Archive For The “News” Category
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.
Port of Oakland first half 2021 total cargo volume increased 11.4 percent over 2020 and forecasters envision no letup.
The Port reported recently it handled the equivalent of 1.3 million 20-foot containers in the past six months. If the pace holds, the Port’s year-end volume would surpass 2.6 million containers for the first time ever.
“We’ve never seen this level of activity and based on the outlook we’re preparing for more,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. “Our challenge is serving customers who expect us to handle their cargo efficiently.”
The Port said a year-long boom in containerized U.S. imports is driving record business. It said the trend should continue based on three factors:
- Record freight rates being charged by container shipping lines indicating high demand for vessel space;
- Rising U.S. inflation that signals continued strong consumer spending on goods manufactured overseas; and
- The upcoming August-November peak season when retailers and distributors stock up for holiday merchandising.
According to the Port, containerized import volume in Oakland has increased year-over-year for five consecutive months. Oakland reported that June 2021 imports were up 15 percent compared to the same period last year. Exports edged up 0.8 percent, the Port said.
Ports nationwide have reported difficulty keeping up with the unprecedented cargo surge. On average, vessels are loading and unloading 66 percent more cargo in Oakland than they did last year. One consequence has been cargo delivery delays. Oakland said it expects delays to ease by late summer with the addition of more dockworkers.
The U.S. port congestion is worsening, with the number of container ships waiting to enter the largest U.S. gateway for transpacific trade swelling to another pandemic record, Bloomberg reports.
The situation is adding delays and costs during peak season for companies to rebuild inventories.
Fifty-five vessels were anchored or idling further offshore waiting to offload at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, as of September 13th, up from 40 two weeks ago, according to officials who monitor marine traffic in San Pedro Bay.
The average wait rose to 8.5 days compared with 7.6 in late August, according to L.A. port data.
L.A. officials have exhausted their designated anchorage space for overflow traffic and had a record 17 ships in so-called drift zones — areas used in times of extreme volume where they wait for room in shallower water to drop anchor safely.
The ships in queue have a combined capacity to carry nearly 375,000 20-foot containers, according to data compiled by the Marine Exchange of Southern California. That’s about the same amount of inbound boxes that the Los Angeles port handled in a month on average before the pandemic.
And experts don’t expect a slowdown in cargo as peak season nears.
There is a “60% increase in the inbound outbound ratio at the ports of US West Coast, surpassing the pre-covid levels, indicating that there is excessive stress on the ports, and therefore indicating further congestion is expected in the coming months as we approach the holiday season in the later part of the year,” Dr. Johannes Schlingmeier, co-founder and CEO of Container xChange, said in a press release.
Cargo volumes have been growing for several months. The Port of Long Beach has broken cargo monthly records in 12 of the last 13 month.
Through July, the port processed 5.5 million TEUs, a 32% increase over the same period last year, according to the Port of Long Beach. The Port of Los Angeles has processed 6.3 million TEUs in the 2021 calendar year.
Companies across the supply chain are taking action to mitigate the port congestion. Shippers are booking in advance even if it means paying more. Carriers are doubling orders for container ships, and 3PLs likes C.H. Robinson are applying drayage surcharges at ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles.
Customers are already shifting cargo to ports along the East Coast, Gulf or Pacific Northwest. The Southern California ports play a dominant role due to their capacity, but customers at Seko Logistics have been looking at charters to transport goods.
Allen Lund Company has announced that it has submitted and received approval for their current data submission to the SmartWay Transport Partnership, an innovative collaboration between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the industry.
The SmartWay Transport Partnership provides a framework to assess the environmental and energy efficiency of goods movement supply chains.
Allen Lund Company will continue to contribute to the Partnership’s savings of 312 million barrels of oil, $41.8 billion on fuel costs and 133 metric tons of CO2, 2.6 million tons of NOx, and 109 million tons of PM… This is the equivalent of the annual electricity use in 20 million homes. By joining SmartWay Transport Partnership, Allen Lund Company demonstrates its strong environmental leadership and corporate responsibility.
Executive VP, Kenny Lund commented, “Allen Lund Company has been a proud participant in SmartWay for many years. We will continue to help the transportation industry to deliver goods in the most efficient way possible. Our experienced employees and cutting-edge technology allow carriers and shippers to run more loaded miles with less waiting and supply chain disruption.”
Developed jointly in early 2003 by EPA and Charter Partners represented by industry stakeholders, environmental groups, American Trucking Associations, and Business for Social Responsibility, this innovative program celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2014. Partners rely upon SmartWay tools and approaches to track and reduce emissions and fuel use from goods movement. The Partnership currently has over 3,000 Partners including shipper, logistics companies, truck, rail, barge, and multimodal carriers.
For information about the SmartWay Transport Partnership visit www.epa.gov/smartway.
Avocado production may triple its growth by 2030 compared to levels in 2010 by reaching 12 metric tons (MT), according to an FAO report.
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 reports while avocados have the lowest production level among the major tropical fruits, it has experienced the fastest growth in production in recent years.
This fruit is expected to remain the fastest-growing commodity of the major tropical fruits during the reporting period.
Ample global demand and lucrative export unit prices continue to be the main drivers of this growth, stimulating substantial investments in area expansion in both major and emerging production zones.
Production and Consumption
Avocado production has so far been concentrated in a small number of regions and countries, with the top 10 producing areas currently accounting for almost 80 percent of world production.
Despite the above, the report said around 74 percent of avocado production is expected to remain in Latin America and the Caribbean, given the favorable growth conditions in the region.
In response to the rapid growth in global demand, avocados are expected to become the most traded tropical fruit by 2030, reaching 3.9MT of exports and surpassing both pineapples and mangoes in terms of quantity.
Given the high average unit prices of avocado, the total value of world avocado exports would reach an estimated $8.3 billion in constant value terms from 2014 to 2016, placing the avocado as one of the most valuable fruits.
Production in Mexico, the world’s largest producer and exporter, is expected to grow 5.2 percent annually over the next 10 years due to continued growth in demand in the U.S.
As such, and despite growing competition from emerging exporters, Mexico is expected to further increase its market share to 63 percent in 2030.
The report also notes the U.S. and the EU are expected to remain the top importers, accounting for 40 percent and 31 percent of world imports in 2030, respectively.
However, imports are also increasing rapidly in many other areas such as China and some Middle Eastern countries, and, as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman index of all importers, the concentration of imports is gradually decreasing.
By The Wonderful Company
LOS ANGELES – POM Wonderful® is excited to launch a social media cocktail contest dedicated to supporting local bars that were impacted by pandemic closures. The competition will put bartenders’ mixology skills to the test as they create cocktails using POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice. Five winners will each designate a deserving bar to receive a $10,000 cash prize and year’s supply of POM Juice.
Mixologists across the country are encouraged to highlight the sweet-yet-tart taste of POM Juice and enter the #POMCocktailContest. Entrants will be tasked with developing a signature POM-inspired cocktail and sharing a photo of their creation on Instagram along with the recipe, tagging @POMWonderful and nominating a local bar. Entries will be judged on presentation, creativity, diversity of ingredients, and the extent to which POM Juice is featured.
On October 1, 10 finalists will be chosen, and their cocktails will be featured on the @POMWonderful Instagram page. Consumers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite POM cocktail by “liking” the photo to determine the semi-finalists. Five winners will be selected on October 11. The winners’ nominated bars will receive a $10,000 cash prize to help them recover from pandemic hardships, along with a year’s supply of POM Juice to incorporate into cocktails.
“The bar community played an important role in the beginnings of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice, bringing to life the iconic POMtini and pomegranate margarita. With so many bars impacted by COVID-19 closures, we wanted to rally behind those who have supported us,” said Adam Cooper, senior vice president of marketing, The Wonderful Company. “Through a friendly competition and unique POM cocktails, we hope to bring some hope, excitement and flavor to the bars and bartenders that have had a challenging year.”
As a cocktail ingredient, POM Juice adds a unique burst of flavor and antioxidant goodness, perfect for those looking for a better-for-you mixer. To learn more about the contest and for official rules, please visit POMCocktails.prizelogic.com. For cocktail inspiration and information about POM Wonderful, please visit POMWonderful.com, on Facebook at /POMWonderful, and Instagram at @POMWonderful.
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About POM Wonderful
POM Wonderful is the largest grower and producer of fresh pomegranates and pomegranate juice in the United States as well as the worldwide leader in fresh California pomegranates and pomegranate-based products including our 100% pomegranate juices, healthy juice blends, and teas. We grow, handpick and juice our own pomegranates to ensure the highest quality. POM Wonderful is part of The Wonderful Company, a privately held $5 billion company, which also has other No. 1 brands such as Wonderful® Pistachios, FIJI® Water, Wonderful® Halos®, JUSTIN® Wine, and Teleflora®. To learn more about The Wonderful Company, visit www.wonderful.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Over 3 million pounds of organic garlic, and sales in excess of $24 million occured in 2019.
IRI reports income plays a role in organic garlic purchases. Shoppers earning less than $50,000 annually were half as likely to select organic garlic exclusively in 2020 as those earning $50,000-$100,000, according to Organic Fresh Trends 2021.
African American consumers, Asian shoppers and those in the “all other” ethnic group were among the most likely overall to buy organic garlic at least some of the time. Hispanic shoppers were among the least likely to buy organic garlic overall, whether it be periodically or exclusively.
Older consumers were less likely to select organic garlic than those younger than 40. In fact, shoppers age 18-39 were among the most likely groups overall to buy organic garlic at least some of the time, while those over age 60 (and Hispanic shoppers) were the least likely groups overall to choose organic.
U.S. fruit imports in the first half of 2021 rose by 13 percent year-on-year, with the value of trade from Mexico seeing the largest increase of the top-five supplying countries.
Imports of all fresh, frozen and processed fruit grew from $11 billion to $12.3 billion MT from January through June this year.
Mexico, by far the leading supplier, provided nearly half of the volumes, with imports from the Latin American country rising by 19 percent to $5.9 billion.
The other top supplying countries also sent more fruit to the U.S.
Imports from Chile rose by 10 percent to $1.4 billion, while from Peru they rose 2 percent to $712 million. Guatemala, Costa Rica and Canada also sent greater volumes.
In terms of fruit categories, berries had a strong showing in the six-month period. Raspberry imports rose by 8 percent to $605 million, blueberries rose by 38 percent to $526 million, strawberries rose by 28 percent to $773 million and blackberries rose by 30 percent to $318 million.
Avocado imports rose by 2 percent to $1.3 billion, table grape imports rose 6 percent to $1.6 billion, and citrus rose by 21 percent to $548 million.
Bananas were one of the few categories to see a decline, falling by 3 percent to $957 million.