Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
Watsonville, CA – A bountiful harvest of California strawberries has arrived for California Giant Berry Farms, as the company shares news of strong volumes of its cornerstone product.
The berry purveyor’s high yields of excellent quality fruit ensures peak promotable volumes of California strawberries throughout the coming months.
The Santa Maria region is showing strong early season production of conventional and organic strawberries exhibiting ideal size, quality, and flavor. Peak volumes are anticipated to arrive by mid-May. Notably, organic production in Santa Maria will mirror the conventional peak, ensuring a steady supply of premium organic fruit as we move into the middle of May.
The Watsonville and Salinas growing region is also ramping up production, with volumes increasing weekly. Currently, spring rains have caused temporary harvest disruptions, but the company projects peak harvest volumes to be sustained throughout the month of June. Ranches in the region are reporting excellent fruit quality, flavor, and impressive size. The Watsonville/Salinas organic peak will mirror that of Santa Maria, hitting its stride in mid-May.
Blueberry supplies are extremely limited, as the California and Georgia seasons are off to slow starts. Expect elevated prices and low volume for the next three weeks, according to Markon of Salinas, CA.
The Mexican season is past its peak, as production is rapidly decreasing and is expected to end in late May.
The Georgia season has been delayed up to two weeks due to unseasonably cool weather. Florida volume is down 40 percent compared to this time last year. California’s San Joaquin Valley season is expected to start the week of May 5.
Demand far exceeds supply, and the industry will remain in a production gap for the next three weeks. Expect high markets and pro-rated orders for the next three weeks.
Berry grower and marketer Wish Farms says it is gearing up for a high-quality crop of organic Georgia blueberries, highlighting its south Georgia grower, Major League Blueberries. The high-density 160-acre organic farm is owned and operated by Malcolm McCoy and former major league outfielder and current Atlanta Braves television color analyst Jeff Francoeur.
“They are a top-quality producer that has invested heavily in the infrastructure of their farm,” Wish Farms Blueberry Grower Relations Manager Joel Whitehead said in a news release.
MLB uses automated harvesting and is an early adopter of the Netherlands-based FineField Harvy500, according to Wish Farms. The remote-controlled platform gives the farm flexibility to supplement its hand harvesting without sacrificing quality, the company added.
“Their attention to detail, as well as their clean, well-manicured fields are second to none; the innovative techniques they employ really set them apart,” Whitehead said.
MLB begin harvesting organic blueberries the third week of April and will continue into June. The farm features Farthing, Suziblue, San Joaquin, Spring High, and Legacy blueberry varieties. Wish Farm says weather has been ideal for the MLB farm and expects its crop to record strong yields.
“Jeff and Malcolm have both been very successful in their careers,” Whitehead said. “They bring the same excellence to their farming operation, and we have been proud to work with them for the last seven years.”
While avocados loadings spike leading up to Cinco de Mayo, Mission Produce of Oxnard, CA reports mango volume also jumps ahead of the holiday. Cinco de Mayo is the second highest peak each year for avocados following the Super Bowl. However, the holiday is the leading volume jumper for mangoes.
Shipments were big for both fruits for Cinco de Mayo last year: 32.4 million pounds of avocados and 12.4 million pounds of mangos were shipped, generating a combined $99 million in sales, according to market research firm Circana. Consumer insight and data company Numerator is projecting those numbers to increase this year.
The industry is looking at double-digit lifts in volume sales of avocados and mangos for Cinco de Mayo. In 2024, the celebration gave avocados an 18 percent volume lift and mangos a 25 percent boost in volume sales compared to the prior week, according to Circana.
Grape loadings from the California desert kick off domestic shipments each year and once again it will begin from the Coachella Valley.
California table grape growers shipped 91.5 million 19-pound boxes to 56 markets worldwide in 2024, according to the Fresno-based California Table Grape Commission.
Though the first estimate for this year’s crop won’t be taken until late April, growers report another robust harvest. Coachella typically wraps up in late June or early July when the vast majority of shipments for the season will start coming out the San Joaquin Valley by mid-July.
Tudor Ranch in Mecca, CA., expects to start shipping grapes no later than May 12.
Two red varieties, Karizma and flame, launch the season. Other varieties from Tudor Ranch include sugraone; valley pearl, which is a large, round grape; black seedless varieties; and Timco, which starts midseason and continues until the season ends around July 10.
The company also will add the red seedless Torch variety this season and has planted an early green grape called ARRA Honey Pop, which should debut next year.
Fruitful of McFarland, CA will start its table grape seaspm in July and predicts a heavy crop, which will be larger than last year.
The company grows around 10 varieties, which include flame, sugraone, Ivory, Scarlet Royal, Sweet Globe, Autumn King and Allison.
Flame, the first variety to be harvested.
Tudor Ranch sees plenty of Coachella grape volume being available for Memorial Day.
We are well into spring with melon loadings and summertime means peak shipments.
Here’s a round up from a few shippers on what they are expecting in the weeks and months ahead.
Pacific Trellis Fruit/Dulcinea Farms, Los Angeles is starting the season with three different labels of melons, Pure Sweetness, Pure Sunshine and Pure Crunch. The company also will be shipping mini seedless watermelon, known as PureHearts. The firm grows organic and conventional full-size seedless watermelons called Sugar Daddy.
It also has a Tuscan Style extra-sweet cantaloupe and a great-tasting yellow mini seedless watermelon called SunnyGold.
Dixondale Farms in Carrizo Springs, TX, may be known for growing onions, but it also has the Navigator cantaloupe from early June until mid-July. It has been shipping the Navigator for nearly 30 years.
The company has significant production areas in Arizona and California.
MAS Melons & Grapes of Rio Rico, AZ has been shipping honeydews and watermelons since the company was started 28 years ago. It transitioned its melon program from the states of Colima and Nayarit in central Mexico to Sonora in the north in early April and has good volume.
Tomato shipments got underway in early April from Culiacan, Mexico and are now in good volume. Harvesting started from Florida’s Ruskin/Palmetto growing region in mid-April, according to a news release from Markon Cooperative of Salinas, CA.
Round
- Supplies are increasing in Florida, especially large-size fruit
- Growers are harvesting spring fields in Mexico’s Culiacan region
- Quality is good
- Large sizes (4×4 and 4×5) are most abundant
Roma
- East Coast supplies continue to increase
- Mexico’s Culiacan supply is more plentiful with the new crop
- All sizes are available
- Central Mexico began harvesting spring crops in late April
Grape & Cherry Varieties
- Florida volume has increased through April
- Stocks are increasing in Western Mexico
- Supplies have been tight but improving in Central Mexico and Baja
The Chilean/Peruvian offshore grape season will end in early May. Harvesting will transition to Mexico in early May. Expect pricing to gradually increase as the offshore season winds down, according to a news release from Markon Cooperative of Salinas, CA.
Offshore
- The Peruvian/Chilean green and red seedless seasons will end in early May
- MFC Lunch Bunch Grapes will ship through late May
- Quality is good; some soft/damaged fruit is being reported
- Expect tight supplies and rising markets through April
- Mexico
- Markon First Crop and Markon Essentials Seedless Grapes will be available soon
- Green and red seedless grapes are expected to begin shipping in early May
- The portioned grape season will begin in late May
- Expect elevated pricing in the early season; markets will gradually decrease as volume rises
Spring vegetable shipments are underway from California’s Salinas Valley and volume will be gradually building in the weeks ahead.
Babe’ Farms based in Santa Maria some of its top-selling spring produce includes rainbow root vegetables (baby beets, carrots, specialty radishes), baby head lettuces, its signature Blonde Frisée and the all-new Pink Rhône Little Gem lettuce.. The company is expecting strong shipments for Easter (April 20) and Mother’s Day (May 11)
Tanimura & Antle of Salinas, CA grow and ship a wide variety of premium fresh produce, including iceberg, romaine and romaine hearts, other leafy items, cauliflower, broccoli, celery and its Artisan family of products.
Each spring, Tanimura & Antle transitions from the desert growing regions surrounding Yuma, AZ, to California’s Salinas Valley, one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the world. The company also strategically transitions to Huron, CA, to bridge the gap between seasons.
This year’s California avocado shipments are shaping up to be one of the strongest in recent years, with a projected harvest of 375 million pounds. This is the largest crop since 2020, says the California Avocado Commission of Irvine, CA.
California avocados are most commonly available on the West Coast, though the commission is expanding its marketing program because of the larger harvest this year
Michael J Cavaletto Ranches in Nipomo, CA has seven ranches and expects to generate 9 million to 10 million pounds from all of them this year, a little higher than usual.
The California avocado industry had harvested 8% of its total crop by the second week of March, according to Calavo Growers, Santa Paula, CA.
Index Fresh of Corona, CA reports the 2025 California season started in mid-January, earlier than normal.
Additionally, strong volumes will be available throughout the season, following the spring rains.
Peak loadings of California avocados is expected from spring through summer, and the California Avocado Commission estimates promotable volume will be at least 10 million pounds per week from April through Labor Day weekend, with some weeks reaching significantly higher volumes.
Because of the favorable weather, some growers have been encouraged to start harvesting earlier than usual.
Mission Produce in Oxnard, CA reports supply and demand are synchronized and quality is looking good.