Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
The Port of Savannah, Georgia continues to play a larger role with imports of fresh produce.
Peruvian grapes arrived in Savannah this season, marking the first time the port has received this commodity from Peru. The grapes, which began arriving in November, are part of a string of commodities that are quickly making the port a major gateway in the Southeast for fresh produce and other perishables. The port already is receiving avocados, citrus and a large share of Peruvian sweet onions in the fall.
Savannah is the fourth-largest container port behind Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York and it’s location cuts transportation costs for receivers, who historically paid for freight arriving at ports in the Northeast. The savings per container are $1,000, if not more.
A large perishable facility will soon open 15 miles from the port offering various services for shippers, including refrigerated warehouses where re-packaging, fumigation and de-consolidation of perishable cargo can take place.
For now, the amount of grapes making the 17-day journey from Peru to Savannah is relatively small. But the volume of grapes, as well as other fresh produce items, will only increase as the benefits of the port become more apparent. Additionally, some observers believe Chilean and Central American commodities will more frequently come through the port.
Normally light Florida produce shipments are much lighter this season due to excessive rains. If the weather trend continues it soon will be threatening the Florida spring shipping season that typically peaks in April and May.
Up to 8 inches of rain last week soaked fields of sweet corn, green beans, celery, radishes, leafy greens and other vegetables and flooded some areas, leaving crops underwater. Damage to crops is estimated to be 25 to 50 percent. Losses of crops and even lighter than normal shipments is a given. Now it’s a wait to see how bad the situation is.
The heavy rains mean vegetable shipments in general will probably be much lighter than usual through February and March. Belle Glade is the hub of Florida sweet corn and green bean shipments.
It’s been a crazy winter for produce shipments, not only in Florida, but elsewhere.
Mexican volume of bell peppers, strawberries and other items have been lowered by cold weather. California strawberry volume is down due to weather factors.
Meanwhile, Florida strawberry volume have suffered from heat; Florida avocado loadings are down due to a fruit fly quarantine; Florida tomatoes are off due to rains; Florida cabbage shipments are down as much as 40 percent from weather; Florida citrus volume is drastically off due to citrus greening disease.
Only one state is shipping more potatoes than Colorado right now, plus soaring shipments are possible for the new California avocado shipping season.
Colorado is averaging around 750 truck loads of potatoes being shipped weekly, second only to Idaho. Colorado’s San Luis Valley has remained relatively stable in recent years, with a 4-5 percent fluctuation depending on rotation of the crops.
In 2o15 plantings for the crop, which are now being shipped stood at 51,000 acres. Conventional spuds took up 47,000 acres, and organics accounted for 4,000 acres. Russets amounted to 38,540 acres in conventionals and 3,280 in organics. There were 2,820 acres in conventional red potatoes and 240 acres in organics. Yellows had 3,290 acres in conventional and 280 in organics. Specialty potatoes had 2,350 acres in conventional, 200 in organics.
Colorado has finally been getting decent rains and snow packs and looking ahead to the 2016 planting and growing seasons, a lot of people are optimistic there will be a good crop and shipments.
Colorado potato shipments grossing about $1700 to Dallas.
California Avocado Shipments
The upcoming California avocado crop is projected to be 392.5 million pounds, which amounts to a 40 percent increase in shipments from last year. Rains in California have certainly helped, plus the alternate-bearing nature of the trees is expected to have an effect on this year’s crop. The Hass variety, California’s main avocado variety, tends to have a heavy crop, followed by lighter volume the next season. During the last two years, California avocado shipments have been lighter and the trees are ready to produce again.
Shipments of California avocados start to build up in March with peak loadings occurring between April and August with availability into September and October.
Southern California, citrus, vegetables – grossing about $3700 to Dallas.
Imported fresh produce arriving at U.S. ports continues to grow in popularity. While most of it arrives by boat, virtually all of it is delivered to final destinations by trucks across North America.
Exotic and tropical fruits grown outside the U.S., such as mangoes, papayas and pineapples have contributed to an increase in fruit imports and increased popularity. Imported fresh fruits have increased just about 10 percent in the decade prior to 2001-2003.
However, the volume of fresh imported apples actually fell slightly between 2001-2003 and 2011-2013 because the U.S. apple industry was increasing volume and offering more apple varieties, particularly during the late season to compete against apple imports from the Southern Hemisphere.
The proportion of fresh pears supplied from imports also has fallen slightly in the last decade, but at 18 percent it is still more than twice that of fresh apples.
Foreign exporters of fresh apples, pears and sweet cherries have been improving the quality of their products to effectively compete against American grown produce.
However, U.S. producers haven’t been sitting on their laurels, making their own improvements. U.S. exporters of fresh apples have increased the volume of exports by 67 percent between 2001-2003 and 2011-2013 and the average price by 87 percent.
Pear exporters have increased volume by 16 percent and average prices by over 83 percent.
Sweet cherries differ from apples and pears in that virtually all imports come from the Southern Hemisphere (mainly Chile) in the winter months and do not overlap with the domestic shipping season. In that case, the U.S. has been able to expand both its exports and imports dramatically — exports by almost 100 percent and imports by over 70 percent.
Analysis suggests that U.S. fresh apples, pears and sweet cherries face little direct threat from foreign suppliers of their own products in the U.S. market.
The rising popularity of exotic and tropical fruits grown outside the U.S., such as mangoes, papayas and pineapples has contributed to an increase in fruit imports. On average, one-third of all fresh fruit consumed in the United States from 2011-2013 was imported. This represented an increase of over 10 percent in market share compared with a decade earlier, 2001-2003.
The share of fresh apples imported actually fell slightly between 2001-2003 and 2011-2013 as the U.S. apple industry has continued to expand the volume and diversity of apple varieties available in the late season to compete against apple imports from the Southern Hemisphere.
Port of Long Beach and Southern California produce – grossing about $3600 to Chicago.
El Nino is adversely affecting many produce shipments in North America.
Unseasonable heat brought on an early, heavier-than-normal shipments for the Florida strawberry season, which started before Thanksgiving and lasted through Christmas. Now strawberry shipments are in a lull and are not expected reach decent volume by Valentine’s Day, February 14th, which is a popular event for the fruit. Assuming shipments ever get on “normal” track this season, loadings should continue through March.
Changing weather patterns are impacting fruit and vegetable production across North and South America, and it is not just field-grown produce that is being affected.
The El Niño phenomenon has played a major role in the various weather patterns and is affecting production on all items ranging from beefsteak, cluster, heirloom and roma tomatoes as well as grape tomatoes, mini roma grape tomatoes and medley tomatoes. Additionally, there are long sweet peppers, mini sweet peppers, bell peppers, seedless cucumbers, mini seedless cucumbers and baby eggplant, among others.
Lower than normal temperatures in combination with lower light levels reduce yields across the board for greenhouse grown produce during the spring and summer out of Canada, and during the winter in Mexico.
Mexican vegetables through Nogales – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.
While weather related issues continue to adversely affect produce shipments around the country, keep your fingers crossed shipments are getting back towards a more normal track in the deserts of Arizona and California.
The unprecedented run of low shipments and shipping gaps appears to be over, with the possible exception of celery. This means higher volume and more consistent shipments of various types of lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower.
Since the week of January 11 it has been warmer and temperatures are in the mid- to high 40s for lows and the highs are in the high 60s to low 70s. Let’s hope the good desert weather continues.
Meanwhile, much of Central and Northern California have been hit with above-average rain since the beginning of the year, something the desert areas were spared for the most part.
Growers in the coastal California valleys (Santa Maria and Salinas), which will be shipping the majority of the nation’s vegetable crops in the spring are having a few problems getting into the fields to plant. The shift in lettuce production to Santa Maria typically occurs around April 1. Those fields harvested in April need to be planted this month. If the storms continue, that could be an issue.
There’s complaints about a lot of low produce freight rates now. Just look at the desert, which is grossing under $2 per mile.
Desert vegetable shipments – grossing about $5800 to New York City.
Unfavorable Chilean weather has resulted in arrivals of grapes being well behind a year ago, while favorable weather has increased arrivals of mangoes from Peru and Ecuador.
Chilean table grape arrivals on the East Coast have been well below the year-to-date arrivals from a year ago, which had itself suffered from a short supply of early season grapes. Usually, there are late domestic supplies from California and Peruvian product to lessen demand for light volume early arrivals from Chile. However, California wrapped up shipments early this season and Peruvian seedless grape inventory on the US East Coast is depleted.
Imported Chilean table grape arrivals on the East Coast will be nearly 50 percent lower than last year through the same date. This has resulted in only 2.6 million cases of Chilean table grapes arriving the first two weeks of the season. More steady arrivals and heavier volume will occur in February.
Mango Imports
Both Peru and Ecuador are shipping higher volumes of mangoes than projected due to favorable weather conditions. Peak mango shipments (imports) from Peru mangoes will continue arriving at U.S. ports though January.
Mangos are available in the US year-round and imported from four other countries besides Peru and Ecuador:
- Mexico has the largest mango season, starting at the end of January and continuing through September.
- Guatemala’s season starts in March and extends until May, sometimes early June.
- Haiti supplies mangos from April until July.
- Brazil’s season lasts from August through November.
Here’s an update on the amount of fruit remaining in storages around the country for fresh apple shipments, as well as another look at declining Florida citrus loadings.
The amount of domestic U.S. fresh apples remaining in storages totaled 90.5 million bushels on January 1, 20 percent fewer than last year at the same time. However, the January total was similar to the five-year average of 90.7 million bushels, according to the U.S. Apple Association, Vienna, Va. Washington accounted for about 76.6 million bushels of those still in storage, New York 5.7 million bushels, Michigan 4.5 million bushels and Pennsylvania 1.3 million bushels.
Washington’s Yakima Valley apples and pears – grossing about $6000 to New York City.
Florida Citrus Shipments
While about 96 percent of the Florida’s oranges are shipped to processers, 65percent of navels, 63 percent of tangerines, 40 percent of grapefruit and about 10 percent of the state’s overall citrus is shipped fresh.
Navels, grapefruit and tangerines showed declines in the latest USDA report on Florida citrus production. The USDA reported January 12 no changes in other orange production, noting navels declined 100,000 boxes to 1 million cartons.
Grapefruit production declined 700,000 cartons, with most of the losses coming in red grapefruit, which saw a 500,000-carton decline. On tangerines, decreases in early and midseason fruit, the fallglos and sunbursts, as well as the later season honeys lowered production 200,000 cartons.
Fruit droppage on oranges, however, is reported to be high across all varieties as well as with grapefruit and tangerines. Droppage is at 32 percent for the non-valencias, well above the maximum and for valencias, is reported to be the highest in more than 50 years.
In other words, Florida citrus shipping woes continue, primarily due to disease problems.
Florida citrus and vegetables – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
Wintertime any year can pose it own set of problems relating to shipping volume, gaps, and quality for California produce shipments. But this year is becoming even more unpredictable with the California El Niño storm season underway, which can translate into weeks of frequent rain, resulting in harvest delays or damage to strawberries, citrus and vegetables.
Rain is predicted through the end of January, which can affect late March and early April produce shipments after the seasonal transition from the California and Arizona deserts.
The Yuma, AZ shipping area has already been experiencing much lighter shipments of cauliflower, broccoli and celery.
Central California plantings (San Joaquin Valley), including the Huron district, is already a concern to many produce growers who hope to plant on the schedule. Huron often prevents or lessens a shipping gap between the desert and Salinas for items such as lettuce.
Concerning citrus shipments, California packinghouses have been stepping up harvest in anticipation of coming rains. Thus far, shipping gaps have pretty much been avoided.
Citrus is more resistant than vegetables to rain damage, so growers work to increase picking and packing during storm breaks.
Luckily for strawberry shipments in the months ahead, the Watsonville and Salinas districts completed planting before any storms. However, drops in strawberry shipping volume is expected from Ventura and Orange counties.
Over 2016 California strawberry shipments are expected to have decreased volumes.
Above average rainfall is forecast through March in California, Texas and Florida by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Based on NASA satellite imagery, climatologists say the warming trend in the Pacific Ocean equals that of the same months in 1998, when heavy rains and flooding rolled through the regions. It was one of the two strongest El Niño’s on record.
The Salinas Valley had extensive flooding in 1998.
BOTTOM LINE….There’s a pretty good chance lighter than normal western vegetable shipments will be with us for a while.
California and Arizona desert vegetable shipments, grossing about $3800 to Chicago.
Florida sweet corn and watermelon shipments are showing an increase, although moderate, while we take a look at onions shipments out of the Northwest.Florida Vegetable Shipments
Sweet corn shipments and other vegetables from Florida continue to be light due to the lingering effects of seven days of heavy rains the second week of December. Sweet corn loadings are expected to return to normal the week of January 18th, barring other adverse weather events. Only Florida and Mexico have sweet corn shipments during the winter months….South Florida watermelon loadings are underway, although volume is light.
Central and South Florida vegetables, tomatoes, watermelons and strawberries – grossing about $2800 to New York City.
Northwest Onion Shipments
The National Onion Association is reporting estimated nationwide production levels dropped by nearly 7.6 million bags so far this season from a year ago, a 7.7 percent decrease. Much of that decrease is attributed to Eastern Oregon and Malhuer County, Idaho, as well as Washington state, where production cumulatively fell by approximately 5 million bags.
While many onions that were harvested and placed into storage looking great. The product began to show flaws three to five weeks later. This is resulting in quality problems being higher than normal. It also could result in a number of northwest onion shippers finishing up in March instead of late May.
Oregon/Idaho onion shipments – grossing about $4600 San Antonio.
Columbia Basin potatoes and onions – grossing about $4100 to Chicago.