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Fresh fruit and veggies shipments from South Texas continues to increase, although for a number of years now it is primarily due to more loads crossing the border from Mexico. Of the total loads by truck leaving the Rio Grande Valley, about 60% of that produce was grown south of the border. While Nogales, AZ for years has been known as the principal import point for Mexican produce into the U.S., last year for the first time imports in the Lower Rio Grande Valley exceeded those of Nogales. This trend is expected to continue when a year from now a new highway in Mexico is expected to be completed. The 143-mile long Autopista Durango-Maztlan is the east-west highway being built. More West Mexican produce shipments that normally go through Nogales, will instead be channeled through South Texas, because it will reduce freight rates for loads destined to the Eastern United States…Currrently your best South Texas loading opportunities are with cabbage, just south of San Antonio, plus grapefruit further south in the valley.
December is one of the slowest months of the year in terms of produce volume and shipments, despite the holidays. Citrus, led by oranges and grapefruit tend to provide some of the best loading opportunities. Florida easily leads the orange tonnage, although a large percentage of this citrus is processed for juice, unlike in California. Florida should ship about 150 million boxes of oranges this season, compared to around 57.5 million from California, the latter coming from central and southern areas. Florida also easily leads in shipments of grapefruit, with about 19.4 million boxes forecast this season. Second is the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas with around 5.1 million boxes and followed by California with 3.4 million cartons.
Texas grapefruit grossing about $1300 to Tulsa and Oklahoma City
Heading into the Christmas weekend, it is my hope as you are reading this you’ll be home with family and friends for Christmas. Thinking of all the beautifully wrapped gifts under my tree, virtually all them, just like millions of others around America, were delivered by truck. Over 95% of the fresh fruits and vegetables available in our favorite supermarket are there because of the trucking industry. As Christians across this great land celebrate the birth of Christ, this is wishing you a joyful holiday season beyond your greatest expections. It also is a wish for more kindness, peace and love in the world. God Bless – and Merry Christmas.
There’s good news for truckers, your loading opportunities, plus on the home front when comes to buying fresh produce at your local supermarket.
For the second consecutive month, a leading recent indicator in retail food inflation shows prices for fresh fruits and veggies fell in November. However, prices ares still on track to post among the largest increases over the past decade, according to government data.
Supermarket prices for fresh fruits and vegetables fell in November. Average retail fresh fruit and vegetable prices fell 1.2% last month from October levels, according to updated Consumer Price Index data released Dec. 16 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. October prices were down 2.7% from September.
Compared with a year ago, fresh fruit and vegetable prices were up 3.8% for the first 11 months of 2011 and posted average year-over-year increases of 4.8%, placing the category on a pace for the biggest annual increase since a 5.2% jump in 2008.
Fresh produce prices declinedl in recent months amid increased production of apples, pears and other crops. Prices for many items surged earlier this year after cold weather that cut production of tomatoes, oranges and other crops. More recently, apple supplies have risen over 2010 levels in part because of a strong crop from Michigan.
Rising volume with produce items, combined with lower prices should help spur consumer buying, resulting in more demand at shipping point. This should translate into increase loading opportunities for haulers of fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, there’s many other factors, depending upon the economy, unemployment, etc.
Unless you are picking up pallets of New York upstate apples, onions from Orange County, cabbage from the state’s central or western areas; or perhaps New England or Pennsyvlania apples, Christmas shipments are pretty much finished….I guess you could still make a last minute delivery for something such as Aroostrock County, Maine potaotes, but that’s a stretch….Florida doesn’t offer a lot this time of the year. In the case of tomatoes, it is even less probable due to fall rains and heat smacking the crop by as much as 30%. Still, mature green tomato loadings are taking place from areas such as Palmetto, Immakolee and Homestead….Imported produce volume also is increasing with arrivals at various ports on the East Coast.
Maine potatoes – grossing around $2200 to Baltimore
Western New York cabbage – $1800 to New York City
South Flrida tomatos – $2400 to New York
Light to moderate loading opportunities are available from Texas to North Dakota. Grapefruit and Oranges are coming out of the the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, while sweet potatoes are coming from Louisiana and Mississippi…In Wisconsin, the Stevens Point area is shipping potatoes in good volume, while fair volume with onions is available from Northeastern Colorado….In the Red River Valley red potatoes in North Dakota storages down 10% from a year ago and off 5% in Minnesota.
South Texas Citrus – grossing about $2,000 to St. Louis
NE Colorado onions – $1700 to Dallas
Red River Valley Potatoes – $1800 to Chicago
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Some of the sweetest red table grapes ever have been coming out California’s San Joaquin Valley, but unfortunately volume is now in a steady decline, although there’s still about a 1,000 truck loads a week available….California strawberriy shipments from the Oxnard and Santa Maria districts are slowy increasing…In Washington state, about 300 truck load equivlaents of Columia Basin potates are moving weekly….Idaho russett potatoes are averaging arouind 1,200 truck load equivalents and easily lead U.S. spud volume….There is light volume of Mexican melons and veggies crossing the border at Nogales, AZ, with good volume not expected until mid January.
San Joaquin Valley grapes – grossing about $6700 to New York
Idaho potatoes – $5400 to Orlando
Columbia Basin potatoes – $5100 to Dallas
Monday, December 19, 2011
Final shipments of fresh produce for the upcoming Christmas weekend are now taking place, especially for loadings taking place the farthest from destination. For example lettuce shipments, along with mixed veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower and now coming out of the Yuma District of Arizona, as well as the nearby Imperial Valley in the Southern Desert of C”alifornia….In the Northwest, apples from the Yakima Valley are moving in good volume….Inn the mid-west, there are russet potatoes coming out of Central Wiscosin, apples from Western Michigan, and in the Southeast, cabbage and greens from Southern Georgia…In the Northeast, there’s steady loadings of apples from the Hudson Valley of New York.
Imperial Valley veggies – grossing about $6,300 to New York.
Michigan apples – $2,400 to Atlanta
Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes – $2750 to Boston
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – CRST International, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, IA, November 21 announced the launch of a new expedited Temperature Controlled Team Service (TCTS). This service will operate as a division of CRST Expedited, the largest operating company of CRST International, Inc., and the largest team carrier in the country. Initial service, which includes both chilled and frozen products, already has begun.
“CRST will be the only transportation company in the U.S. offering an exclusive temperature controlled service supported by team drivers,” said Dave Rusch, President and CEO of CRST International. “We will be providing transcontinental transportation of perishable products in less than 60 hours at a price that is competitive with single drivers. Typical single driver perishable deliveries take about five and a half days.”
As one of the most diversified transportation companies in the U.S., CRST International saw the temperature controlled service as a great opportunity to further extend its breadth of services.
TCTS will cater to cold chain retailers and producers looking for high quality service to deliver products such as fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats, fish and shellfish, confections, ice cream, pharmaceuticals, wine, beer and health and beauty aids. Rusch also noted that produce is the fastest growing market for temperature controlled transportation, with organic products not far behind.
“The value in our new service is not just our team drivers and the speed with which they can deliver goods, but also added security for the contents since at least one driver is always with the tractor,” said Rusch. “With our team approach, the vehicle is virtually in constant motion moving toward its destination.”
CRST understands the seasonal nature of the temperature controlled transportation market and is able to offer the flexibility to increase or decrease capacity based on peak seasons or individual retailer or producer needs, through the cross utilization of CRST Expedited’s fleet of approximately 2,000 team tractors.
Currently, a majority of temperature controlled carriers are independent drivers or firms with fewer than ten trucks.
TCTS will use CRST drivers and equipment, including new Thermo King Refrigerated units and insulated Utility Trailers that can maintain temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
CRST International is the sixth largest truckload carrier in the United States, with annual revenues of approximately $1.3 billion.
The company is the largest expedited team carrier in the nation and has one of the newest tractor fleets in the industry. It also is debt free. CRST has been the recipient of many awards for service and technology. Some of the most prominent include multiple InfoWeek 500 listings and Quest for Quality awards from Logistics Management magazine.
For more information about CRST’s Temperature Controlled Team Service, visit www.crst.com or call 855-250-2778.
CRST International, Inc
Cedar Rapids, Iowa–based CRST International, Inc. is one of the largest privately-held transportation companies in the United States. Through its five operating companies, CRST provides a broad array of transportation solutions, including expedited van, flatbed, dedicated services, brokerage, transportation management, high value product white glove moving services and expedited temperature controlled services. CRST’s operating companies are made up of CRST Expedited, Inc. (including Temperature Controlled Team Service), CRST Malone, Inc., CRST Dedicated Services, Inc., CRST Logistics, Inc. and Specialized Transportation, Inc. For more information, visit www.crst.com or call (800) 736-CRST (2778).
You Move Either Forward or Backward
By Larry Oscar
How can some folks just go trudging through life and miss the mark so 
completely? As you get older, you’re supposed to get wiser, or so the story goes. Common sense should begin to sink in at some point in our lives, but for some folks it just never seems to get there. I couldn’t help but laugh at a recent article I read about the development around the lake I live at in Oklahoma. It was written by some bozo from Edmond, OK. Now there’s a place we all want to go visit! T he article was trying to point out how our recent development is a “cushy deal” for developers. Obviously written by an individual who is uneducated about our community. My hat goes off to people who not only embrace change, but are actively involved in making change happen; especially those of us who don’t have to.
Those of us that put our time and money where our mouth is, need to be congratulated. For those of you who want things to remain the same, I say you need to educate yourself a bit. There is no such thing as “remaining the same.” If you are not moving forward, then you are moving backward. The rest of the world will pass you by and you will find yourself living in a “mud hut” someday. Movement is relative. Go take a physics course.
If you want a better life for yourself and your children, then you must look around and get moving. Let’s do a reality check here. Osage County, OK is one of the poorest counties in Oklahoma. If you don’t believe that, then just drive through our communities. I have, and let me tell you what I see. I see downtowns that have almost as many dilapidated and vacant buildings as those that are occupied. I see rural and urban slums that are filthy with trash laden yards and poorly maintained residences.
Now when I drive through some of the other Oklahoma small towns such as Chandler, I see a huge difference the minute I enter the town. Chandler is clean, well maintained, and looks very prosperous.
It doesn’t take much effort to be clean. In fact, it provides good exercise. It is also good business. Nobody wants to do business with a filthy and poorly maintained business establishment. They want to do business with someone who looks clean and prosperous. Image counts for something in business. A dirty image is a looser image. Just observe successful owner operators!
The development around our lake has brought long awaited prosperity to south eastern Osage County. A county that lacks good restaurants, hotels, hospitals, theaters, and so many more amenities that I don’t have room to list them all in this article. Some of us are trying to make a positive difference. The Hominy Chamber of Commerce has completed a long range vision for development, as did the Osage County Tourism Committee. Good for them. They are moving ahead.
Development is like loosing weight, it’s a lot harder than it looks.
Fresh fruit and veggies shipments from South Texas continues to increase, although for a number of years now it is primarily due to more loads crossing the border from Mexico. Of the total loads by truck leaving the Rio Grande Valley, about 60% of that produce was grown south of the border. While Nogales, AZ for years has been known as the principal import point for Mexican produce into the U.S., last year for the first time imports in the Lower Rio Grande Valley exceeded those of Nogales. This trend is expected to continue when a year from now a new highway in Mexico is expected to be completed. The 143-mile long Autopista Durango-Maztlan is the east-west highway being built. More West Mexican produce shipments that normally go through Nogales, will instead be channeled through South Texas, because it will reduce freight rates for loads destined to the Eastern United States…Currrently your best South Texas loading opportunities are with cabbage, just south of San Antonio, plus grapefruit further south in the valley.
December is one of the slowest months of the year in terms of produce volume and shipments, despite the holidays. Citrus, led by oranges and grapefruit tend to provide some of the best loading opportunities. Florida easily leads the orange tonnage, although a large percentage of this citrus is processed for juice, unlike in California. Florida should ship about 150 million boxes of oranges this season, compared to around 57.5 million from California, the latter coming from central and southern areas. Florida also easily leads in shipments of grapefruit, with about 19.4 million boxes forecast this season. Second is the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas with around 5.1 million boxes and followed by California with 3.4 million cartons.
Texas grapefruit grossing about $1300 to Tulsa and Oklahoma City
Heading into the Christmas weekend, it is my hope as you are reading this you’ll be home with family and friends for Christmas. Thinking of all the beautifully wrapped gifts under my tree, virtually all them, just like millions of others around America, were delivered by truck. Over 95% of the fresh fruits and vegetables available in our favorite supermarket are there because of the trucking industry. As Christians across this great land celebrate the birth of Christ, this is wishing you a joyful holiday season beyond your greatest expections. It also is a wish for more kindness, peace and love in the world. God Bless – and Merry Christmas.
There’s good news for truckers, your loading opportunities, plus on the home front when comes to buying fresh produce at your local supermarket.
For the second consecutive month, a leading recent indicator in retail food inflation shows prices for fresh fruits and veggies fell in November. However, prices ares still on track to post among the largest increases over the past decade, according to government data.
Supermarket prices for fresh fruits and vegetables fell in November. Average retail fresh fruit and vegetable prices fell 1.2% last month from October levels, according to updated Consumer Price Index data released Dec. 16 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. October prices were down 2.7% from September.
Compared with a year ago, fresh fruit and vegetable prices were up 3.8% for the first 11 months of 2011 and posted average year-over-year increases of 4.8%, placing the category on a pace for the biggest annual increase since a 5.2% jump in 2008.
Fresh produce prices declinedl in recent months amid increased production of apples, pears and other crops. Prices for many items surged earlier this year after cold weather that cut production of tomatoes, oranges and other crops. More recently, apple supplies have risen over 2010 levels in part because of a strong crop from Michigan.
Rising volume with produce items, combined with lower prices should help spur consumer buying, resulting in more demand at shipping point. This should translate into increase loading opportunities for haulers of fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, there’s many other factors, depending upon the economy, unemployment, etc.
Unless you are picking up pallets of New York upstate apples, onions from Orange County, cabbage from the state’s central or western areas; or perhaps New England or Pennsyvlania apples, Christmas shipments are pretty much finished….I guess you could still make a last minute delivery for something such as Aroostrock County, Maine potaotes, but that’s a stretch….Florida doesn’t offer a lot this time of the year. In the case of tomatoes, it is even less probable due to fall rains and heat smacking the crop by as much as 30%. Still, mature green tomato loadings are taking place from areas such as Palmetto, Immakolee and Homestead….Imported produce volume also is increasing with arrivals at various ports on the East Coast.
Maine potatoes – grossing around $2200 to Baltimore
Western New York cabbage – $1800 to New York City
South Flrida tomatos – $2400 to New York
Light to moderate loading opportunities are available from Texas to North Dakota. Grapefruit and Oranges are coming out of the the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, while sweet potatoes are coming from Louisiana and Mississippi…In Wisconsin, the Stevens Point area is shipping potatoes in good volume, while fair volume with onions is available from Northeastern Colorado….In the Red River Valley red potatoes in North Dakota storages down 10% from a year ago and off 5% in Minnesota.
South Texas Citrus – grossing about $2,000 to St. Louis
NE Colorado onions – $1700 to Dallas
Red River Valley Potatoes – $1800 to Chicago
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Some of the sweetest red table grapes ever have been coming out California’s San Joaquin Valley, but unfortunately volume is now in a steady decline, although there’s still about a 1,000 truck loads a week available….California strawberriy shipments from the Oxnard and Santa Maria districts are slowy increasing…In Washington state, about 300 truck load equivlaents of Columia Basin potates are moving weekly….Idaho russett potatoes are averaging arouind 1,200 truck load equivalents and easily lead U.S. spud volume….There is light volume of Mexican melons and veggies crossing the border at Nogales, AZ, with good volume not expected until mid January.
San Joaquin Valley grapes – grossing about $6700 to New York
Idaho potatoes – $5400 to Orlando
Columbia Basin potatoes – $5100 to Dallas
Monday, December 19, 2011
Final shipments of fresh produce for the upcoming Christmas weekend are now taking place, especially for loadings taking place the farthest from destination. For example lettuce shipments, along with mixed veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower and now coming out of the Yuma District of Arizona, as well as the nearby Imperial Valley in the Southern Desert of C”alifornia….In the Northwest, apples from the Yakima Valley are moving in good volume….Inn the mid-west, there are russet potatoes coming out of Central Wiscosin, apples from Western Michigan, and in the Southeast, cabbage and greens from Southern Georgia…In the Northeast, there’s steady loadings of apples from the Hudson Valley of New York.
Imperial Valley veggies – grossing about $6,300 to New York.
Michigan apples – $2,400 to Atlanta
Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes – $2750 to Boston
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – CRST International, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, IA, November 21 announced the launch of a new expedited Temperature Controlled Team Service (TCTS). This service will operate as a division of CRST Expedited, the largest operating company of CRST International, Inc., and the largest team carrier in the country. Initial service, which includes both chilled and frozen products, already has begun.
“CRST will be the only transportation company in the U.S. offering an exclusive temperature controlled service supported by team drivers,” said Dave Rusch, President and CEO of CRST International. “We will be providing transcontinental transportation of perishable products in less than 60 hours at a price that is competitive with single drivers. Typical single driver perishable deliveries take about five and a half days.”
As one of the most diversified transportation companies in the U.S., CRST International saw the temperature controlled service as a great opportunity to further extend its breadth of services.
TCTS will cater to cold chain retailers and producers looking for high quality service to deliver products such as fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats, fish and shellfish, confections, ice cream, pharmaceuticals, wine, beer and health and beauty aids. Rusch also noted that produce is the fastest growing market for temperature controlled transportation, with organic products not far behind.
“The value in our new service is not just our team drivers and the speed with which they can deliver goods, but also added security for the contents since at least one driver is always with the tractor,” said Rusch. “With our team approach, the vehicle is virtually in constant motion moving toward its destination.”
CRST understands the seasonal nature of the temperature controlled transportation market and is able to offer the flexibility to increase or decrease capacity based on peak seasons or individual retailer or producer needs, through the cross utilization of CRST Expedited’s fleet of approximately 2,000 team tractors.
Currently, a majority of temperature controlled carriers are independent drivers or firms with fewer than ten trucks.
TCTS will use CRST drivers and equipment, including new Thermo King Refrigerated units and insulated Utility Trailers that can maintain temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
CRST International is the sixth largest truckload carrier in the United States, with annual revenues of approximately $1.3 billion.
The company is the largest expedited team carrier in the nation and has one of the newest tractor fleets in the industry. It also is debt free. CRST has been the recipient of many awards for service and technology. Some of the most prominent include multiple InfoWeek 500 listings and Quest for Quality awards from Logistics Management magazine.
For more information about CRST’s Temperature Controlled Team Service, visit www.crst.com or call 855-250-2778.
CRST International, Inc
Cedar Rapids, Iowa–based CRST International, Inc. is one of the largest privately-held transportation companies in the United States. Through its five operating companies, CRST provides a broad array of transportation solutions, including expedited van, flatbed, dedicated services, brokerage, transportation management, high value product white glove moving services and expedited temperature controlled services. CRST’s operating companies are made up of CRST Expedited, Inc. (including Temperature Controlled Team Service), CRST Malone, Inc., CRST Dedicated Services, Inc., CRST Logistics, Inc. and Specialized Transportation, Inc. For more information, visit www.crst.com or call (800) 736-CRST (2778).
You Move Either Forward or Backward
By Larry Oscar
How can some folks just go trudging through life and miss the mark so completely? As you get older, you’re supposed to get wiser, or so the story goes. Common sense should begin to sink in at some point in our lives, but for some folks it just never seems to get there. I couldn’t help but laugh at a recent article I read about the development around the lake I live at in Oklahoma. It was written by some bozo from Edmond, OK. Now there’s a place we all want to go visit! T he article was trying to point out how our recent development is a “cushy deal” for developers. Obviously written by an individual who is uneducated about our community. My hat goes off to people who not only embrace change, but are actively involved in making change happen; especially those of us who don’t have to.
Those of us that put our time and money where our mouth is, need to be congratulated. For those of you who want things to remain the same, I say you need to educate yourself a bit. There is no such thing as “remaining the same.” If you are not moving forward, then you are moving backward. The rest of the world will pass you by and you will find yourself living in a “mud hut” someday. Movement is relative. Go take a physics course.
If you want a better life for yourself and your children, then you must look around and get moving. Let’s do a reality check here. Osage County, OK is one of the poorest counties in Oklahoma. If you don’t believe that, then just drive through our communities. I have, and let me tell you what I see. I see downtowns that have almost as many dilapidated and vacant buildings as those that are occupied. I see rural and urban slums that are filthy with trash laden yards and poorly maintained residences.
Now when I drive through some of the other Oklahoma small towns such as Chandler, I see a huge difference the minute I enter the town. Chandler is clean, well maintained, and looks very prosperous.
It doesn’t take much effort to be clean. In fact, it provides good exercise. It is also good business. Nobody wants to do business with a filthy and poorly maintained business establishment. They want to do business with someone who looks clean and prosperous. Image counts for something in business. A dirty image is a looser image. Just observe successful owner operators!
The development around our lake has brought long awaited prosperity to south eastern Osage County. A county that lacks good restaurants, hotels, hospitals, theaters, and so many more amenities that I don’t have room to list them all in this article. Some of us are trying to make a positive difference. The Hominy Chamber of Commerce has completed a long range vision for development, as did the Osage County Tourism Committee. Good for them. They are moving ahead.
Development is like loosing weight, it’s a lot harder than it looks.