Archive For The “News” Category
By Gerald Ebert, ALC Richmond
Is the severity of the “supply chain crisis” a direct result of the COVID pandemic? Probably.
Are 15 months of consecutive Year-Over-Year freight cost increases a direct result of COVID and the “supply chain crisis”? That question is not as easily answered.
Most of us in the freight business work in a right here and right now world. We win and lose looking into a crystal ball that has been very cloudy the last few years. We work hard to find commonalities with past trends to help give us even the slightest advantage.
Even with years of experience and more real-time data than ever before at our fingertips, every tight truck market is the “tightest we have ever seen”, while a loose truck market seems to add hours to every day.
As everything these days is a “crisis”, it is not uncommon to hear that the national reopening that followed the COVID shut down was the beginning of the current capacity “crisis.”
It’s true, that average truckload prices did increase approximately 80% from the end of the COVID shutdown through the close of 2020. This trend continued through 2021. Only as 2021 closed, did we see the Year-Over-Year gap shrink to reasonable comparisons.
With all that has happened since we found ourselves adjusting to a new and often unwelcome reality, it’s easy to forget that before The COVID Shutdown, The Great Reopening, The Workforce Shortage, The Supply Chain Crises, and Surging Inflation, there was January, February, and March of 2020.
I recall having numerous, maybe daily, conversations with colleagues in those three months in which we opined, “This the tightest market we have ever seen.” It wasn’t. In fact, it didn’t really come close in comparison to the capacity challenges we faced in June and July of 2018.
The industry, and those of us that work in it every day, were simply conditioned by an unusually long 24 to 26 month cycle of demand and rate decline. It is likely that the COVID pandemic was just an unpredictable pause of the inevitable rebound we are still dealing with today.
2022 is not showing any signs of a downward correction. Most are predicting mild 3-5% increases when compared to 2021. The reality is that we won’t know until the year concludes. That’s the way transportation works. Hindsight is crystal clear. The only thing crystal clear about the future in transportation is that it will be different than it was the previous year.
The market doesn’t recognize any calendar or bid cycle. It doesn’t show mercy for the unpredictable. When the market destroys your budget, it shouldn’t destroy solid relationships that have been built over years.
2021 proved, yet again, that any commodities market is measured by a simple supply and demand equation. From 2018 through 2019, that equation favored the shipper. For most of 2020 through today, and for the foreseeable right here and right now future, it has forced shippers to battle for capacity. Trusted resources and strong relationships have never been more important. That crystal clear hindsight view will verify those relationships.
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Gerald Ebert began his career with Allen Lund Company as a transportation broker in the San Antonio office. In 1999, Ebert transferred to ALC Richmond and was promoted to the manager of the Richmond office in 2000.
Lineage Logistics, LLC, the world’s largest and most innovative temperature-controlled industrial REIT and logistics solutions provider, today announced the strategic expansion of its facility network near the major port in Savannah, GA.
“Savannah is the fastest growing port and largest single container terminal in North America. Lineage’s new facilities in this high-demand location will provide additional capacity and value-added services in a critical market for our customers,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, Lineage’s President and CEO. “We are constantly looking for ways to maximize and further streamline Lineage’s total supply chain, and our meaningful growth in Savannah will offer customers increased access to faster, more reliable distribution opportunities to markets across the Southeast.”
Lineage recenrly announced its plans to break ground on a next-generation facility near the Port of Savannah to handle fresh produce and perishable imports. The Company will invest $62 million in the new building, which, upon completion, will create 65 new jobs in Chatham County’s Port Wentworth, in addition to nearly 100 jobs required for the project’s construction. Operating as a cross-dock, in which product enters one side of the building and exits the other side via truck on the same day, the facility will also provide fumigation, packaging and other value-added services for customers to move fresh product efficiently to markets across the Southeast. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2022.
In addition, Lineage announced the Phase I opening of its temperature-controlled warehouse on Tremont Road adjacent to the Port of Savannah. Serving both imported and exported products like poultry, the facility features a 19,000-square-foot blast freezer, a boxing room and customs brokerage capabilities to provide streamlined processing in and out of the port. Once fully operational, the facility will employ up to 100 Georgia residents.
Combined, the newly announced facilities expand Lineage’s presence in the market by more than 500,000 square feet of capacity. In total, the Company’s network will span four facilities in Savannah with twelve facilities across the State of Georgia.
About Lineage Logistics
Lineage Logistics is the world’s largest temperature-controlled industrial REIT and logistics solutions provider. It has a global network of over 400 strategically located facilities totaling over 2 billion cubic feet of capacity which spans 19 countries across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Plant City, FL – International grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, Wish Farms, is proud to announce the fifth berry to its lineup: Pink-A-Boo Pineberries®.
The trademarked name is a play on words, giving nod to the berry’s ripe pink hue. Pineberries are white in color and turn a pink blush when ripe. It has a strawberry flavor, but with essences of pineapple, pear, and apricot. Since their sugar content is slightly higher, and they have lower relative acidity than traditional red strawberries, pineberries have a delicate flavor finish that leaves the palate pleasantly refreshed.
“I think this new berry is going to be a big winner for Wish Farms, our growers, and our retail partners,” said Wish Farms owner Gary Wishnatzki, “Our entire team is energized, and we are putting on a full court press to make it a success. We have a commitment to a serious marketing strategy that is going to move the needle in the marketplace.”
Pink-A-Boo Pineberries® are packed in a one layer, 10 oz consumer unit. The label features a picture of a ripe pineberry and the phrase “Ripe and Ready” for further emphasis. The branded, bright pink box holds six of these units, and its vibrant color is eye-catching on display.
The pineberry was developed through traditional breeding techniques at the University of Florida. In fact, the red strawberries consumers enjoy today were crossed with a wild white strawberry many years ago. Wish Farms decided to prominently display “NON-GMO” on its label.
Director of Marketing, Amber Maloney: “Shoppers have become conditioned to look for a bright red strawberry, so it is up to us to educate the consumer on this unique addition to their produce aisle. In addition to the call outs on the label and point of sale signage, a robust social media campaign is planned across multiple platforms.”
Last season, retail trials were executed successfully on a small scale. With a ramp up from 6 acres, the company has exponentially increased acreage of Pink-A-Boo Pineberries® in its strawberry growing regions in Florida and California.
Wish Farms is harvesting nearly 100 acres of Pink-A-Boo Pineberries® in Florida from December to April, and 150 acres in California with modest volumes beginning January, increasing through June and into fall.
Wishnatzki: “Our farm teams in Plant City, Duette, Salinas, Santa Maria, and Oxnard have had good experience growing and packing pineberries so I’m confident that it will be a great season for quality and taste.”
About Wish Farms:
Feel Good. Eat Berries. Make A Difference.
It isn’t just a catchy phrase, giving back is engrained in the company culture. Through the Wish Farms Family Foundation, a portion of profits are dedicated to their three pillars of giving: Food Insecurity, Youth Education and Community. With a defined mission, they hope to make the world a better place.
Founded in 1922, Wish Farms is a fourth-generation, family operated company. As a year-round supplier of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and now Pink-A-Boo Pineberries®, it grows both conventional and organic varieties. Nationally recognized for innovation, Wish Farms utilizes patented traceability technology to ensure quality and safety by tying consumer feedback to specific information from each day’s harvest. For more information, please visit www.wishfarms.com
By Derek Robinson, ALC Savannah
The Port of Savannah is continually breaking record after record, year after year, in both the import and export of goods, throughout the United States and worldwide.
While the United States is known primarily as an importer of goods, the Port of Savannah is known as the top exporting port for containerized agricultural goods. During FY2019, Savannah took that spot, accounting for 15.8% of exports and continues to grow every year. In the first five months of 2020, the port had already handled 593,195 TEU’s and ate up a 12.2% market share, once again exporting more containers than any port in the United States.
2021 certainly brought the phrase “supply chain” into daily conversations at the dinner table, water cooler, and evening news programs. The Port of Savannah has put a few things into play, in order to speed up all facets of the port and move agriculture goods in and out quicker. One of the biggest things to happen was the creation of “pop-up yards” that can handle an additional 500,000 containers throughout the year.
This improvement alone allows drivers to make 70 mile turns instead of 400 mile turns, which increases both daily driver numbers and the ability of drivers to get more home time every day. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has slated numerous projects to the port that will only continue to add efficiencies to keep the Port of Savannah in that #1 spot for generations to come!
We at the Allen Lund Company move countless loads of produce from the Savannah area daily. Many loads come as an import brought through the port, or from a Georgia farmer working tirelessly to bring you peaches, melons, or pecans.
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Derek Robinson is a business development specialist in the Savannah office and has been with the Allen Lund Company since 2015. Robinson attended Savannah Technical College, specializing in Aviation Structural Mechanics.
Van and refrigerated (“reefer”) truckload freight rates hit new highs in December, with national average prices up 21.9% and 29.5% respectively compared to the same period a year ago, said DAT Freight & Analytics, which operates the industry’s largest marketplace for spot truckload freight and the DAT iQ data analytics service.
National average truckload spot van and reefer rates increased for the seventh consecutive month and the average van rate reached $3 per mile for the first time. Spot truckload rates are negotiated on a per-load basis and paid to the carrier by a freight broker.
DAT’s Truckload Volume Index (TVI) was 236, a 3% decline compared to November when the Index set a record for the number of loads moved by motor carriers in a month. The TVI was up 18% year over year, reflecting strong truckload freight volumes as 2021 came to a close. The number of loads posted to the DAT One load board network increased 13.7% in December while truck posts fell 10.5%. Compared to December 2020, load posts increased 48.8% and truck posts were up 6.9%.
“While it’s not unusual to see a decline in the number of loads moved from November to December, spot-market volume was historically strong last month,” said Ken Adamo, Chief of Analytics at DAT. “Truckers experienced unparalleled demand during the holiday season.”
Van rate up 54 cents year over year
• At $3 a mile, the national average spot rate for van freight was up 7 cents compared to November and 54 cents higher than in December 2020.
• After increasing 17 cents month over month in November, the average spot reefer rate rose 2 cents to $3.47 a mile in December. The spot reefer rate has set a new high for six straight months and is 79 cents higher compared to the same period last year.
• The national average rate for flatbed loads on the spot market increased 2 cents to $3.08 per mile, a 59-cent gain year over year.
Flatbed load-to-truck ratio jumps 36%
• The national average van load-to-truck ratio was 6.5, up from 5.2 in November, meaning there were 6.5 available loads for every available van on the DAT network. The reefer load-to-truck ratio was 14.0, up from 11.9 in November.
• The flatbed ratio jumped to 51.1 from 37.5 the previous month, as unseasonably warm weather extended the construction season.
Contract rates hold steady
The national average shipper-to-broker contract van rate was $2.94 per mile, up 1 cent month over month. The average contract reefer rate fell 1 cent to $3.11 a mile, while the average contract rate for flatbed freight was unchanged at $3.34 a mile.
• The national average diesel fuel surcharge was 40 cents a mile for van freight, down 1 cent from November when the surcharge was at a seven-year high.
ATHENS, GA – As North American wireless carriers move to phase out 3G service, Carrier Transicold is introducing a program to help trucking fleets upgrade telematics technology on their refrigerated trucks and trailers. New eSolutions™ bundled subscriptions eliminate large upfront hardware costs by packaging equipment fees and airtime service into an affordable monthly plan.
“Regardless of the 3G telematics equipment currently being used on a fleet’s Carrier Transicold refrigeration units, fleet managers now have the advantage of upgrading to our eSolutions 4G LTE equipment without a major capital investment up front,” said David Brondum, Director of Telematics, Carrier Transicold.
“A bundled subscription ensures reliable equipment performance with full warranty support for the life of the contract, and it provides protection against obsolescence as cellular networks sunset earlier technologies in favor of newer generation telecommunications.”
Program features include: • A competitive and predictable monthly fee that covers the hardware, software and airtime service subscription, allowing fleets to convert a capital outlay to an operating expense.
• 3- and 5-year contract options for budgeting flexibility.
• Guaranteed equipment performance, including parts and labor warranty coverage, for the life of the contract.
• Installation and equipment commissioning by authorized Carrier Transicold dealers, which assures proper operation and warranty. Hardware includes the transceiver module, antenna and wiring harness as well as optional peripheral components such as fuel sensors, temperature probes and door switches, as required by specific customer needs.
Three airtime service plans are available: 1) Monitor, 2) Two-way Monitor and Control and 3) Monitor and Enhanced Control, adding capabilities for data downloads, remote software updates and adjustments to Carrier Transicold IntelliSet™ control configurations. Carrier Transicold’s innovative eSolutions platform and web-based interface provides continuous visibility of cold chain assets via a centralized data stream that shows trailer temperatures, location and movement.
The platform can also enable remote control of refrigeration units along with other features to optimize refrigeration equipment usage, improve fleet efficiency and help manage service and maintenance. For additional details about the eSolutions platform and bundled subscriptions, turn to the experts in Carrier Transicold’s North America dealer network.
About Carrier Transicold
Carrier Transicold helps improve transport and shipping of temperature-controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For more than 50 years, Carrier Transicold has been an industry leader, providing customers around the world with advanced, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable container refrigeration systems and generator sets, direct-drive and diesel truck units, and trailer refrigeration systems.
Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, the leading global provider of healthy, safe, sustainable and intelligent building and cold chain solutions. For more information, visit transicold.carrier.com. Follow Carrier on Twitter: @SmartColdChain, on Facebook at Carrier Transicold Truck/Trailer U.S. & Canada and on LinkedIn at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer Refrigeration.
Photographs of mangos as big as soccer balls that were harvested in the department of Santander, Colombia went viral last week.
A local news source said that Liliana Garnica Ruíz has the giant mango crops on her farm and that the fruit was from organic crops that use a process based on soil improvement.
“These mangoes have been a blessing, they are not only healthy, but they are also large,” she said. Her farm also produces lemons, tangerines and oranges.
Garnica entered the agricultural world only five years ago when she bought land and completed a three year apprenticeship. The other two years she has been collecting the fruits of her efforts that have good quality and are based on clean production.
Last year, Colombia reached a new record by registering the world’s heaviest mango in the ‘Guinness World Records’, which was grown in Boyacá and weighed 4.25 kilograms, or about 9.4 pounds.
“I know my mango surpasses that record which surprised me and I wanted to register it, but I stopped myself. I first want to see how these fruits reach maturity and what their flavor is like,” she said.
“These mangos still need time to ripen because they were cut early, so now I’ll wait to see and let them ripen without the tree’s nutrition.”
“Organic fruit is much better than conventional agriculture and my trees are fortified with minerals and many nutrients.”
Garnica said that if she continues her production techniques and the results are the same, next year she can decide to apply and achieve that worldwide recognition. “I would be proud as a Colombian.”
Former New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees will star in Avocados From Mexico in the National Football League’s biggest game of the year on February 13th at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles. The group’s 30-second television spot and play the feature role in consumer retail promotions.
After its absence from Super Bowl ads for 2021, Avocados From Mexico has announced it again will be a part of the select group of advertisers for the Super Bowl in February 2022.
The brand, which has previously had six “Big Game” television advertising campaigns, will produce a 30-second spot on advertising’s biggest night and execute a 360-degree integrated campaign to support the No. 1 consumption period for avocados, according to a news release.
With nearly 2.5 billion avocados imported from Mexico every year, the Super Bowl remains the No. 1 occasion for avocados and guacamole, according to the release. During the Feb. 12-13 Super Bowl weekend, AFM is responsible for 95% of avocado sales in the U.S., according to the group.
“The Big Game has always been an effective way for us to connect with avocado-obsessed consumers,” AFM president and CEO Alvaro Luque said in the release.
“Not only did we first introduce our brand seven years ago at the Big Game, but we’ve innovated year after year to continue to engage and excite avocado fans.”
For this year’s Super Bowl, Luque said AFM will launch what is expected to be the most sales-effective campaign ever from the group. The campaign will integrate shoppers, digital and the brand, he said.
“I’m proud of the brand we’ve built from the ground up – a highly visible brand in a brandless category,” Luque said in the release.
“This next ‘Always Good’ evolution will allow us to take the brand even farther – driving even more innovation, more digital focus and more ways to truly connect with consumers’ hearts and minds, because AFM really does spark good times all the time.”
Along with a highly visible TV ad and breakthrough digital execution, AFM said the integrated campaign will include a national shopper program featuring Brees to get fans ready for the ultimate “Guac Zone.”
With the promotion, consumers can connect directly with Brees when they scan the QR code on the Avocados From Mexico Big Game displays, according to the release.
Beginning in January, the QR code will lead consumers to the “Get in the Guac Zone” digital landing page where they have the chance to win a $100,000 Smart Home Makeover and get a digital selfie with Brees.
Brees said Nov. 3 that his family loves avocados.
“We use (them) for a lot of different things as we cook and prepare meals around the house, and we always trusted avocados from Mexico,” he said.
Brees said he has always been a big fan of the Avocados From Mexico brand.
“When the opportunity came to work with them, I was really excited about that,” he said, promising great consumer promotions and incentives for retailers with the Super Bowl campaign.
In just seven years, AFM has doubled the volume of Mexican avocados imported to the U.S., more than doubled the brand preference during the same time period, and the brand is on track to continue this impact, according to the release.
This year’s decision to return to the Super Bowl comes as AFM announces some big, bold brand updates, alongside a digital overhaul of the brand look and feel with a refreshed brand logo and even a new avocado color.
With recognizable brand assets such as the memorable jingle, “Avocados From Mexico” – AFM has now added “Always Good” to its logo and revamped its look, according to the release.
The brand has created its very own color – “avocado glow” — a unique yellow-green gradient color consumers see when they open a perfectly ripe avocado.
AFM will now showcase how the fruit is “Always Good.” Avocados boast great taste, nutrition (good fats and nearly 20 vitamins and minerals) and fun times, the release said.
It’s getting colder out, but you knew that already. So, as you don your parka, when you might once have used a windbreaker, we venture out to do one of the most human things we’ve come to know: get all our groceries in one swoop from the store!
Now, you may have a specific diet, you may be a super-foodie, or a junk-food-junkie(may Larry Groce have mercy on you)! Either way, we’re going to set out to get a balanced list of beverages, meats, grains, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. Maybe, you’ve noticed something a bit different this year? Fruits(among many other commodities) have gone up in price, year over year for decades. In this particular day and age, we’re also mixing in supply chain disruption, tougher seasons on our farmers, and an ever-increasing demand for healthier foods. According to the USDA, the top six fruits per price by weight are blackberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots, and strawberries. For the purpose of this article, we’re going to focus on strawberries, as they meet the lowest price point and among the others aforementioned on this list, are the most commonly consumed by consumers and businesses.
But, what does it look like when you get to the store? In my personal experience, I couldn’t find strawberries anywhere at my local grocer for weeks. But, I found a quick fix that has become a staple for my household: frozen strawberries(and pretty much anything else I wanted to grab that I couldn’t find fresh). In fact, they had access to fruits that are almost never available fresh such as papaya, dragon fruit, passionfruit, acai berries, and much more!
Frozen fruit always comes in at a much more affordable price than its fresh counterparts. After taking my bag of frozen berries home, I discovered a second surprise: beautiful, vibrant, deep red, and delicious strawberries! It took some time to get used to thawing them out, but nine times out of ten, I have a superb batch of strawberries.
Frozen foods get a bad reputation for being processed; possibly having ingredients along the lines of “unnatural”. Throw this bias right out of the window! “Scientists from Leatherhead Food Research and the University of Chester, carried out 40 tests to measure nutrient levels in produce that had been sitting in a fridge for three days, compared to frozen equivalents. They found more beneficial nutrients overall in the frozen samples”. You may find this hard to believe, based on everything we’ve been taught growing up.
There’s a pretty big factor that comes into play for frozen fruit, that fresh fruit just can’t match! Here at the Allen Lund Company, we haul fresh produce daily, on tight schedules. Produce growers and farmers often pick fruit just before it’s ripe, to time it to ripen perfectly for delivery and consumption. The harvest comes in, then the clock starts counting down. If the produce doesn’t get from A to B in a certain amount of time, it’s likely going to be unfit to sell. So, eventually, a way around this schedule crunch was found: blast/instant quick-freezing fruits and vegetables. What’s the benefit you ask? Well, the freezing has a bit of a better schedule. Frozen fruits are picked at optimal ripeness and frozen immediately to preserve peak nutrition, flavor, and shelf life.
Having the ability to keep products at the perfect quality for double, triple, or greater shelf life allows growers to open a market for year-round sales, both in season and out of season. Consumers see huge savings on purchasing these goods, but where it really comes into play is supply chain management. Plus, keeping a bag or two of frozen goodies in the freezer comes into play for when you take a nasty spill on the way to the office!
More and more investments have been made in efforts to perfect packaging, create/lease cold storage centers, and erase supply gaps during off seasons for businesses. The proof is in the pudding, or should I say, the sorbet. Studies show that the Global Frozen Fruit market is a $4.65-billion-dollar industry, expected to grow at 1-2% annually CAGR to reach a peak of $5 billion dollars in 2026.
Consumers are steadily following this trend as their purchases shift. Many trade shows now include frozen goods being marketed, displayed, and packaged. Every year as the category expands, growers are getting better, and better at retaining color, nutrients, taste, and lower prices.
The next time you’re hankering for some produce and feeling adventurous, check out the frozen section. You’ll find that no matter what time of the year, you’ll always be able to afford juicy, nutritious, and gorgeous strawberries.
Onion is the third most cultivated vegetable in the country. Onions account for 9.3% of all the vegetables produced in the country and, in 2020, the country produced 1,499,740 tons of onions, i.e. 1 out of every 50 tons of onions consumed in the world, stated the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader).
Mexican sweet onions begin crossing the border in South Texas in March.
The federal agency highlighted that, in 2020, Chihuahua produced 21.6% of all the country’s onions, and that state’s onion sales amounted to nearly 2,881 million pesos.
It was followed by Guanajuato with a production of 210,255 tons, Zacatecas with 182,212 tons, Tamaulipas with 134,962 tons, Baja California with 103,603 tons, and Puebla with 94,157 tons of onions.
The country will produce nearly 1,432,922 tons of onions in 2021, according to estimates from the Agrifood and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP).
Exports increase
Between January and August of this year, Mexican fresh or chilled onion and garlic exports grew by 6.8% over the same period of the previous year, totaling 347 million dollars.