Archive For The “News” Category
By Steve Hull, ALC Portland
2021 continues to be a challenging year for so many. Those of us in the logistics world have been working long hours and dealing with unprecedented upheaval in the transportation space. We know, from our discussions with so many of our shipper and carrier clients that you all are working just as hard. We’ve all been missing out on chances to get together and collaborate in person during this time. We’ve missed out on attending some produce-focused trade shows in person, including the United Fresh convention and Expo along with PMA Fresh Summit. Those in-person opportunities that we once maybe took for granted are something very special. One of the things missed was the opportunity to talk about and ask for help with one of Allen Lund Company’s core Acts of Kindness, Navidad en el Barrio.
Since 2004, the Allen Lund Company has been offering assistance including freight shipments to Navidad en el Barrio. First established in the 1970s by former LA Ram’s kicker Danny Villanueva, the non-profit collects money and food for the underserved Hispanic communities in Southern California. ALC first assisted with the transportation of groceries that were included in food bags that are distributed to every family. In the early days, those food bags did not contain any perishable food items, such as fresh produce. Recognizing the strong relationships that ALC has with the growers in California, Navidad en el Barrio asked ALC to help make those food bags much more nutritious. Beginning in 2006, fresh fruits and vegetables became a consistent part of each food bag.
Critically during this pandemic, the need for assistance is as high as ever. Navidad will provide meals to approximately 10,000 families this year! We are asking for any growers/importers/suppliers who are looking to step up and make a difference in the lives of so many deserving families in Southern California by making donations of nutritious perishable foods. In the past, through the generosity of companies such as Rainier Fruit, Wada Farms, Grimmway Farms, Wonderful Citrus, Mission Foods, and Coca-Cola, we’ve been able to help provide fresh fruits, potatoes, carrots, avocados, bottled water, and juices as well as many other available seasonal products for the food bags.
Since we didn’t get the chance to ask you in person this year, we are asking now virtually. We need your help! Christmas is fast approaching, and we are currently working on lining up donations for the 2021 distribution that will take place in early December. Please, reach out to either me at steve.hull@allenlund.com, or ALC Marketing & Communications Director Nora Trueblood at nora.trueblood@allenlund.com if your business can help. We appreciate your participation.
Mexican berry exports have totaled over 99,000 metric tons (MT) from January to May of this year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture of Mexico.
Berry specialists expect that this year’s exports to continue increasing as in 2020, which grew 10 percent despite the pandemic.
“We exported more than 440,000MT of berries, amounting to over US$2.3 billion dollars,” José Luis Bustamante, president of Aneberries said.
“Berries are the third most exported agricultural product from Mexico after beer and avocados.”
The country has around 128,500 hectares of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. The main producing areas are Michoacán, Jalisco and Baja California.
“Michoacán continues to be the undisputed leader in berry production and the world leader in blackberry production,” Rubén Medina, head of Sedrua and Ricardo Bernal, head of the Ministry of Economic Development (Sedeco) said.
Strawberries and blueberries are considered the berries with the most growth potential for the next 10 years, according to Fresh Seasons.
Over half of Mexico’s strawberry production is destined for the foreign market.
Global imports have increased almost 36 percent in the last 10 years increasing Mexican exports. In 2017, Mexican strawberry exports grew 63 percent compared to the last year.
Mexico is the third largest supplier of strawberries in the international market and represents almost 15 percent of the export value worldwide.
The main markets for Mexican strawberries are the U.S. and Canada but the country sells to many other destinations.
By Doug Plantada, ALC Los Angeles
Imagine you’re walking down your local produce aisle, looking to cross some fruits and veggies off your list, and you notice something is a bit off. The lemons are a little smaller than usual, watermelons have a slightly different look to their rind. Your favorite Hass avocados aren’t quite as meaty and you can’t put your finger on them but their shape is different than you’re used to as well.
As food demands increase as a result of Covid-19 and the natural disasters of the past two years, this exact experience is becoming more common as imports of fresh produce have risen dramatically across the country. In 2021, U.S. imports of fresh vegetables from January through May were at $4.88 billion, up 4% compared with 2020.
Of the many diverse commodities grown in the United States, onions are one of the hardest hit by import increases, up 14% at $221.1 million this year. Typically, onion imports would support the industry by providing supply during the off-season, but mid-February freezing temperatures in South Texas significantly reduced yields for onion crops, and that has translated to higher prices this year.
Onion shippers are looking to imports to make up for lost crops, which according to Dante Galeazzi, president, and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association, estimates point to damage of 20% to 30% of crops in 2021. In order to maintain control over market conditions in cases like natural disasters and the increased demand due to the pandemic, the USDA has historically agreed with producers/shippers to create something called a “Marketing Order.”
Marketing agreements and orders are initiated by the food industry to help provide stable markets for dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and specialty crops. Each order and agreement is tailored to the individual industry’s needs. Marketing Orders are a binding regulation for the entire industry in a geographical area and are approved by the producers and the Secretary of Agriculture. In short, Marketing Orders would allow onion growers in Texas to promote their products by collectively influencing the supply, demand, or price of particular varieties of onion.
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Doug Plantada has been with the Allen Lund Company for two years and is currently a broker in training at the Los Angeles office.
By Milagros Aredo, ALC San Francisco
Seasonal droughts in California have become more frequent and severe in recent years. However, what California is experiencing right now has everyone who is involved in agriculture concerned. California is the largest grower of US fresh produce.
There are over 69,000 California farms and ranches that are being affected that supply over a third of U.S. vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits. To keep up with demand, these farmers rely heavily on their regional water availability which is a huge challenge today. In the farming valleys of California, an ongoing drought is impacting both the production and price of the crops. With scarce water, farmers are being forced to rip out their trees and produce early because of drylands and high temperatures. This is a tough business decision for them because it affects their seasonal production and becomes more costly to replant and regrow.
For example, California almonds harvesting accounts for about 80% of global production. Almonds require more water to thrive on and if they lack moisture a 25-year investment can be ripped from the ground. To keep their farms from ruins, growers are searching more for underground water resources.
They are drilling depths of 1000 feet for water to sustain thirsty citrus, fruits, and pistachios which adds costs and takes away farmland from production. They’re also exploring other possibilities such as dry-farming techniques that rely less on water. Farmers are stuck between scaling back and prioritizing growing low value vs high-value crops and how much of them should be planted.
To produce as much as possible, farmers are planting crops closer together in an attempt to make the root structure denser and keep moisture in the soil. They also focus on crops that require less water. Tree crops like avocados that are highly water-intensive have gone up by 10% in retail price from last year. The water crisis is causing a short food supply in retail.
Certain commodities at grocery stores are lightly stocked to empty and shoppers are seeing inflation on prices because of this. Vendors are shifting where they grow and sell things to help increase production to keep the commodities affordable and readily available. Having no control over the weather, growers will need to continue to find more ways to adapt and find supplemental water in order to supply 400 key commodities to millions of Americans.
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Milagros Aredo is a senior transportation broker with ALC San Francisco, CA. Milagros has six years of experience in logistics and graduated with a double major in International Business and Marketing from USF.
Dollar General has completed its initial rollout of its DG Fresh initiative, so now the company will focus on adding more fresh produce to stores, and possibly self-distribution of fresh produce.
Based in Goodlettsville, TN, the company is now delivering refrigerated and frozen items to 17,500 stores from 12 facilities.
“And while produce was not included in our initial rollout plans, we believe DG Fresh provides a potential path to accelerating our fresh produce offering in up to 10,000 stores over time as we look to further capitalize on our extensive self-distribution capabilities,” Jeff Owen, COO said.
Fresh produce is now in more than 1,500 stores, with plans to expand to a total of more than 2,000 stores by the end of the year.
Dollar General plans to open 1,050 stores this year and remodel 1,750.
While the company’s same-store sales couldn’t keep up with a record 2020, CEO Todd Vasos said basket size is bigger, as is customer base.
“We believe we will ultimately exit the pandemic with a larger, broader, and more engaged customer base than we entered it, resulting in an even stronger foundation from which to grow,” Vasos said, during the call.
Retail organic produce growth slowed down a bit in the second quarter of 2021, but overall was still well ahead of conventional produce.
The Organic Produce Network published and Category Partners prepared the report using Nielsen data, It revealed total organic dollars during the April through June period increased by 4.1% compared with the same period a year ago.
By way of contrast, conventional produce sales in the second quarter declined by 3.3% compared with year-ago levels.
Organic volume was about even with last year’s levels, registering a gain of 0.2% in the second quarter. That was much better than conventional produce, which experienced a decline of 8.6% compared with the same quarter a year ago.
Generally, consumers in the second quarter of 2021 were not buying as much food in the same way they did during the early months of the pandemic in 2020.
In the second quarter of 2021, organic produce experienced sales somewhat below the historical long-term growth trend, according to the report.
The vegetable category benefited during the pandemic because more consumers were cooking at home, the report said. Times began to change in the second quarter.
“As the foodservice sector reopened, consumers began to shift some meals back to foodservice channels,” the report said. “The net result in Q2, 2021, is many produce categories had relatively tepid growth when matched against Q2, 2020.”
Organic did comparatively well, with organic produce still generating dollar and volume growth in the second quarter while conventional produce declined.
The pandemic isn’t dominating retail trends as it did in 2020.
“It is apparent that consumer supermarket food purchases increasingly reflect the more traditional buying trends versus COVID-inspired purchasing changes,” the report said. “It is also encouraging that even though consumer purchases of conventional produce were lower than Q2, 2020, organic produce continued to generate growth. This shows that the longer-term trend of consumers moving toward organic produce continues to grow.”
Berries were the “star organic category” during the second quarter, increasing dollar performance by over 19% and volume by 16%.
“Berries displaced packaged salads as the No. 1 organic category in dollars for the first time,” the report said.
Citrus (26.7%), lettuce (2.1%) and tomatoes (1.2%) also delivered volume gains for the quarter. However, multiple strong organic categories had volume declines, including important organic contributors like packaged salads, apples, herbs and carrots.
Even so, increasing prices in many organic categories helped mitigate volume declines.
In terms of regional retail organic sales performance, the Northeast region enjoyed a 7.7% dollar growth and 3.6% volume growth in the second quarter.
The normally strong West saw a 0.2% decline in organic sales and a 3.9% volume decline.
The report said the Western performance “is largely a phantom decline” created by comparing against Q2, 2020, when organic sales soared by 17% in dollars and 18% in volume.
“The good news is that setting aside the performance spike that occurred in Q2, 2020, the overall trendline for organic produce volume remained positive,” the report said.
Shipping line Maersk has provided a market update on the challenging global logistics situation, saying that port congestion and supply chain bottlenecks are to persist through year-end.
China’s October Golden Week, Christmas and Chinese New Year will bolster strong demand for container shipping for the last quarter of 2021. But port congestion, especially in the U.S. and Europe, and service delays are expected to create headwinds for service schedules, the company said.
Maersk says extra loaders (additional ships) and ad hoc port omissions will be implemented to help improve schedule reliability. Meanwhile, inventory levels in Europe and the US remain at their lowest levels on record, leading to stock outs on some products.
This means even once retail demand declines, we will see cargo volumes continue to remain strong as inventory levels need to be rebuilt, Maersk said.
Global container demand growth is projected at 6%-8% in 2021, reflecting strong first-half as well as ongoing demand strength in the U.S. and partly in Europe. While container demand growth has ran ahead of supply growth since the second half 2020, the true drivers of high freight rates are congestions in ports and supply-chain bottlenecks, Maersk says.
Vessel waiting time at ports has increased requiring more ships per string to lift same cargo volume. At the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, waiting times rose with over 70 vessels anchored in mid-September.
Covid-19 has also led shutdowns that have delayed vessels from Asia. Warehousing capacity has also been reduced due to port and landside congestion, while returning empty containers back to Asia remains challenging.
“Maersk has taken many actions to redirect flows back to Asia to ensure we have equipment supply. Despite this, equipment turn-round times continue to increase driven by landside and seaborne delays,” says Maersk.
To address capacity and equipment shortages, Maersk says it has taken measures to alleviate this by rationalizing its schedules and repositioning empty containers. The company has also tripled the number of dry freight containers in its fleet during the last few months to support customers’ export requirements.
“However, In-fleeting of new containers alone is no longer sufficient to meet overall demand, so it remains critically important that import containers are turned around as quickly as possible,” Maersk said.
In Vietnam, hundreds of factories have remained closed under COVID-19 lockdown rules, with many expected to reopen from early October as local restrictions are lifted.
Major port update
- Ports in Asia Pacific continue to be severely congested. With continued high yard density issue and weather disruption since July (i.e. 3 typhoons and 6 tropical storms), operational challenges remain in port operations and the situation is not expected to improve in the immediate future.
- Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach congestion levels continue to deteriorate as we move further into peak season with 70+ vessels waiting at anchorage recently. Labour restrictions coupled with high throughput volumes remain the primary constraint.
- Port of Savannah has become increasingly challenging recently as congestion across the East Coast picks up. There were around 30+ vessels at anchorage with wait times upwards of 7 days in mid-September.
- Port of Seattle continues to struggle with available yard capacity. Waiting times have increased to 11/12 days and the typical port stay lengthening from 3 days to about a week.
- UK Ports are operating smoothly but with very severe trucking shortages across the country, leading to high yard density in ports. Port of Rotterdam is also seeing trucking shortages although not as severe as UK.
- Ports in Latin America: Port of San Antonio continues to be congested causing further delays. Port of Lazaro Cardenas – railways continue to be blocked by protestors. We suggest customers to move cargo to Manzanillo where possible.
Air freight
Regarding air freight, Maersk says 2021 Q4 is expected to be “one of the strongest peaks the industry has seen with demand surpassing 2019 levels”.
New technical product launches and winter fashion products together with continued ocean freight disruption are expected to push demand higher even as capacity has yet to return to pre-COVID levels.
“Rate levels, already at all-time highs, are set to increase further in Q4. Most of the major trade lanes such as transpacific, Asia-Europe and transatlantic will be impacted,” it said.
“Maersk is securing commercial airlines and ad hoc charters to address capacity issues and secondary airports to help overcome COVID-19 related airport restrictions. We are also offering our multimodal Sea-Air service to customers on the Asia-Europe trade lane to meet demand.”
C&S Wholesale Grocers of Keene, NH, which supplies more than 7,700 stores across the U.S., has agreed to acquire Piggly Wiggly Midwest of Sheboygan, W.
Piggly Wiggly Midwest has three distribution centers and serves 11 corporate stores, 84 franchise locations in Wisconsin and 14 Butera Market stores in the Chicagoland area, according to a news release.
“The purchase of Piggly Wiggly Midwest is a natural expansion of our already successful Piggly Wiggly Carolina business and reinforces our strong commitment to this beloved brand,” C&S CEO Bob Palmer said. “It is a well-established legend in grocery retail that is valued by customers for its competitive pricing and focus on service.”
The acquisition is expected to close this month. Paul Butera Sr., president of Piggly Wiggly Midwest and founder of Butera Market, described the decision to sell as a very difficult one but a natural next step.
“Piggly Wiggly is more than a supermarket,” Butera Sr. “It is a family of franchise operators, employees and loyal Pig Point customers, too. C&S has the experience and knowledge to ensure that this 100-year old icon continues for the next 100 years.”
As part of the sale agreement, the Piggly Wiggly Midwest offices and distribution centers will continue to operate.
By Matt Baldwin, ALC, Winchester
Throughout the course of the pandemic, there have been shortages in many of the food products that we consume daily. One of the main food groups that have been in higher demand in recent times has been meat and poultry.
With recently renewed coronavirus restrictions at many processing plants, concerns have been raised that another meat and poultry shortage may be on the rise. In our Winchester, VA office, we work with some of the largest food processing companies in the United States. With understaffed processing plants due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the food supply chain for many of these companies has been lacking.
With all of the issues currently facing supply chains in our country, it is our job to make sure that we are working as efficiently as we can with our carriers to get meat and poultry on the shelves for our customers. Here’s how we do it.
One of the most important aspects of hauling perishables is working with a carrier that you can trust, with good equipment, experience, and an understanding of how things may go.
With meat shortages being a major concern for grocers across the country we need to make sure that the product gets to the final destination in perfect condition. One of the first things that we look for when potentially working with a carrier is if they have any history hauling high-value products. The more experience they have, the less likely they are to experience any potential problems. Asking them a few important questions to make sure they are the right carrier for the job is also essential.
We want to know the year of the reefer unit (needs to be 10 years or newer), the condition of the air chute, if they have the necessary load locks and straps to keep the product secure, and if the reefer unit is downloadable in case there are any temperature discrepancies at delivery.
These questions help us and the carrier make sure that the transaction goes as smoothly as possible from start to finish. Preparation and communication are both keys when transporting perishables.
Having strong relationships with carriers is imperative just like with any other product, but when hauling perishables, the carrier must be also aware of the challenges that processing companies face.
These companies are experiencing major delays with loading times, leading to carriers being frustrated, which can further complicate the supply chain. We have experienced that when you make sure the carriers you work with are fully aware of what to expect from start to finish when hauling the load, things generally tend to go more smoothly. The last thing that we want is to have a carrier hand a load back while at the pick-up location because they did not know what to expect. When the carrier knows what they may be up against, they generally don’t get upset when delays are excessive, because they know that they can trust our word and that we will do the best we can for them at the end of the day.
With coronavirus restrictions at processing plants ramping up, these issues don’t seem like they will be going away soon. It is important that we work with our carriers to do the best we can for our customers in these difficult times. We need to be understanding of the current circumstances and do what we need to do to get the job done. Our mission is to serve our customers to the best of our abilities, and the only way to do that is to work with our carriers as a team.
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Matt Baldwin is a transportation broker with ALC Winchester, Va. Baldwin will be transferring to ALC Charlotte, NC to work on-site at McCall Farms. Matt has five years of experience in logistics and graduated with a marketing degree from Rutgers University.
ATHENS, GA– Carrier Transicold truck and trailer customers have a new edge for receiving best-in-class service for their transport refrigeration equipment: the BluEdge™ service platform, which is now fully available from Carrier Transicold’s dealer network across the United States and Canada. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE: CARR), the leading global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions.
“Maintaining the integrity of the cold chain is more important than ever, and the BluEdge service platform is designed to maximize uptime of truck and trailer refrigeration systems so that food, pharmaceuticals, biologics and other refrigerated goods move efficiently and reliably,” said Stuart Johnson, BluEdge commercial lead, Carrier Transicold.
Carrier’s BluEdge service platform offers three tiers of service that provide customers with a flexible range of options, adding augmented capabilities when integrated with Carrier Transicold’s eSolutions™ monitoring system.
Tier Offerings:
- Core – Supplements the original equipment factory warranty with extended coverages for major components, the entire system or a more customized approach based on customer preferences.
- Enhance – Provides scheduled preventive maintenance inspections with proactive replacement of parts such as belts, starters and alternators.
- Elite – Protects through extended warranties plus preventive maintenance services resulting in the ultimate worry-free program for customers who demand the highest level of service, uptime and fiscal certainty.
All three BluEdge tiers offer parts pricing protection, expert diagnostics and repairs by factory-trained technicians at more than 180 Carrier Transicold dealer locations coast-to-coast. Depending on the tier selected, customers may add certain optional features, such as overtime and call-out coverages for emergency repairs, proactive inspections and centralized billing.
“The BluEdge program gives our fleet tremendous advantages, including extended warranty support from Carrier Transicold dealers throughout the nation,” said David Freymiller, CEO of Freymiller Inc., a leading refrigerated hauler based in Oklahoma City.
The fleet chose BluEdge Core coverage for its most recent acquisition of 190 X4™ 7300 trailer refrigeration units installed by Carrier Transicold dealer W&B Service Co. The extended major-component coverage is customized with a five-year transferrable warranty that Freymiller said provides “improved equipment value when it’s time to cycle out our used assets and peace of mind for trailer buyers.”
For fleets that use Carrier Transicold’s cloud-based eSolutions remote monitoring system, the BluEdge platform adds enhanced benefits not previously available thanks to the eSolutions system’s ability to monitor and analyze refrigeration unit equipment operation, in addition to logging temperatures and geographic information.
“When this diagnostic information is integrated with BluEdge service packages, dealers can proactively identify maintenance issues before they become problems for a fleet, which helps maximize uptime,” explained Carrier Transicold’s Johnson. “Additionally, fleets can receive comprehensive access to their equipment service and repair data through the cloud, and they receive savings up to 10% on their BluEdge coverages.”
For information on current BluEdge promotional pricing and guidance on selecting BluEdge service tiers and options, 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 and sustainable 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.