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Good news on the tomato front in retail supermarket stores. Another source 
is available for greenhouse grown tomatoes, which are the closest thing you’ll find to those tasty homegrown tomatoes we all crave during the summertime.
Grape tomatoes are now arriving in stores that are grown by Delta, British Columbia headquartered Winset Farms. However, look for the clamshell packages under the Green Giant label, with is the company marketing the product for the Canadian-based firm. The tomatoes are actually being grown in greenhouses in Santa Maria, CA.
Even better news is that by spring there will be beefsteak, roma and vine tomaotes made available to consumers.
Not sure how big the production is, so it will be interesting to see what retail chains are carrying the tomatoes.
As the seasonal light to moderate winter produce loadings continue, California 
remains your best bet. There’s items ranging from strawberries to avocados in Southern California. In the desert, mixed vegetables ranging from lettuce to cauliflower, broccoli and celery are being shipped. One cautionary note: Excessive supplies of vegetables have led to a glut in the market due in part because of a mild West Coast winter. If any weather event on the East Coast that ma occur, compounds the problem as receivers don’t want trucks stuck in snow, ice etc. with a load of perishable produce.
In the Gulf Coast area, there is Texas cabbage coming out of the Winter Garden District just south of San Antonio. Further south in the Lower Rio Grande Valley there is citrus and mixed veggies, plus crossings of numerous items from Mexico….In nearby Louisiana and Mississippi, sweet potatoes continue to be shipped….In the east, there are sweet potatoes loading from North Carolina. On some days there’s been a shortage of trucks in NC, but this may be in part due to sweet potatoes not being known to get a very good freight rate.
Light to moderate apple shipments are coming from the Applachian District of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Apples are being shipped from New York’s Hudson Valley, as well as central and western parts of the state….The new crop of red potatoes from South Florida are now being shipped.
California desert vegetables – grossing about $5400 to New York City.
Mississippi sweet potatos – $1700 to Detroit.
South Texas and Mexico produce – $2100 to Atlanta.
Central New York apples – $1600 to Baltimore.
Avocados should be one of the best buys in your local produce department as produce continues to arrive from Mexico and will continue to do so into May. 
There’s also Chilean avocados which will be on retail shelves into late March. California avocados also are available and will continue well after the imported fruit is no longer available — into September. Even when California has sole possession of the market, prices should remain reasonable. The state expects to produce as much as 415 million pounds of avocados this season, 25 percent more than a year ago.
During the last quarter of 2011 the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables actually declined overall by eight percent, but we may not have necessarily have seen the benefits in our retail stores. Why? A major reason is the cost of fuel keeps rising to get the product delivered.
That means you may not have noticed the savings, for example, with oranges which had an average price of 93 cents per pound in January, compared to 98 cents per pound in December. Another example are tomatoes, which were costing on average $1.54 per pound in January, down a penny from December, but off five cents from the same time a year ago.
According to the Energy Information Administration, which is part of the Department of Energy, U.S. diesel fuel prices are continuing upward.
Truckers are now paying on average $4.051 cents per gallon for diesel fuel, which is 24 cents more per gallon than at the start of the New Year. This is the highest fuel has been since the spring of 2011.
California, to no one’s surprise, has the highest diesel fuel prices, averaging $4.41 per gallon. This is higher than the average for the West Coast, riding at $4.326 per gallon. The average price on the East Coast is $4.134 per gallon. The mid-west has the “cheapest” diesel fuel, averaging $3.914 per gallon.
At this time a year ago, the national average price per gallon for diesel was 33.5 cents per gallon less.
We’re getting more information on how shipments may be affected from Georgia and Florida following a freeze from about a week ago.
In Georgia, it is becoming clearer the cold temperatures did significant damage to blueberries — perhaps as much as 50 percent of the crop. Hardest hit were the early Georgia berries, which typically start in late April and provide loadings through May….There will also be some losses of Vidalia sweet onions, but shipments are not expected to be significantly affected overall. Onion loadings should kick off in a small way around April 10-15 and move into good volume over the next two weeks.
In Florida, the cold front was not as serious, although initial predictions see blueberry shipments being cut by 20 percent for the season. Florida blueberries usually begin harvest in the southern and central parts of the state by late March, finishing in early May. The northern Florida blueberries typically are finished by the middle of May.
In general, the Southeastern freeze damage occured north of Interstate 4 and became progressively worse the further north you go.
Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables! Right now there are good supplies 
of “grass” arriving in our local supermarkets from Mexico. Retails should even be offering special prices on it….There also is still some asparagus arriving from Peru, although volume is now seasonally down sigificantly.
Come the middle of March we should see asparagus grown in California starting to arrive in stores. This should mean even better prices for consumers since there is less expense with transportation than wilth product imported form other countries. However, there is currently of glut of asparagus which means the folks growing it are not making much. If this continues, there ars concerns some of the California farmers may disc under their crops if they’re not making enough to even harvest it.
Either way, asparagus should be a good buy in your store right on through Easter, which is April 8th.
When shopping in your favorite supermarket, here’s a few things to be check out.
Chilean grapes – Although the Chilean table grapes I’ve had this season have 
been pretty tasty (sweet), there are reports of quality issues with some of the fruit lacking in size (which I’ve seen plenty of), to lack of color and quality. I can live the smaller sizes of the individual grapes, and even if they don’t look as pretty as usual. In fact, with too many fruits and vegetables, there is way too much emphasis on beauty, or color. The old saying beauty is only skin deep applies here.
It is the taste; the quality; that really matters. One reason there are so many disppointments with tomatoes, for example, is too much emphasis over the years has been placed on “glamour” or beauty. You take home these gorgeous looking items, but find the taste is lacking.
One other note. There have been about 10 percent fewer Chilean grapes arriving this season into the U.S. than a year ago. There has been a lot more competition of the fruit from such world markets as Europe and Asia. That means less supply here in America, and you end up paying more……Does this remind anyone of our soaring gasoline and diesel fuel prices? Part of the reason is oil is being shipped to the U.S, then it is refined. However, instead of you and I buying and using it; other countries such as China are purchasing it. Sure it’s free market at work, but we as consumers are getting the shaft at the same time. But that is another story for another time.
Asparagus –
By MindShare Strategies, Inc.
for RWI Transportation LLC
Wilder, Ky., February 21, 2012- Truck continues to be the primary mode of 
transportation for temperature-controlled transportation and with today’s capacity crunch this remains a challenge for shippers. According to a just released report by RWI Transportation, an asset-based logistics company providing temperature-controlled transportation for perishable commodities, the top three challenges include capacity, controlling and monitoring the temperature of products during shipping, and cost containment.
The RWI Transportation’s 2012 Temperature-Controlled Transportation Report delves into the challenges and the strategies shippers use to overcome these challenges. The study is based on research from North American shippers of temperature-controlled products. Highlights include:
* Strategies to improving available capacity include finding new carriers as reported by 27 percent of respondents, better planning (22 percent), long-term contracts or commitments to carriers (13 percent) and using asset-based carriers/3PLs (6 percent).
* Shipment rejections due to inappropriate temperature variances are reported by 65 percent of respondents. Variances with too warm temperatures accounts for 42 percent and too cool 23 percent.
* A full 90 percent of respondents indicated that temperature tolerances impact their organizations with 38 indicating a significant to extreme impact.
“This report uncovers challenges specific to shippers of products requiring temperature-controlled environments that we are seeing today as we work closely with our customers,” said Richard Bauer, executive vice president and general manager of RWI Transportation. “Current solutions to these challenges come from understanding and using the data available on shipments including lanes, location, temperature and more. As technology improves our access to better data increases and brings the industry closer to overcoming these challenges.”
Managing in excess of 100,000 shipments annually, RWI handles temperature-controlled and dry freight, and also has specialized expertise in handling fresh produce and other perishable food commodities. RWI is an affiliate of the Castellini Group of Companies, which combines to form one of the largest distributors of fresh produce in the United States. For further information on RWI, visit www.RWItrans.com.
For a full copy of the RWI Transportation’s 2012 Temperature-Controlled Transportation Report visit http://rwitrans.com/resources/whitepapers.asp.
# # #
About RWI Transportation
RWI Transportation LLC is an asset-based logistics company that provides regional and national truckload, LTL, expedited, and refrigerated warehousing services for refrigerated and dry products. RWI is an affiliate of the Castellini Group of Companies, which forms one of the largest distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables in the United States. For more information, visit www.rwitrans.com.
Some quality problems with imported grapes from Chile have been reported. 
It’s not believed to be a major problem, but it IS major, if you are the one delivering those grapes and end up in a claims dispute over quality. The issues on both red and green varieties range from the size of the individual grapes to color and quality. So be extra careful in observing and checking what is being loaded onto your truck. These quality problems are expected to last until the end of the season in April.
By mid April imports of Chilean grapes are expected to drop off quickly.
Chilean grapes from the Port of Long Beach to Chicago – grossing about $3700.
We are several weeks away from Southern shipments of blueberries as well as 
sweet onions from Georgia’s Vidalia district. However, a recent freeze in the Georgia and Northern Florida is bound to reduce volume and loads. It is a matter of determining how much.
Blueberry shipments normally start in late March and continue until Mid May from Northern Florida, followed by Georgia, which starts in late May. Early estimates are all over the board and too unreliable to really get a handle on at this time.
Southeastern Georgia’s famous Vidalia sweet onions are also going to face some losses, but intial inquiries show those losses should not be heavy to the overall shipping season. It still appears volume could be close to normal once loadings begin around the second week of April and then shipments should start really picking up within a week or two.
Good news on the tomato front in retail supermarket stores. Another source is available for greenhouse grown tomatoes, which are the closest thing you’ll find to those tasty homegrown tomatoes we all crave during the summertime.
Grape tomatoes are now arriving in stores that are grown by Delta, British Columbia headquartered Winset Farms. However, look for the clamshell packages under the Green Giant label, with is the company marketing the product for the Canadian-based firm. The tomatoes are actually being grown in greenhouses in Santa Maria, CA.
Even better news is that by spring there will be beefsteak, roma and vine tomaotes made available to consumers.
Not sure how big the production is, so it will be interesting to see what retail chains are carrying the tomatoes.
As the seasonal light to moderate winter produce loadings continue, California remains your best bet. There’s items ranging from strawberries to avocados in Southern California. In the desert, mixed vegetables ranging from lettuce to cauliflower, broccoli and celery are being shipped. One cautionary note: Excessive supplies of vegetables have led to a glut in the market due in part because of a mild West Coast winter. If any weather event on the East Coast that ma occur, compounds the problem as receivers don’t want trucks stuck in snow, ice etc. with a load of perishable produce.
In the Gulf Coast area, there is Texas cabbage coming out of the Winter Garden District just south of San Antonio. Further south in the Lower Rio Grande Valley there is citrus and mixed veggies, plus crossings of numerous items from Mexico….In nearby Louisiana and Mississippi, sweet potatoes continue to be shipped….In the east, there are sweet potatoes loading from North Carolina. On some days there’s been a shortage of trucks in NC, but this may be in part due to sweet potatoes not being known to get a very good freight rate.
Light to moderate apple shipments are coming from the Applachian District of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Apples are being shipped from New York’s Hudson Valley, as well as central and western parts of the state….The new crop of red potatoes from South Florida are now being shipped.
California desert vegetables – grossing about $5400 to New York City.
Mississippi sweet potatos – $1700 to Detroit.
South Texas and Mexico produce – $2100 to Atlanta.
Central New York apples – $1600 to Baltimore.
Avocados should be one of the best buys in your local produce department as produce continues to arrive from Mexico and will continue to do so into May. There’s also Chilean avocados which will be on retail shelves into late March. California avocados also are available and will continue well after the imported fruit is no longer available — into September. Even when California has sole possession of the market, prices should remain reasonable. The state expects to produce as much as 415 million pounds of avocados this season, 25 percent more than a year ago.
During the last quarter of 2011 the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables actually declined overall by eight percent, but we may not have necessarily have seen the benefits in our retail stores. Why? A major reason is the cost of fuel keeps rising to get the product delivered.
That means you may not have noticed the savings, for example, with oranges which had an average price of 93 cents per pound in January, compared to 98 cents per pound in December. Another example are tomatoes, which were costing on average $1.54 per pound in January, down a penny from December, but off five cents from the same time a year ago.
According to the Energy Information Administration, which is part of the Department of Energy, U.S. diesel fuel prices are continuing upward.
Truckers are now paying on average $4.051 cents per gallon for diesel fuel, which is 24 cents more per gallon than at the start of the New Year. This is the highest fuel has been since the spring of 2011.
California, to no one’s surprise, has the highest diesel fuel prices, averaging $4.41 per gallon. This is higher than the average for the West Coast, riding at $4.326 per gallon. The average price on the East Coast is $4.134 per gallon. The mid-west has the “cheapest” diesel fuel, averaging $3.914 per gallon.
At this time a year ago, the national average price per gallon for diesel was 33.5 cents per gallon less.
We’re getting more information on how shipments may be affected from Georgia and Florida following a freeze from about a week ago.
In Georgia, it is becoming clearer the cold temperatures did significant damage to blueberries — perhaps as much as 50 percent of the crop. Hardest hit were the early Georgia berries, which typically start in late April and provide loadings through May….There will also be some losses of Vidalia sweet onions, but shipments are not expected to be significantly affected overall. Onion loadings should kick off in a small way around April 10-15 and move into good volume over the next two weeks.
In Florida, the cold front was not as serious, although initial predictions see blueberry shipments being cut by 20 percent for the season. Florida blueberries usually begin harvest in the southern and central parts of the state by late March, finishing in early May. The northern Florida blueberries typically are finished by the middle of May.
In general, the Southeastern freeze damage occured north of Interstate 4 and became progressively worse the further north you go.
Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables! Right now there are good supplies of “grass” arriving in our local supermarkets from Mexico. Retails should even be offering special prices on it….There also is still some asparagus arriving from Peru, although volume is now seasonally down sigificantly.
Come the middle of March we should see asparagus grown in California starting to arrive in stores. This should mean even better prices for consumers since there is less expense with transportation than wilth product imported form other countries. However, there is currently of glut of asparagus which means the folks growing it are not making much. If this continues, there ars concerns some of the California farmers may disc under their crops if they’re not making enough to even harvest it.
Either way, asparagus should be a good buy in your store right on through Easter, which is April 8th.
When shopping in your favorite supermarket, here’s a few things to be check out.
Chilean grapes – Although the Chilean table grapes I’ve had this season have been pretty tasty (sweet), there are reports of quality issues with some of the fruit lacking in size (which I’ve seen plenty of), to lack of color and quality. I can live the smaller sizes of the individual grapes, and even if they don’t look as pretty as usual. In fact, with too many fruits and vegetables, there is way too much emphasis on beauty, or color. The old saying beauty is only skin deep applies here.
It is the taste; the quality; that really matters. One reason there are so many disppointments with tomatoes, for example, is too much emphasis over the years has been placed on “glamour” or beauty. You take home these gorgeous looking items, but find the taste is lacking.
One other note. There have been about 10 percent fewer Chilean grapes arriving this season into the U.S. than a year ago. There has been a lot more competition of the fruit from such world markets as Europe and Asia. That means less supply here in America, and you end up paying more……Does this remind anyone of our soaring gasoline and diesel fuel prices? Part of the reason is oil is being shipped to the U.S, then it is refined. However, instead of you and I buying and using it; other countries such as China are purchasing it. Sure it’s free market at work, but we as consumers are getting the shaft at the same time. But that is another story for another time.
Asparagus –
By MindShare Strategies, Inc.
for RWI Transportation LLC
Wilder, Ky., February 21, 2012- Truck continues to be the primary mode of transportation for temperature-controlled transportation and with today’s capacity crunch this remains a challenge for shippers. According to a just released report by RWI Transportation, an asset-based logistics company providing temperature-controlled transportation for perishable commodities, the top three challenges include capacity, controlling and monitoring the temperature of products during shipping, and cost containment.
The RWI Transportation’s 2012 Temperature-Controlled Transportation Report delves into the challenges and the strategies shippers use to overcome these challenges. The study is based on research from North American shippers of temperature-controlled products. Highlights include:
* Strategies to improving available capacity include finding new carriers as reported by 27 percent of respondents, better planning (22 percent), long-term contracts or commitments to carriers (13 percent) and using asset-based carriers/3PLs (6 percent).
* Shipment rejections due to inappropriate temperature variances are reported by 65 percent of respondents. Variances with too warm temperatures accounts for 42 percent and too cool 23 percent.
* A full 90 percent of respondents indicated that temperature tolerances impact their organizations with 38 indicating a significant to extreme impact.
“This report uncovers challenges specific to shippers of products requiring temperature-controlled environments that we are seeing today as we work closely with our customers,” said Richard Bauer, executive vice president and general manager of RWI Transportation. “Current solutions to these challenges come from understanding and using the data available on shipments including lanes, location, temperature and more. As technology improves our access to better data increases and brings the industry closer to overcoming these challenges.”
Managing in excess of 100,000 shipments annually, RWI handles temperature-controlled and dry freight, and also has specialized expertise in handling fresh produce and other perishable food commodities. RWI is an affiliate of the Castellini Group of Companies, which combines to form one of the largest distributors of fresh produce in the United States. For further information on RWI, visit www.RWItrans.com.
For a full copy of the RWI Transportation’s 2012 Temperature-Controlled Transportation Report visit http://rwitrans.com/resources/whitepapers.asp.
# # #
About RWI Transportation
RWI Transportation LLC is an asset-based logistics company that provides regional and national truckload, LTL, expedited, and refrigerated warehousing services for refrigerated and dry products. RWI is an affiliate of the Castellini Group of Companies, which forms one of the largest distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables in the United States. For more information, visit www.rwitrans.com.
Some quality problems with imported grapes from Chile have been reported. It’s not believed to be a major problem, but it IS major, if you are the one delivering those grapes and end up in a claims dispute over quality. The issues on both red and green varieties range from the size of the individual grapes to color and quality. So be extra careful in observing and checking what is being loaded onto your truck. These quality problems are expected to last until the end of the season in April.
By mid April imports of Chilean grapes are expected to drop off quickly.
Chilean grapes from the Port of Long Beach to Chicago – grossing about $3700.
We are several weeks away from Southern shipments of blueberries as well as sweet onions from Georgia’s Vidalia district. However, a recent freeze in the Georgia and Northern Florida is bound to reduce volume and loads. It is a matter of determining how much.
Blueberry shipments normally start in late March and continue until Mid May from Northern Florida, followed by Georgia, which starts in late May. Early estimates are all over the board and too unreliable to really get a handle on at this time.
Southeastern Georgia’s famous Vidalia sweet onions are also going to face some losses, but intial inquiries show those losses should not be heavy to the overall shipping season. It still appears volume could be close to normal once loadings begin around the second week of April and then shipments should start really picking up within a week or two.