruben cites dealing with the inexperienced drivers on the road, both four wheelers and operators of the big rigs. “A lot of them are out there driving while texting, talking on their cell phones; not paying attention.”
His favorite aspect of trucking is a very common answer among long haul drivers — being on the road, enjoying the scenery and just seeing a lot of different things.
As for keys to surviving and making a living in trucking, Ruben cites not only being willing to work hard, but to deal with good, honest shippers, brokers and receivers. He uses his own operating authority to get most of his dry freight hauls, while using reliable, honest truck brokers to obtain his produce hauls.
In Florida while some vegetable shipments, such as peppers are on the 
decline, items such as potatoes, watermelons and tomatoes are providing better loading opportunities.
Florida is shipping about 500 truckloads of potatoes weekly and product is now coming out of the Hastings/Palatka area…..Watermelons are moving in much heavier volume, over 2,200 truckloads a week, from southern and central Florida. There also is good volume with tomatoes from the southern and central parts of the state.
If you are in Florida and need to fill out the truck, southern Georgia continues to ship greens, squash and other vegetables….Vidalia onions are now moving in good volume….In the Ft. Valley area, peach shipments have started…..Peaches in South Carolina are only a few days behind Georgia and both states should provide good loading opportunities – especially through the month of June.
South Carolina also has light to moderate volume with greens, sweet onions, cabbage, parsley and cilantro. Coming in June will be shipments of corn, tomatoes and peppers.
Looking ahead, North Carolina loading opportunities for watermelons and cantaloupe will be coming the last half of June.
Southern New Jersey continues to ship light amounts of lettuce and asparagus. These items will be winding down with the month of May, but will be replaced in June with vegetables ranging from bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, as well as blueberries and peaches.
Central Florida tomatoes, watermelons – grossing about $4100 to New York City.
Georgia vegetables – about $2700 to Philadlephia.
Ventura, CA- based Cargo Data Corp. has introduced its Quality USB temperature recorder.
The small, digital device is designed to monitor perishable shipments, according to a news release.
Quality USB features a LCD screen that shows temperature data without the need to connect to a computer.
Featuring Cargo Data’s free KoldLink software, the new recorder permits allows users to view, print, archive and e-mail data directly from the program, as well as upload to the Cargo Data website. This removes the need for paper strip chart recorders, according to the release.
Users with the recorder ID number can view, download and print temperature charts from the secure website.
“Quality USB is small enough to place inside a carton and is provided in a food safe moisture-protective pouch to keep it clean and dry. This makes Quality USB the perfect recorder for iced, wet, and corrosive shipments,” Roger Niebolt, sales manager, said in the release.
Postmedia News is reporting a catastrophic freeze has wiped out about 80 per
cent of Ontario’s apple crop and has the province’s fruit industry looking at losses already estimated at more than $100 million.
“This is the worst disaster fruit growers have ever, ever experienced,” orchard owner Keith Wright said May 4.
“We’ve been here for generations and I’ve never heard of this happening before across the province. This is unheard of where all fruit growing areas in basically the Great Lakes area, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York State, Ontario, are all basically wiped out. It’s unheard of,” the Harrow, Ont.-area grower said.
If apple shipments from the Great Lakes region falls by 80 percent there is bound to be more demand and brisk loadings of Washington state apples once the new season kicks off in July and August.
About 125 truckloads of Michigan apples are being shipped a week from storages and are grossing about $3200 to Dallas.
The hours of service rule changes are not major, but they are confusing. A 
greater focus is needed on prevention of stolen produce loads, and there are discussions of alternatives to using trucks to haul produce, but the alternatives are not that impressive in most cases. These are just a few of the topics addressed at the United Fresh Produce Convention, held May 1-3 at the Dallas (Texas) Conventi0n Center. The session was titled Examining Today’s Transportation Challenges and Alternatives. (To read more about this session see the report published on May 3rd)
Dan Vache’, vice president of the United Fresh Produce Association describes hours of service as a top concern of the produce indutry.
Gary E. York, general manager, C.H. Robinson Co. Worldwide Inc. describes the hours of service rules as “complicated”, specifically noting that twice a week driver’s are not allowed to drive between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
“If more drivers were able to operate 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. it would mean less drivers on the road during high traffic hours,” York adds.
A member of the audience points out the hours of service regulations were altered for safety reasons, “but in some cases the changes make it less safe.”
Another audience member asks the panel about compliance of rules and regulations for truckers. York replies that technology is helping to improve compliance and will do more so in the future.
On the topic of stolen loads, Vache’ relates there are no good answers, “but we have to police ourselves.” For example, if a truck shows up with a load of nuts, the receiver or buyer needs to know from where it came.
There also is a lot of contraband crossing the U.S. border from the Southern hemisphere and being distributed throughout the USA and Canada. Vache’ notes the U.S. and Canadian governments are working together to reduce this problem.
With the seasonally high volume of produce, less available refrigeration equipment and rising rates, the topic of alternatives to truck transportation are addressed. Panel members indicate there are certain commodities and routes for transporting produce other than truck, but it is limited.
Alex Crow, national trucking manager, Hellman Perishable Logistics, says, “I don’t think we can replace trucks on certain routes, but we can do some things like with Washington state to Chicago on certain items (like apples, onions and potatoes).
York indicates railroad service has improved, pointing out a rail delivery from Washington state to Chicago can occur within 12 hours of what a single truck driver can deliver. Rails are now delivering loads to the East Coast in six days.
However, York adds that a problem with rail service is the lack of intermodal equipment. There also is the challenge of rails being able to compete with trucks when it comes to backhauls, or return loads. Rails remain an option, are slowly increasing their volume, but York doesn’t see any significant improvements in the next three to five years.
An audience member comments there are transportation problems in moving potatoes out of Idaho. The challenge is getting the equipment to Idaho to make the hauls.
Concerning the CSA safety enforcement systems for trucks that used to be known as SafeStat, Vache’ says in the future the scores will have more meaning as the government is better able to track carriers.
“It’s going to force carriers to be more selective in the drivers they hire,” Vache’s states. “It is going to revolutionize the industry. It will result in liability becoming a bigger issue for carriers. Technology will result in more efficiency to the industry, but more liability.”
I bought this pair of melons grown in Guatemala at a local U.S. supermarket for 
$1.98 a piece. They were good, but not great. I placed a little salt on each to compensate for the lack of sweetness. The Guatemalan cantaloupe has gotten better as the season has progressed, not unusal for a lot of fruit, not matter where it is grown.
Now get this. In Japan, the Yubari King melon is what Kobe is to beef. Yubari is a Japanese city famous for cantaloupe that is a cross between two varieties. A Japanese auction has gotten as much $26,000 for a pair of these melons! However, the “regular” Yubari melons more typically garner “only” $50 to $100 a pair!
Think I’ll stick with my Guatemalan melons, even if I do have to add a little salt.
We’re not talking huge volumes of loads involving fresh produce in the Midwest, or Central USA, but there are quite a few areas shipping this time of the year. Even a partial load may allow you to get to another destination to fill out the trailer, or deliver and get a full haul.
Texas – There are 350 to 400 truckloads of Mexican avocados crossing the border into the Lower Rio Grande Valley each week. There’s also a significant amount of Mexican watermelons moving into Texas as well. The valley itself continues to ship various vegetables.
New Mexico — It may not be big volume, but onions are being shipped from the Las Cruces area.
Michigan — Light to moderate volumes of apples are available from Western Michigan. In about a month vegetable shipments will get underway.
Wisconsin — Potato loadings continue from the Stevens Point (central Wisconsin) area in moderate volume.
Colorado — The San Luis Valley is averaging around 500 truckloads of potatoes a week.
Nebraska — The Cornhusker state is certainly no Idaho, or even a Colorado or Wisconsin, when it comes to potato shipments. However, there are spuds in limited amounts coming out the Southwestern (Imperial) and Northeastern (O’Neill) parts of the state.
Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $2000 to Houston.
South Texas produce – about $4600 to New York City.
With over 30 million bushels of apples in the USA remaining in storages to be shipped, steady loading opportunties through much of the summer are expected, especially from Washington state. There is one percent more fruit remaining in storages than last year’s large crop, and three percent more tonnage remaining compared to the five-year average.
The Yakima and Wenatchee valleys of Washington state are averaging about 2500 truckload equivalents of apple shipments a week, although this amount includes some shipments by rail….By contrast, Michigan apple loadings are amounting to around 125 truck loads per week….New York state apple shipments are similar, but declining as the season winds down.
Washington apples – grossing about $6200 to Atlanta.
Michigan apples – about $2800 to Oklahoma City.
FREEZE UPDATE — I reported on May 9 a major freeze hitting Ontario and Michigan apple shipping areas, as well as New York and possibly Pennsylvania. This will affect your loading opportunities starting in late July and August and continue for the 2012-13 apple shipping season.
It will be June, if not July in some instances, before it is known how much next season’s apple shipments will be hurt, but it will be substantial. The damage to Ontario’s 16,000 acres of orchards has been termed “catastrophic,” a pretty harsh term for normally optimtistic produce shippers. It also known there is significant damage to apples in Michigan and upstate New York.
Better treatment of truckers was a primary theme at a session titled, Transportation Best Practices for the Produce Industry, held during the annual show of the United Fresh Produce Association, May 1, at the Dallas (TX) Convention Center.
The theme of the meeting is based around a set of transportation guidelines released earlier this year by The North American Produce Transportation Working Group (NAPTWG). The group has released a document combining various transportation guidelines for the produce industry to use, with the end result being better treatment of truckers leading to more refrigerated equipment and drivers being available to haul fresh fruits and vegetables.
A member of the audience tells the panel there is a shortage of 200,000 drivers and “we’ve got some problems coming up” with an improving economy.
Panel member Ken Lund, vice president, support services, Allen Lund Co., said the average age for truckers is over 55, and not that many drivers are entering the industry. There are 2.7 million Class 8 trucks and 98 percent of those are companies with 10 trucks or less. Most refrigerated produce haulers have a one truck operation, he says.
“We want drivers to be treated well,” Lund states. He adds that today more retail receivers are treating drivers better.”
Lund notes the USA is looking at an eight and one-half to nine percent unemployment rate, yet there are “tens of thousands of openings” in transportation. “But there are not a lot of people entering the industry and we want to make it better for them.”
He points out the Allen Lund Co. has a transportation education program for drivers providing them various kinds of information such as how to take the pulp temperature of produce to ensure product being loaded has been pre-cooled.
Panel member Frank Swanson, category manager, U.S. Foods said, food safety is a concern for his company. “We look at how to get transportation companies that take care of the product and maintain the correct temperature.”
Panelist Ken Nabel, president, Kingston and Associates Marketing, LLC points out a lot of military personnel are coming home, receiving discharges and should provide a lot of potential for jobs as drivers.
Another member of the audience asks the panel what is the leading cause of produce loads being rejected?
Bret Smith, director of commodities procurement, Safeway Inc., responds the majority of kicked loads results from temperature problems with fruits and vegetables, as well as issues relating to quality.
“We need to know if a problem exists in route, not when the load arrives,” Smith says. He adds having a driver check list, plus ensuring the driver has been trained to “check all components” associated with the load helps to avoid problems with claims.
Lund points out that there are seperate points on the NAPTWG website for shippers, truckers and receivers. Those points can be found at: www.naptwg.org
What is the number one issue for produce transportation in 2012?
Nabel believes it is the cost of diesel fuel.
Smith cites “having good companies (carriers) with a good driver base.” He also says the high cost of goods Safeway must purchase for its stores is a concern. On the plus side, Smith believes docks used to consolidate loads are becoming more efficient, which is making consolidated loads more attractive to drivers.
Lund, obviously looking weeks ahead to the peak spring and summer shipping season for produce states, “When rates get high, a lot of people jump into the market (especially) when rates hit $10,000 from California to New York….Prices (rates) have gone up. Ten years ago it was $3,000 from California to Atlanta; now it’s $10,000. If we had those prices 10 years ago….” he notes
The transportation broker then adds, “Thre are a lot of shady brokers out there and a lot of double brokering going on.” Lund relates a lot of times a shipper will list the Allen Lund Co. on the document as a shipper. “We are not a shipper, we’re a broker. This is where a lot of theft occurs, as well as double brokering.”
On another topic, the panel discusses railroads and its role in hauling fresh produce.
Smith of Safeway says the retail chain has not been very successful using rail, although the company continues to consider it.
Swanson of U.S. Food cites the service of RailEx, a company working with major railroads, providing coast-to-coast unit trains. He likes the RailEx “door-to-door” service, but says over all the service is very limited.
Lund points out that only one to two percent of the nation’s fresh produce is shipped by rail.
“Some people on Capitol Hill think 50 percent of produce should be on the rails. But the infrastructure changes would be monumental,” Lund says.
Ending the session was an audience member asking the panel about 18 wheelers being powered by natural gas.
Lund says there has been a lot of testing in this area, however the infrastructure for cross country trucking is not available. Most trucks using natural gas are doing local hauls.
(For more information on the NAPTWG, see press release published on HaulProduce, titled, Transportation Group Releases Best Practices. It ran on Jan. 17, 2012)
By Bully Dog
Let the engine of your rig breath easy with Bully Dog’s premium exhaust manifolds! Stock manifolds are often leaky, which can keep your engine from exhaling efficiently and choke your truck’s performance. Bully Dog exhaust manifolds are carefully designed to fit the stock mounting points, which reduces install headaches and the amount of hardware needed.
Heavy Duty trucks are the workhorses of the open road. Bully Dog gets that, and we’ve built our manifolds to withstand the high temps and long hours they’re sure to endure. While stock manifolds are generally made from cast iron, we have chosen to use a premium alloy that expands and contracts at a more consistent rate than cast iron. This will reduce leaks around the joints and prevent cracking. We’ve also coated every manifold with temperature-resistant ceramic, which contains engine heat within the manifold where it belongs and reduces the temperatures radiating from the manifold by up to 300 degrees.
With a Bully Dog manifold, your truck can also flow more air safely, with no clamps. Stock manifolds with multiple parts are put together loosely, and loose connections equal leaks. Every Bully Dog manifold is pressure fit together. What does this mean for you? Less leaks and more performance!
We have adjusted all the angles of the manifold, making them more gradual and producing up to 20% better airflow. In English? Better airflow means exhaust escapes quicker, your turbo flows better and you get faster-acting performance!
Instead of letting your truck puff along with a restrictive exhaust, give it the tools it needs to exhale smoothly. And just because you’re special, we’ve hand ported and polished every manifold, reducing back pressure and giving your engine every opportunity to breath easy.
Find out more online or contact your local Bully Dog dealer today.
For owner operator Ruben Velez, nothing has been given to him. He has worked hard all his life.
“I didn’t finish high school because I grew up working to help my mother pay the bills,” Ruben says.
HaulProduce caught up with the resident of Orlando, FL several weeks ago at The Polish Shop, located at exit 2 along I-75 at Lake Park in far southern Georgia. Ruben has his 2012 386 model Peterbilt polished here about three times a year. This blue beauty, with only 90,000 miles, houses a 455 h.p. Paacar diesel, featuring a 13-speed tranny, and a 242-inch wheelbase. He pulls a 53-foot Utility trailer mounted with a Carrier reefer unit.
Ruben primarily hauls tomatoes out of Southern and Central Florida. He had recently delivered a load of Florida tomatoes to New Jersey. He was returning to Florida with a load of dry freight. It had six drops. He’d already unloaded some of the freight in Atlanta, with further drops set for Lakeland and Deerfield, FL. Then he planned to pick up more Florida tomatoes to haul back north.
Ruben, 43, started trucking as a company drive at age 18. He’s been an owner operator for the past 18 years, owning nothing but Petes. Although he hauls a lot of tomatoes, his favorite loads are with frozen foods. He cites no particular reason, except, “I’ve always hauled it.”
Among his concerns as a small business owner, is the high cost of diesel fuel. “The high price of diesel is hurting me and everyone,” he notes. As for fuel surcharges, the trucker says he receives them, primarily on dry freight, but it is often too little and lags behind the increasing cost of fuel.
Ruben states trucking is becoming more difficult, not only for new entries into the profession, but the veteran drivers as well.
“This (trucking) industry has ate up a lot of guys,” he says. “If you’re entering this industry, go to work for a carrier where you have the benefits. The fuel, tolls, insurance, etc.; all of these costs are very high.”
Asked about his biggest challenge as a trucker, Ruben cites dealing with the inexperienced drivers on the road, both four wheelers and operators of the big rigs. “A lot of them are out there driving while texting, talking on their cell phones; not paying attention.”
His favorite aspect of trucking is a very common answer among long haul drivers — being on the road, enjoying the scenery and just seeing a lot of different things.
As for keys to surviving and making a living in trucking, Ruben cites not only being willing to work hard, but to deal with good, honest shippers, brokers and receivers. He uses his own operating authority to get most of his dry freight hauls, while using reliable, honest truck brokers to obtain his produce hauls.
In Florida while some vegetable shipments, such as peppers are on the decline, items such as potatoes, watermelons and tomatoes are providing better loading opportunities.
Florida is shipping about 500 truckloads of potatoes weekly and product is now coming out of the Hastings/Palatka area…..Watermelons are moving in much heavier volume, over 2,200 truckloads a week, from southern and central Florida. There also is good volume with tomatoes from the southern and central parts of the state.
If you are in Florida and need to fill out the truck, southern Georgia continues to ship greens, squash and other vegetables….Vidalia onions are now moving in good volume….In the Ft. Valley area, peach shipments have started…..Peaches in South Carolina are only a few days behind Georgia and both states should provide good loading opportunities – especially through the month of June.
South Carolina also has light to moderate volume with greens, sweet onions, cabbage, parsley and cilantro. Coming in June will be shipments of corn, tomatoes and peppers.
Looking ahead, North Carolina loading opportunities for watermelons and cantaloupe will be coming the last half of June.
Southern New Jersey continues to ship light amounts of lettuce and asparagus. These items will be winding down with the month of May, but will be replaced in June with vegetables ranging from bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, as well as blueberries and peaches.
Central Florida tomatoes, watermelons – grossing about $4100 to New York City.
Georgia vegetables – about $2700 to Philadlephia.
Ventura, CA- based Cargo Data Corp. has introduced its Quality USB temperature recorder.
The small, digital device is designed to monitor perishable shipments, according to a news release.
Quality USB features a LCD screen that shows temperature data without the need to connect to a computer.
Featuring Cargo Data’s free KoldLink software, the new recorder permits allows users to view, print, archive and e-mail data directly from the program, as well as upload to the Cargo Data website. This removes the need for paper strip chart recorders, according to the release.
Users with the recorder ID number can view, download and print temperature charts from the secure website.
“Quality USB is small enough to place inside a carton and is provided in a food safe moisture-protective pouch to keep it clean and dry. This makes Quality USB the perfect recorder for iced, wet, and corrosive shipments,” Roger Niebolt, sales manager, said in the release.
Postmedia News is reporting a catastrophic freeze has wiped out about 80 per
cent of Ontario’s apple crop and has the province’s fruit industry looking at losses already estimated at more than $100 million.
“This is the worst disaster fruit growers have ever, ever experienced,” orchard owner Keith Wright said May 4.
“We’ve been here for generations and I’ve never heard of this happening before across the province. This is unheard of where all fruit growing areas in basically the Great Lakes area, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York State, Ontario, are all basically wiped out. It’s unheard of,” the Harrow, Ont.-area grower said.
If apple shipments from the Great Lakes region falls by 80 percent there is bound to be more demand and brisk loadings of Washington state apples once the new season kicks off in July and August.
About 125 truckloads of Michigan apples are being shipped a week from storages and are grossing about $3200 to Dallas.
The hours of service rule changes are not major, but they are confusing. A greater focus is needed on prevention of stolen produce loads, and there are discussions of alternatives to using trucks to haul produce, but the alternatives are not that impressive in most cases. These are just a few of the topics addressed at the United Fresh Produce Convention, held May 1-3 at the Dallas (Texas) Conventi0n Center. The session was titled Examining Today’s Transportation Challenges and Alternatives. (To read more about this session see the report published on May 3rd)
Dan Vache’, vice president of the United Fresh Produce Association describes hours of service as a top concern of the produce indutry.
Gary E. York, general manager, C.H. Robinson Co. Worldwide Inc. describes the hours of service rules as “complicated”, specifically noting that twice a week driver’s are not allowed to drive between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
“If more drivers were able to operate 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. it would mean less drivers on the road during high traffic hours,” York adds.
A member of the audience points out the hours of service regulations were altered for safety reasons, “but in some cases the changes make it less safe.”
Another audience member asks the panel about compliance of rules and regulations for truckers. York replies that technology is helping to improve compliance and will do more so in the future.
On the topic of stolen loads, Vache’ relates there are no good answers, “but we have to police ourselves.” For example, if a truck shows up with a load of nuts, the receiver or buyer needs to know from where it came.
There also is a lot of contraband crossing the U.S. border from the Southern hemisphere and being distributed throughout the USA and Canada. Vache’ notes the U.S. and Canadian governments are working together to reduce this problem.
With the seasonally high volume of produce, less available refrigeration equipment and rising rates, the topic of alternatives to truck transportation are addressed. Panel members indicate there are certain commodities and routes for transporting produce other than truck, but it is limited.
Alex Crow, national trucking manager, Hellman Perishable Logistics, says, “I don’t think we can replace trucks on certain routes, but we can do some things like with Washington state to Chicago on certain items (like apples, onions and potatoes).
York indicates railroad service has improved, pointing out a rail delivery from Washington state to Chicago can occur within 12 hours of what a single truck driver can deliver. Rails are now delivering loads to the East Coast in six days.
However, York adds that a problem with rail service is the lack of intermodal equipment. There also is the challenge of rails being able to compete with trucks when it comes to backhauls, or return loads. Rails remain an option, are slowly increasing their volume, but York doesn’t see any significant improvements in the next three to five years.
An audience member comments there are transportation problems in moving potatoes out of Idaho. The challenge is getting the equipment to Idaho to make the hauls.
Concerning the CSA safety enforcement systems for trucks that used to be known as SafeStat, Vache’ says in the future the scores will have more meaning as the government is better able to track carriers.
“It’s going to force carriers to be more selective in the drivers they hire,” Vache’s states. “It is going to revolutionize the industry. It will result in liability becoming a bigger issue for carriers. Technology will result in more efficiency to the industry, but more liability.”
I bought this pair of melons grown in Guatemala at a local U.S. supermarket for $1.98 a piece. They were good, but not great. I placed a little salt on each to compensate for the lack of sweetness. The Guatemalan cantaloupe has gotten better as the season has progressed, not unusal for a lot of fruit, not matter where it is grown.
Now get this. In Japan, the Yubari King melon is what Kobe is to beef. Yubari is a Japanese city famous for cantaloupe that is a cross between two varieties. A Japanese auction has gotten as much $26,000 for a pair of these melons! However, the “regular” Yubari melons more typically garner “only” $50 to $100 a pair!
Think I’ll stick with my Guatemalan melons, even if I do have to add a little salt.