Archive For The “News” Category
HUNTS POINT WHOLESALE TERMINAL MARKET FACTS:
* Located on 113 acres in the South Bronx . Hunts Point is owned by New York City.
* Four primary rows with each being one-third of a mile long.
* 1 million square feet of interior space.
* Opened in 1967.
*Has operated as a co-op for about 20 years.
*Has elected board of directors representing about 50 produce companies on the market.
*Hunts Point employees over 3,500 workers.
*Hunts Point serves about 23 million people, mostly in the Northeast with produce from across the nation and from around the world .
*Hunts Point is the largest food distribution center in the world and also includes the Fulton Fish Market. Revenues exceed $2 billion a year.
*Negotiations between the market and NYC over the past 10 years to build a new facility have failed. Produce wholesalers cite needs for more and better cold storage. Rebuilding, renovation, and moving the market to New Jesery are often topics of discussion.
*Unloading delays are commong at Hunts Point in part due to lack of cold storage. Refrigerated trailers are often used as storage facilities. Truckers receive no detention for delayed unloading.
*Hunts Point receives $172.5 million in cash and tax breaks from New York City.
*Hunts Point leaders are in a “fight” with the NYC’s Business Integrity Commission, an agency created to root out organized crime in the carting industry. The commission has overstepped its authority and is interfering with business by setting operating hours and hitting delivery and storage trucks with parking tickets, produce house operators say. They feel the commission has over stepped its authority and its mission should only deal with organized crime.
Over the years is seems there have been fewer problems with unfair claims and rejected loads at Ontario compared to Montreal.
The Ontario Food Terminal averages buying and selling about a 1 million tons of produce and horticultural products a year, which equates to an average of 5.4 million pounds of fruits, produce and horticultural products distributed daily.
Based in Toronto, it is the fourth largest wholesale produce distribution center in North America behind New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The heaviest truck traffic at the terminal takes place on Sunday is the busiest receiving day for the terminal. However, it is a small operation compared to Hunts Point Terminal Market in New York, with Ontario having roughly 600-850 pallets and an average of 25 tractor-trailer loads in a 12-hour period.
The terminal has 21 warehouse tenants, 5,000 registered buyers and the farmers market area includes 550 stalls. The registered buyers are able to buy fruits and vegetables and floral products on a wholesale basis. These buyers then sell their goods to independent and chain supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, foodservice institutions among others.
Terminal wholesalers distribute product by truck throughout Ontario and as far east as the Maritime Provinces. Ontario products also are shipped to the USA from the “U” shaped terminal tha has 21 market wholesale houses.
Since 1954, the Ontario Food Terminal has been located in the Toronto district of Etobicoke. There is approximately 100,000 square feet of storage available in the coolers. Some of the new portions of the building have racking systems available in the cold-storage rooms.
The 40 acre Toronto site is located at 165 the Queensway between Park Lawn Road and Stephen Drive in South Etobicoke. If you are driving from the east, take the South Kingsway exit from the Westbound Gardiner Expressway to the Westbound Queensway.
If you are driving from the West, take the Eastbound Q.E.W. to the Park Lawn Road Exit and proceed North to the Queensway.
Hours of operation:
Mondays to Fridays:
4:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sundays:
6:00 am to 11:00 am
The terminal’s website does not address the issues of unloading hours for truckers, or if there are gate fees, or unloading charges.
The Birth of Jesus
Matthew 1:18-25
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came 
together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel“—which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (KJV)
Luke 2:1-14
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a censusshould be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (KJV)
The Visit of the Shepherds
Luke 2:15-20
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (KJV)
USA imports of fresh fruit and vegetables have increased significantly since the 1990s, and this has increased loading opportunities during a time of the year when it is an off season for a majority of American grown produce items.
These off season suppliers for fresh produce are primarily the Southern Hemisphere countries countries near the equator for bananas.
While it is trendy and cool to be associated with locally grown produce these days, locally grown is minor compared to the strong growth in volume and variety of fresh produce that is imported. These imported fruits and vegetables has allowed U.S. consumers to eat more produce, and for truckers to haul more produce, on a year-round basis. This is product that normally would not be available.
The USDA states that between 1990-92 and 2004-06, annual USA imports of fresh fruit and vegetables surged to $7.9 billion from $2.7 billion, with the share of total USA imports for agriculture rising to 13.3 percent from 11.5 percent. USA exports of fresh produce also increase, but less. As a result, the United States has increasingly become a net importer of fresh produce.
As of 2007, USA fresh produce trade was dominated by a few regions. Fresh vegetable imports from Mexico and Canada were over $3.2 billion, which comprises the single-largest trade channel among regions of U.S. fresh produce trade.
USA fruit trade is more diverse than vegetable trade in terms of foreign trade partners. Whereas fresh vegetable trade is largely concentrated within North American Free Trade Agreement countries and Asia (95 percent of exports and 84 percent of imports), fresh fruit trade with those regions is less significant (85 percent of exports and 28 percent of imports).
Because fresh produce is highly perishable and seasonal, geography has traditionally played a major role in the global trade patterns of fresh produce.
The main sources of USA fresh fruit imports are banana-exporting countries, and the Southern Hemisphere and NAFTA regions. The banana exporters — Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama — are the largest providers of fresh fruit to the United States.
Together, these countries supply 36 percent of total U.S. fresh fruit imports, with bananas making up more than three-quarters of the fresh fruit value shipped by these equatorial countries to the United States. Southern Hemisphere countries — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and Peru — supply 32 percent of U.S. fresh fruit imports. The NAFTA region supplies 27 percent of U.S. fresh fruit imports.
The structure of the U.S. fresh fruit import mix, however, has changed substantially, particularly since the 1990s, as grape and tropical fruit imports have grown faster than bananas.
Blueberries are a good example of an item that has grown quickly and hugely over the past decade. Other fruits and vegetables, such as asparagus from Peru, are also inching toward the list of items that are outpacing banana imports.
Although the eight-day strike at ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach has ended, picking up and delivering loads to the terminals is still a mess and it could be for weeks.
It is not like the flexibility in trucking where a load can be diverted elsewhere due to a labor strike, weather factors or any number of other reasons.
Container terminals reopened Dec. 5 at both California ports as clerical workers in International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 reached a tentative contract with operators and shipping lines, as the union sought limits on outsourcing. In L.A. about 700 striking harbor clerks were backed by thousands of longshoremen who honored their picket line.
About $8 billion was lost in the strike to the local economy.
While the strike has ended, the congestion has not.
The cold chain was maintained, but there were concerns about arrival conditions and the possibility of an increase in orders that could challenge capacity.
It has been report the impacts of the strike will be far greater than just eight days. In 2002 there was a 10-day strike. It took months the boats could get back in the right rotation. This could adversely affect, for example, imported fruit from Chile arriving at Long Beach.
Recently Commerical Carrier Journal provided some pointers for truckers to use to save fuel while on the road. Some are common sense, some might not occur to you.
Check out some tips that are obvious. will other may not be so obvious.
Turn off the engine. Drivers should avoid excessive warm-up times when starting the truck, even for a short time. Look for other times when drivers have a habit of idling.
Use shore power when it’s available. Many inverters and auxiliary power units come with a plug-in option that converts incoming current to DC to charge the batteries, using AC to power climate-control units and/or in-cab accessories. The truckstop electrification movement to help eliminate idling has gained steam in the last year, with plug-in options available at many more parking spaces.
Avoid revving the engine between shifts. Ease into each new gear, and don’t be in a hurry to climb through them.
Run in your engine’s sweet spot. Once you reach cruising speed, operating in the peak torque zone gives you optimum horsepower so that the engine runs most efficiently. It takes only about 200 horsepower to maintain 65 mph.
Minimize air-conditioning use. Running the A/C delivers a 2/10- to 4/10-mpg hit.
Anticipate traffic lights. If you can approach slowly and avoid a complete stop, it saves fuel and reduces equipment wear.
Maintain an extended following distance. It helps to prevent unnecessary acceleration due to frequent braking.
Lower your average highway speed. Every mph over 55 equals a 0.1-mpg drop in fuel economy.
Don’t punch the throttle. Gradually put your foot into it, pretending there’s an egg between the pedal and the floorboard. Use smooth, steady accelerator inputs to avoid fuel burn spikes.
Read more at http://cdllife.com/2012/driving-jobs/checklist-how-truck-drivers-can-save-fuel/#8YfdU4yqK7HK6gkr.99
An estimated 5,000 truckers haved been shut down at ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from a clerical workers strikethat started last week.
The Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Associations are continuing negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 Office Clerical Unit. Other ILWU have refused to cross OCU picket lines, which had idled cargo from moving.
The dispute is over job security and outsourcing, according to the union. The LA/LB HEA is a not-for-profit organization representing the region’s shipping agencies and terminal operators which assists in administration of labor contracts.
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- “The Ambrosia apple variety has a creamy flesh and wonderful taste …right up there with Royal Gala and Braeburn. This apple doesn’t oxidize or turn brown quickly so it’s a nice ingredient for your favourite fruit salad!” sa
ys Pete Luckett, host of the Food Network’s show The Food Hunter. - Although Ambrosia is a sweet apple, official taste comparisons have proved that even the most ardent fans of tart apples will be won over by its juiciness and crunchy texture.
- “The Ambrosia apple variety has a creamy flesh and wonderful taste …right up there with Royal Gala and Braeburn. This apple doesn’t oxidize or turn brown quickly so it’s a nice ingredient for your favourite fruit salad!” sa
Ambrosia is a low-acid apple, which makes it easier for kids and older people to digest.
- Once you have purchased Ambrosia apples, you should store them in the refrigerator crisper to ensure that they retain their flavor and texture.
- Three medium Ambrosia apples equal about 450g (1lb). One medium apple yields about 175ml (3/4 cup) of sliced apples.
- In an article written for the Vancouver Province newspaper, Stephen Wong, a leading Vancouver food consultant and chef, rated the Ambrosia 9 out of 10 for texture, juiciness, flavour, and general attributes.
- Ambrosia apples are now being grown by farmers in North America, Europe, Chile and New Zealand, and are available to purchase in stores around the world.
- In order to extend their availability beyond harvest time, Ambrosia apples are “put to sleep” in Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage. CA storage takes cold storage a step further by lowering the temperature and the oxygen levels, so fruit can be stored for six months or more and remain harvest fresh.
- Ambrosias, like other apples, are loaded with health giving properties such as pectin, a cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre, and anti-oxidants, which are good for preventing heart disease.
- The original Ambrosia apple tree was grown from a chance seedling. Commercially viable chance seedlings are extremely rare; less than a dozen of these chance seedlings have found their way to market in the past 50 years.
- Ambrosia means “food of the gods” as depicted in ancient Greek mythology. The name was chosen by Wilfrid Mennell, who, with his wife Sally, discovered the original Ambrosia apple tree in their orchard in the Similkameen Valley of British Columbia.
- When first introduced to the public at the annual Apple Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ambrosia met with instant acclaim and has been a favourite of the Festival ever since.
Over the past two decades imported fresh fruits and vegetables have increased substantially. Not only does this mean year around availability of many items for consumers, but increased loading opportunities – especially during the off season when these items are not available in the USA. Here’s a look at some produce coming from other countries.
Blueberries from Chile are arriving in the USA and will continue through April. With the arrival of the New Year will be the appearance at USA ports with Chilean table grapes and stone fruit.
There is good movement of Central American cantaloupes, honeydews and Mexican honeydews. Loadings of product from Guatemala should continue into about the second week of January. Many of the Central American imports arrive a Florida ports. Imported cantaloupe are crossing the border into Texas from Mexico. Asparagus is being imported from Mexico and Peru and should increase in volume in December.
Typically in January, volume from Mexico through Nogales, AZ really picks up, led by table grapes, but including a number of other items.
Biggest Change with Imports Coming Soon
The biggest change in decades with imported produce will start occuring a matter of weeks. Historically, south Texas has been a major produce shipping area with its fruits and veggies from the Lower Rio Grande Valley and to a much lesser degree from the Winter Garden District, just south of San Antonio.
However, over the past 20 years a lot has changed in Texas. Today, about 65 percent of the fresh produce moved by Lone Star State shippers is grown in Mexico, with the balance grown in Texas. The state now ranks third in USA produce shipments, having surpassed Arizona. California and Florida rank first and second respectively in fresh produce loads.
While much of the imports from Mexico over the years have crossed the border into the USA from Nogales and Tijuana, a significant amount of this tonnage will be shifting to the McAllen, TX border area. This is due to the 143-mile-long Durango-Mazatlan highway expected to open before the end of the year.
Produce shippers are excited because the new route will mean produce shipments that used to arrive at Nogales and Tijuana and destined from Midwestern and Eastern markets, will no longer have to travel two mountain ranges. It also is expected to reduce freight costs up to a $1,000.
Truck brokers, freight forwarders, as well produce grower/shippers and receivers could face fines totaling as much as $10,000 per violation and per day if refrigeration equipment on the trucks they hire is not in compliance with new California regulations becoming effective with the New Year. The penalties apply even if the trucks are only passing through California and do not stop in the state. The rules apply under California’s Health and Safey Code.
The regulations stem from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and covers truck and rail owners and operators, plus any “hiring entity” using their services.
These issues were dicussed during a recent web seminar sponsored by Western Growers, Irvine, Calif., the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, Fresno, and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn. Also participating was Rodney Hill, an air pollution specialist from CARB who helped develop the rule.
As an example of rule violations, Hill said a truck loaded in Arizona and traveling through California on its way to a delivery point in Oregon could be fined, even though no deliveries are made in California. The rule applies because the truck is operating within the state. It doesn’t matter where the truck is licensed.
Hill Compliance for hiring entities shouldn’t be too difficult, though, according to Hill and others in the Web seminar.
Matt McInerney, Western Growers executive vice president, said due diligence and documentation are the keys to keeping produce companies out of trouble. Hill agreed with that assessment.
“Begin changing your contracts now so you will be ready Jan. 1,” McInerney said.
“For those of you who have pre-printed pads of bills of lading, I know you want to use up what you have. But you should get new ones printed, or get a stamp made with the right language so you can add it to the forms you have on hand.”
Hiring entities and loading dock personnel, Hill said, will not be expected to inspect refrigeration equipment to see if it is compliant.
However, if the equipment is not compliant and the hiring company’s contracts and other documents don’t have language showing it required the carrier to use compliant equipment, citations and fines will be issued, Hill said.