Archive For The “News” Category
SWORDS, Ireland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), has completed initial testing of its innovative evolve™ electric trailer with retailers Walmart and Loblaws, and Martin Brower, a leading supply chain solutions provider for restaurants around the world. During more than 2,500 hours of operation, the battery-powered refrigerated trailer unit delivered excellent performance, ensuring high quality climate control to keep food and other goods fresh. With zero direct emissions, Thermo King’s electric trailer technology can help to significantly decarbonize the cold chain.
“By partnering with our customers, we can help accelerate the industry’s transformation to electrification by applying valuable insights from data collected during these trials,” said Karin De Bondt, president of Thermo King Americas. “With more than 2,500 hours of operation, the learnings bring us closer to a commercialized all-electric trailer unit, help our customers prepare their operations, an ultimately, together we can advance the industry forward.”
“With thousands of refrigerated trailers using diesel fuel today, we have the ability to make a meaningful difference when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Fernando Cortes, senior vice president of transportation, Walmart U.S. “We were pleased to work with Thermo King on the testing of our first-ever refrigerated trailer operated primarily on battery electricity in the U.S. as we look for solutions to achieve zero emissions by 2040.”
“Our goal is to deliver innovative and meaningful solutions that help restaurants and our business create a more globally sustainable, ethical, and responsible future,”, said Danny Fahey, Martin Brower’s vice president of US strategy and sustainability. “Piloting the Thermo King® electric trailer allows us to support new technologies, which is an essential step toward achieving our ambitious, long-term goal — significantly reducing our carbon emissions per ton and limiting our environmental impact.”
Leveraging Thermo King TracKing® telematics, customer operations data and learnings have been documented with each evolve™ trailer demonstration, directly contributing to future product optimization and innovation. In addition to its current portfolio of products, Thermo King has committed to delivering all-electric, zero-emission solutions for every segment of the end-to-end cold chain by 2023 in Europe and 2025 in the Americas. Through its evolve™ all-electric portfolio, the business will help advance Trane Technologies’ 2030 Sustainability Commitments, including its Gigaton Challenge to reduce customer greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion metric tons.
About Trane Technologies
Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane® and Thermo King®, and our environmentally responsible portfolio of products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes, and transportation. Learn more at tranetechologies.com.
About Thermo King
Thermo King – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator – is a worldwide leader in sustainable transport temperature control solutions. Thermo King has been providing transport temperature control solutions for a variety of applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, air, shipboard containers, and railway cars since 1938. For more information, visit www.thermoking.com or www.europe.thermoking.com.
This news release includes “forward-looking statements” which are statements that are not historical facts, including statements that relate to our commitment to deliver fully electric products in every segment of the cold chain and our other sustainability commitments and the impact of these commitments. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes in laws and regulation, global economic conditions, the outcome of any litigation, our ability to develop new products and services and the acceptance of these products in the markets that we serve. Additional factors that could cause such differences can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as well as our
The USDA reports citrus volume for the 2021-22 season totaled 5.61 million tons, down 19% from the 2020-21 season.
California accounted for 62% of total U.S. citrus production; Florida totaled 36%, and Texas and Arizona produced the remaining 2%.
Utilized citrus production in California was down 16% from the 2020-21 season.
California’s all orange production, at 40.4 million boxes, is 18% lower than the previous season. Grapefruit production is down 2% from the 2020-21 season and tangerine and mandarin production is down 40%.
Florida’s orange production, at 41.1 million boxes, is down 22% from the previous season, the report said. Grapefruit utilization in Florida, at 3.33 million boxes, is down 19% from last season’s utilization. Florida’s total citrus utilization was down 22% from the previous season.
Utilized production of citrus in Texas is down 46% from the 2020-21 season.
Orange production is down 81% from the previous season and grapefruit production is down 29%. Arizona’s production of lemon up 27%.
The value of the 2021-22 U.S. citrus crop was down 13% from last season, to 2.91 billion packinghouse-door equivalent. Orange value of production decreased 9% from last season and grapefruit value is down 27%.
Tangerine and mandarin value of production is down 18% from last season and lemon value of production is down 13% from last season.
Eggplant also is known as aubergine, or guinea squash, while the berry fruit, scientifically referred to as Solanum melongena, is a staple in cuisines around the world (via Brittanica). It is one of the most diverse fruiting plant families there are, and eggplants come in a range of colors and sizes — from deep purple to white or striped; and from 4 ounces to 1 ½ pounds (via Daily Record) — their diversity matches in variety to the many ways in which the fruit is prepared around the globe.
French ratatouille, Italian eggplant parmigiana, Middle Eastern baba ghanoush, Greek moussaka, Chinese spicy garlic eggplant, and South Asian eggplant curries are just a few examples of eggplant’s worldly reputation. So it may come as a surprise to learn that, of all the places the eggplants are enjoyed far and wide, the place that grows the most of them is much closer than you may think — located right in the USA.
According to Harvesting History, eggplants have been cultivated for thousands of years. Originally harvested in China and India, the fruit gained popularity when it was first introduced to people in Southern and Eastern Europe. However, when eggplants made their way to the Americas during the 1500s, they didn’t catch on quite as quickly. This was because, as members of the Solanaceae family, eggplants are closely related to the belladonna, a plant that has been nicknamed the “deadly nightshade” for its poisonous berries.
For Americans, the eggplant and all of its family members — including tomatoes, potatoes, and bell peppers — were considered guilty by association. It wasn’t until the latter part of the 19th century that the population started to embrace the fruit’s extensive varieties. In the beginning, there was only one type of eggplant: The white eggplant; the color of it is where the Daily Record says it got its name. However, the fruit’s variety was widened when hybridizers started to develop eggplants that wouldn’t bruise during shipment, creating the large, deep purple eggplants that are commonly found today, along with the Indian, Italian, Japanese and Chinese varieties.W
Being tropical plants, eggplants are very sensitive to cold weather — even more so than their infamously finicky cousins, tomatoes. For this reason, eggplants are typically grown as annuals, which Britannica defines as any plant whose life cycle is completed in one growing season. For eggplants, this is during the warm months of the year — making their peak season between July and October.
Eggplants are widely grown across the United States. However, there are less than 7,000 acres dedicated to the fruit’s production each year in places like California, Florida, and Georgia. While yields vary depending on temperature and growing conditions, per the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, producers average about 28,000 pounds of eggplants per acre — generating an average gross income of more than $17 thousand per acre and providing more than enough to support the one pound of eggplant each U.S. citizens consumes on average every year.
Nicknamed “The Garden State,” New Jersey’s reputation for its vast farmland can be legitimized in the state’s production of eggplants alone. According to the Daily Record, New Jersey is responsible for providing 66% of the world’s eggplants, making it the top producer of eggplants in the world. Harvesting 849 acres each year, New Jersey stands ahead of other leading producers like California, Florida, and Georgia.
The state’s well-draining sandy-loam soil — a gardening soil made up of sand, silt, and clay, according to Southern Mulch – and warm summers provide the perfect conditions for eggplants to thrive. With harvests reaching 900 or more bushels a day during peak season, New Jersey yields about 16 million pounds of eggplant, valued at $6 million (via New Jersey Spotlight News). With the majority grown in South New Jersey, most of the state’s eggplants are shipped to the rest of the U.S. and Canada. Varieties include Italian, regular, Sicilian, Indian, striped, white, and fairy tale eggplants for all to enjoy in many different eggplant recipes.
By Yanni Mathelier, Transportation Broker, ALC Orlando
On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm. Maximum sustained winds were around 150 mph as it hit the Southwest coast. Bringing in close to 20 inches of rain to the state with tons of flooding which ruined many homes, infrastructure, and farm fields. The Orlando office deals with many produce customers shipping out of Florida. The impact of Hurricane Ian has caused many customers to either lose crops and deal with flooded fields or have to replant for the next season. Missing a season in the farming industry can be devastating, detrimental to the farmer, and takes a hit on the transportation industry, therefore affecting consumers.
Ian mainly hit farms across Southwest Florida, and the trickle-down may be felt in grocery stores across the nation, as Florida is a critical spot for farming in the winter when other places are too cold for operations. Florida is one of the world’s largest producers of citrus. The issue most farmers are having down south when it comes to these fruits, is that the trees were badly damaged during the hurricane. This creates a time frame issue that can affect Florida’s economy as the industry already faces increased labor costs and competition from foreign imports. These crops will take a minimum of two seasons for the groves to recover to pre-hurricane production levels.
The question that follows: Is Florida’s citrus industry on a ticking clock? We will soon start to see a rise in citrus prices and lower production numbers. This is something in transportation we must follow as it could negatively affect the capacity in Florida, and as discussed before, the trickle-down to the customer would be inevitable.
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Yanni Mathelier is a Transportation Broker and began his career at the Allen Lund Company in March of 2022. Yanni has been in the transportation industry since January of 2021. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration.
Florida’s citrus, vegetable and melon production suffered the greatest financial losses in Hurricane Ian, according to Christa Court, director of the program and assistant professor in the UF/IFAS food and resource economics department. IFAS is the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida.
Court spoke recently on a virtual press conference. At the same time, IFAS released a new document, “Preliminary Assessment of Agricultural Losses and Damages resulting from Hurricane Ian,” from the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program. This summarizes losses from Ian, which struck Florida’s southwest coast on Sept. 29, then slowly crossed the peninsula, with winds as high category 4 and 20 or more inches of rainfall in some areas.
University of Florida economists predict the combination of seasonal crops, livestock, nursery and aquaculture products potentially lost as a result of category 4 Hurricane Ian will likely be valued between $787 million and $1.56 billion.
Preliminary IFAS estimates are that losses to Florida citrus due to Ian will be in the range of $147- to $304 million. The variance depends on the level of fruit drop, damage to branches, and impacts due to heavy precipitation and flooding.
Vegetable and melon losses are estimated to sustain significant production total between $208- and $394 million. Vegetable and melon impacts are heavily dependent on the ability (or inability) to replant damaged or destroyed crops.
Horticultural crop losses may fall in the range of $154- to $297 million. Field and row crops face as much as $160 million in losses and animals and animal products losses could be as high as $222 million. The estimated top level of cumulative losses for these categories is $1.56 billion.
“Even though the coast – an area with comparatively less agricultural production than inland areas – bore some of the worst impacts of the storm, the strong winds and heavy rains battered a wide swath of the peninsula that includes over five million acres of agricultural land,” IFAS’ Court indicates. “This estimate only accounts for production losses, or changes in expected revenues for the current calendar or market year; citrus, for example, had not yet begun harvesting, and some fall vegetables, like tomatoes and peppers, were already planted.”
Some commodities were already looking at lower expected production due to a hard freeze event in January that affected much of the same acreage, she added.
“Southwest counties that got hit the hardest by Hurricane Ian have remained in rescue and recovery mode; we anticipate our assessments will not be complete for several weeks,” Court indicates in IFAS’ release. “Our preliminary estimate is a range, a wide range, to account for many of these unknowns. What isn’t destroyed might have diminished yield or quality, which will not be apparent for weeks or months, and then even more effects can appear in the long-term.”
Court said the survey will remain open for an undefined amount of time. The program will release a full report once analyses are completed.
In response to an announcement of a merger between national grocery chains, Kroger and Albertsons, the National Grocers Association (NGA) of Washington, D.C. has released the following statement:
“A merger of the nation’s top two grocery chains should raise serious questions about a single supermarket giant gaining unprecedented dominance over the nation’s food supply chain,” said Greg Ferrara, NGA president and CEO.
“A merger would not only put smaller competitors at an unfair disadvantage, but also increase anticompetitive buyer power over grocery suppliers, which ultimately would harm consumers. It is our expectation that this deal will receive rigorous scrutiny from federal antitrust enforcers.”
NGA filed comments in April of this year to the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s January 18, 2022 Request for Information on Merger Enforcement. NGA issued a White Paper in March of 2021 about the anticompetitive impacts of buyer power on the grocery supply chain.
About NGA
NGA is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale community grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. The independent grocery sector is accountable for about 1.2 percent of the nation’s overall economy and is responsible for generating more than $250 billion in sales, 1.1 million jobs, $39 billion in wages and $36 billion in taxes. NGA members include retail and wholesale grocers located in every congressional district across the country, as well as state grocers’ associations, manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about NGA, visit www.nationalgrocers.org.
Duane Hansen set a new world record to commemorate his 60th trip around the sun.
The Syracuse, Neb. resident grew a pumpkin that clocked in at 846 lb. (and appropriately named it Berta). He hollowed it out to create a makeshift boat.
Hansen jumped in his pumpkin and launched from the Missouri River boat ramp in Bellevue, Neb. at 7:30 a.m. on August 27. Eleven hours and 38 miles later, he docked in Nebraska City, Neb. Hansen’s 38 miles afloat in his orange vessel eclipses the previous record of 25.5 miles, which was set in 2018 by a man who paddled from North Dakota to Minnesota, according to Guinness World Record.
Hansen say he ad been dreaming of this feat and worked for five-years to grow a pumpkin that was large enough.
When it comes to “Fresh for Everyone,” Kroger is poised to significantly extend its reach. The Cincinnati-based supermarket chain entered a definitive agreement with Albertsons Cos., Oct. 14, to purchase the Boise, Idaho-based competitor for approximately $24.6 billion.
The merger will expand customer reach and improve proximity to deliver fresh and affordable food to approximately 85 million households with a premier omnichannel experience, according to a release.
Together, Albertsons and Kroger currently employ more than 710,000 associates and operate a total of 4,996 stores, 66 distribution centers, 52 manufacturing plants, 3,972 pharmacies and 2,015 fuel centers. The combination creates a “premier seamless ecosystem” across 48 states and the District of Columbia, providing customers with a “best-in-class shopping experience” across both stores and digital channels, said the release.
Amid a climate of rising food inflation, Kroger said its “long track record of lowering prices” in combination with efficiencies gained from the merger, will help the company to lower prices for customers. Kroger said it expects to reinvest approximately half a billion dollars of cost savings from synergies to reduce prices for customers, as well as invest an incremental $1.3 billion into Albertsons stores to enhance the customer experience.
“We are bringing together two purpose-driven organizations to deliver superior value to customers, associates, communities and shareholders,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger chairman and CEO, who will continue serving as chairman and CEO of the combined company, in the release. “Albertsons Cos. brings a complementary footprint and operates in several parts of the country with very few or no Kroger stores. This merger advances our commitment to build a more equitable and sustainable food system by expanding our footprint into new geographies to serve more of America with fresh and affordable food and accelerates our position as a more compelling alternative to larger and non-union competitors.
“As a combined entity, we will be better positioned to advance Kroger’s successful go-to-market strategy by providing an incredible seamless shopping experience, expanding Our Brands portfolio, and delivering personalized value and savings,” McMullen continued. “We’ll also be able to further enhance technology and innovation, promote healthier lifestyles, extend our health care and pharmacy network and grow our alternative profit businesses. We believe this transaction will lead to faster and more profitable growth and generate greater returns for our shareholders.”
Albertsons agrees the merger will result in greater access to fresh food across the country.
“At Albertsons Cos., we are guided by an ambition to create customers for life,” said Vivek Sankaran, CEO of Albertsons. “Together with Kroger, our combined iconic banners will be able to provide customers with even more value and greater access to fresh food and essential pharmacy services. Given the similarities in the culture and values at Kroger and Albertsons Cos., I am confident that the combination will also have a positive impact on our associates and the communities we are proud to serve. We look forward to working together with Kroger to capture the compelling opportunities ahead.”
The transaction is expected to close in early 2024, subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearance and other customary closing conditions, including receipt of clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, according to the release.
By Dave Comber, ALC Madison
Most of us have enjoyed cranberries one way or another. Whether drinking one of the varieties of cranberry juice, as a salad topping, as an ingredient in a dessert, or as the cranberry sauce staple in the holiday season meal in the U.S. We have all at least tried cranberries in one form or another. Have you ever thought about all it takes to get cranberries from the farm to our households? The season to harvest cranberries is upon us now in full swing to get them to us for the holiday and the remainder of the year in all varieties, we enjoy them on a regular basis.
Cranberries are one of the few types of berries native to the U.S, with Wisconsin and Massachusetts producing more than 90% of the cranberries grown in the country. As most in the transportation industry are aware, shipping produce is no easy feat, and
transporting cranberries is no exception. Cranberries need to be handled with care.
The cranberry harvest begins in mid-September for most cranberry-producing states and runs through mid-November. Harvesting dry and wet cranberries are accomplished in two ways. Dry harvesting is a popular way for many small farmers as it doesn’t require as much coordination and machinery as wet harvesting. A device similar to a lawn mower pulls the berries off of the vines and into burlap sacks. While this is an easier method, a greater percentage of cranberries do get damaged. Wet harvesting is a method used by
large farms that work with major juice companies like Ocean Spray. Bogs are closed off and flooded with about 18 inches of water. Water reels are sent off on the water to stir up the plants and knock the berries off the vine. Cranberries have little pockets of air in them, so they float to the surface of the water. Nets and floating barricades are then used to move the berries to where they can be collected.
Before cranberries can be shipped they need to be carefully packaged for their journey. Cranberries have tougher skin than most other berries, but they still need to be handled with care. There are a couple of methods used to package them. They can be packaged in plastic bags with holes to vent out excess moisture, or in clamshell packaging. They then need to be placed in sturdier boxes that can support the weight of them being palletized. If shipping cranberries in bulk, they are put in plastic or fiberboard bulk bins to be placed in the truck.
Cranberries do not typically require any temperature regulation if they are being transported short distances. Frequently cranberries are transported only short distances from the farm to where they are being processed. However, if transporting cranberries in very cold or hot temperatures, or if shipping directly to stores at greater distances from the farm, then cranberries need to be transported in a refrigerated (reefer) trailer. Cranberries transported in a reefer should be kept at a temperature of 36 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Cranberries generally can be stored for up to three to four months if kept at this temperature. Outside of these temperatures, cranberries can become damaged. If cranberries are kept too warm they will deteriorate and begin to rot within a few hours. If cranberries get too cold, they will turn brown and the inside will become tough and rubbery. It’s important that the temperature remains at the proper temperature to avoid any damage upon delivery.
As we get closer to the holiday season in the U.S., we think about all the good food we are going to enjoy with family and friends. More than likely, we will have cranberries in one form or another at the holiday meals. Enjoy and remember all it took to get cranberries from the farm to your dinner table.
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Dave Comber is the manager of ALC Madison and has been with the Allen Lund Company for eight years. He worked for three years as the assistant manager, before being promoted to his current role. Comber brought with him over 20 years of management and customer service experience within the transportation industry from Northern Freight Service, Inc. and Schneider National, Inc. Comber attended Lawrence Univercity in Appleton, WI and earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts with a Major in History.
The worst congestion is plaguing U.S. seaports “since the age of containerization”, according to Logistics Management.
The publication credits backlogs of imports coming into the country, a shortage of equipment, and inland blocks as the main causes for this situation.
“U.S. seaports face the unprecedented situation where they’re now in their 17th straight month of record container import volume,” says Chris Jones, executive VP of industry and service at Descartes Datamyne.
“Consequently, continuous and shifting congestion and delays, and unpredictable lead times for importers has resulted”, Jones shared.
Presently, the ports of Los Angeles (POLA) and Long Beach (POLB) handle approximately 40% of U.S. imports. On the other hand, the port of New York and New Jersey processed 4,651,094 TEUs in 2021, ranking in third.
Consistent problems
Schedule reliability remains a significant problem for carriers, the outlet states. During 2021, West Coast ports reported long delays, with the East and Gulf coast ports now experiencing the same.
Meanwhile, seaports remain flooded with containers as labor negotiations on the West Coast are ongoing. Discussions have significantly affected shippers who remain concerned about slowdowns and potential strikes, Logistics Management reports.