Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
While the agriculturally rich Rio Grande Valley has been spared the brunt of the most recent storms and flooding in Texas, nine months of above-average rain has taken its toll in the fresh produce growing areas, with many acres having already been lost.
There has been 60 inches of rain from the fall through the spring.
Many cities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley have tallied impressive rain totals for May, but they are still in single digits. In comparison, Houston received 10 inches of rain during one 24-hour period over the Memorial Day weekend.
The Texas spring onion crop was probably the hardest hit, losing about 30 percent of its acreage. Onion shipments have since ended.
Other crops, including melons and vegetables, have been hit hard and the late spring and early summer harvests should be curtailed a bit because of it. Some growers have seen their entire summer squash program washed out.
The silver lining in the big picture is that the moisture was really need in the drought plagued state. Texas had been in the midst of a pretty severe drought until it started raining late last summer.
Meanwhile, the Lower Rio Grande Valley remains a key distribution hub, particularly for the eastern half of the U.S., because Mexican grown produce continues to be imported.
South Texas/Mexican produce -grossing about $3200 to Chicago; $5500 to Boston.
Here is an outlook for stone fruit shipments ranging from Georgia and South Carolina to California and Washington state. Also, are California vegetable shipments getting over the ups and downs caused by shipping gaps from the coastal areas?
Initial Georgia peach shipments from the Fort Valley area got underway the week of May 18th. With the arrival of June, Georgia peaches are now moving in good, steady volume. Shipments should continue most of the summer…..South Carolina peach shipments are on a similar schedule with a little more volume.….Meanwhile, California stone fruit moves into volume beginning in late June and continuing through July….Washington state stone fruit shipments will build in volume in August for peak peach shipments during September.
California vegetable shipments this spring have been anything but good and predictable for produce haulers. Is that about to change? Maybe, but don’t necessarily bet on it.
Hot weather in the early spring with shipments out of the desert areas and then the Huron District of the San Joaquin Valley, vegetables were maturing ahead of schedule. However, with the seasonal shift of California vegetables to the coastal areas, colder than normal weather has put harvest and shipments later than usual. It also has resulted in shipping gaps and lighter than normal volumes in many cases.
Over 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown and shipped from New Jersey, mostly from the Southern part of the state. Here’s a round up of what is being loaded for distribution, as well as what will be available in the weeks and months ahead.
New Jersey Produce Shipments
New Jersey has 11 primary fresh vegetables: Tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, escarole, snap beans, and asparagus. Jersey’s top five principal fruits are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and cranberries (for processing).
New Jersey vegetable shipments: The Garden state already has been shipping early season spinach, collards, beets, radishes, escarole/endive, Swiss chard, lettuces and herbs such as parsley, dill, coriander and cilantro. Asparagus loadings got underway in late April. Cabbage, pickles and turnip shipments started at the end of May.
Beginning in June and July
Cucumbers and squash will start in mid-June. While sweet corn and tomatoes have normally started by July 4th, neither may have much volume by then this year, due to colder weather moving back the harvest.
Minor quantities of early New Jersey blueberry shipments should be starting the third week of June, with good volume by the end of June. In 2014, New Jersey produced about 8,800 acres of berries yielding about 56.7 million pounds — fifth in the nation.
July to Mid September Shipments
Yellow New Jersey peach shipments should start the third week of July, with fair volume by early August. Larger volume varieties should begin by the early August. Good yellow peachvolume is expected by mid-August through mid-September. White peach volume begins in the third week of August through mid-September. About 150 peach producers grew 44 million pounds of peaches on 4,600 acres in New Jersey in 2014 — ranking fourth in the nation.
Here’s an update on Washington state apple shipments, as well as the new crop of Florida avocados, and Mexican mango imports.
While Florida is pretty darned quiet this time of year when it comes to hauling fresh produce, the new crop of avocados has just started being harvested. Volume will gradually increase throughout the month before hitting stride in early July. Shipments will continue into next March, or perhaps early April. About 1 million bushels will be shipped, similar to the 1.17 million bushels hauled last season.
Mango Shipments
This year’s mango volume has seen shipments of more than 4 million boxes weekly; an 18 percent increase compared to the largest week in 2014,
Volumes are expected to remain steady through the second quarter of 2015. Mexican mango imports are expected to be 3 percent higher than 2013, which was a record-breaking year for Mexican mango imports.
The forecast is for about 36 million boxes of mangos to be imported during this year’s second quarter.
Imported Mexican mangos, melons and vegetables through McAllen, Tx – grossing about $3200 to Chicago.
Washington Apple Shipments
Fruit transporters are dumping millions of pounds of apples across Washington, leaving them to rot under hot sun. State officials call the dumps “historic.” In Pateros, a hillside is covered with rows of Red Delicious apples. Trucks pull up several times a day, unloading thousands of apples on top of sage brush and flowers.
Washington growers produced the highest volume of apples on record, plus labor disputes at Washington ports have left cargo sitting, sometimes for weeks. The Washington State Tree Fruit Association estimates $95 million in lost sales due to apples that could not ship. Growers suffered further deficits from longer storage periods.
The Feds recently helped bail out the industry by purchasing millions of dollars of apples for school lunch programs.
Yakima Valley apples – grossing about $7000 to Miami.
Produce loads are increasing in California for stone fruit and tomatoes, while grape shipments are now light volume from the Arvin district.
California peach shipments
California peach and nectarine shipments have moved into normal weekly volumes, with peak loadings to start in late June to early July from the San Joaquin Valley. Peach and nectarine shipments should continue into the first or second week of September. There’s also apricot and cherry shipments.
San Joaquin Valley stone fruit shipments – grossing about $7100 to New York City.
Southern California, Baja Tomatoes
Tomato shipments are ramping up out of California and Baja California and include vine ripes, romas and cherry tomatoes. Loadings should continue until about the third week of December. Shipments of mature-greens, vine-ripes and romas from the Live Oak, CA area in the San Joaquin Valley get underway in mid June.
California grape shipments
While grape shipments continue from the Coachella Valley for perhaps another month, very light volume has started from the Arvin District in the Bakersfield area.
Coachella Valley grape and vegetable shipments – grossing about $4600 to Chicago.
Chilean Fruit Imports
A strike by customs officials, which shut down Chile’s Port of Valparaiso May 20, has ended as negotiators reached an agreement. By May 26, customs officials had been removed from the port, and the port was operating again at a “minimal level. The strike ended May 28th. Workers were striking over pay and working conditions.
Both South Carolina and North Carolina are expecting normal shipments of vegetables this summer, despite a a cold and wet spring that delayed plantings on some vegetables. Tropical Storm Ana, which made landfall in South Carolina on May 10, drenched fields in both states and further delayed production of some vegetables.
South Carolina Produce Shipments
Up coming shipments on sweet corn, cabbage, squash, greens, cilantro, parsley, beets, leeks and eggplant look favorable. South Carolina squash loadings started in mid-May, while sweet corn shipments should start next week.
WP Rawl, Pelion, S.C., and Clayton Rawl Farms in Lexington, S.C. are two of the state’s largest vegetable shippers.
South Carolina peach shipments continue, while watermelons will be coming on the latter part of June.
North Carolina Produce Shipments
Cabbage shipments will not get underway until the latter part of June, or early July a week or more later than normal.
Cabbage loadings typically have a gap between the start of coastal production near Elizabeth City, N.C., and the mountain region production near Mount Airy, N.C.. However, this season both shipping areas are expected to start at about the same time. One of the state’s largest cabbage shippers is Hollar & Greene Produce Co. Inc. in Boone, N.C.
North Carolina usually begins sweet corn shipments a week later than Georgia. North Carolina expects to start loading about June 1st….Squash shipments have just started, while potatoes should get underway around June 15-20. Potato acreage remains at 17,000 acres and the state plans to ship red, white and yellow potatoes through late July.
Eastern North Carolinas continues to ship sweet potatoes entering the last couple of months of the season.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
As we get back in the groove following the long Memorial weekend, here are some of the better produce loading opportunities at various shipping points across America.
Western Produce Shipping Areas
Washington state easily provides the most loading opportunities in the Northwest with apples averaging over 3200 truck loads per week. The Yakima and Wenatchee Valleys also have pears in much smaller volume.
Washington apples – grossing about $5000 to Dallas.
Idaho potato shipments continue as we approach the last few months of the 2014-15 shipping season. About 1300 truck load equivalents are being handled weekly, although rails account for a larger percentage than with most produce items. However, trucks still rule!
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $4700 to New York City.
In California, strawberry shipments remain in heavy volume, with about equal movement coming out of the Watsonville area and the Santa Maria District. Nearly 1200 truck loads per week are being shipped from these two areas…Also, big volume with mixed vegetables continue from the Salinas Valley.
Salinas/Watsonville vegetables and strawberries – grossing about $6300 to Orlando.
At Nogales, AZ, about 2500 truck loads of watermelons are crossing the border from Mexico each week. Mexican grape shipments also are increasing.
Nogales produce – grossing about $2600 to Dallas.
Central Produce Shipping Areas
San Luis Valley potato shipments from Southern Colorado continue on a steady pace averaging about 600 truck loads per week…..Central Wisconsin potato loadings are much lighter heading towards the end of its season.
Colorado potatoes – grossing about $2200 to Chicago.
In South Texas, about 1000 truck loads of Mexican avocados are crossing the border each week at McAllen. There also are a number of tropical fruits and limes crossing in moderate volumes. Texas sweet onion shipments are just about finished for the season.
South Texas produce – grossing about $2600 to Atlanta.
Eastern Produce Shipments
While Florida is headed towards a seasonal end to its spring produce shipping season, more of the focus moves to Georgia. As Florida blueberry shipments rapidly decline, “blues” are gaining in volume from Southern Georgia. The state also has moderate volume with vegetables ranging from cabbage to beans and Vidalia onions.
North Carolina sweet potatoes continue to be shipped in moderate volume, mostly from eastern areas of the state.
A major shift in the Bakersfield, Kern County potato shipping region has occurred over the past decade as russets have lost favor to red, gold and white potatoes.
In 2004, the acreage for russets in Bakersfield was 4,667 acres, but this year it is down to only 506 acres. The plunge in russet acreage corresponds with the overall drop in acreage in the past 10 years. In 2004, total acreage of all varieties planted in Bakersfield was 10,922; this year it is half of that at 5,398. The 4,000-plus-acre decline in russets represents a vast majority of the difference.
Kern County potato shipments are still an important area for reds, Yukon Golds and even white potatoes, as well as some specialty items such as fingerlings.
The change in shipments refers to the shift from storage potatoes, which fills produce shelves through the winter and early spring, to the first fresh potatoes, which come from California in the spring and are noted for a thinner skin.
This time of the year storage potatoes are starting to look “tired” and retailers are looking for the fresh crop.
Red potatoes are now the number one potato crop grown in Kern County, with about 2,000 acres this season.
The Yukon Gold potato is gaining in popularity and its acreage has increased over the years. The 2015 season total is over 1,500 acres, representing a significant increase in the past decade.
White potatoes have lost some acreage, but at 1,300 acres the crop is still substantial.
Bakersfield fresh potato shipments start in May and continue through June and into early July.
Kern County potatoes and carrots – grossing about $4000 to Dallas
The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas has had over 60 inches of rain since last August, more than it normally get in four years. If that doesn’t result in significant reductions in produce volume and quality problems, then it will be a miracle.
Texas Produce Shipments
Being the eternal optimistic they are, growers are still talking mostly good quality and down playing losses. Still, it’s kind of like the parents who never have any ugly kids. Watermelons and sweet onions are two big items coming out of the valley this time of the year. The moonsoons that hit a week ago dumped as much as 10 inches in some fields. The saving grace may be the fields that received as little a three inches of rain. Still, extra caution is urged when loading South Texas produce vegetables.
Mexican watermelons are crossing the border at McAllen, TX in moderate volume, however variable quality is being reported. Caution is urged when loading this product. Make sure your receiver knows the quality being shipped.
A number of other Mexican items are crossing the border into South Texas in light to moderate volume ranging from carrots to peppers along with tropical fruits such as mangoes, papayas and pineapples. The valley also continues to ship moderate volumes with grapefruit, oranges and cabbage.
South Texas and Mexican grown produce – grossing about $2900 to Chicago, $4900 to New York City.
In the Northwest, sweet onion shipments get underway within a few weeks. Meanwhile, plenty of Washington apples remain in storage for shipping.
Walla Walla Sweet onions from Washington state will begin shipments in mid-June and running into August. Growing conditions have been good this spring and the onions are sizing up well. The crop is trending heavily to jumbos and colossal.
Apple Shipments
However, the big mover remains with Washington state apple shipments, even though we are entering the last leg of the season before new crops start coming on in August. About 45 million bushels of U.S.-grown fresh market apples had yet to be shipped as of May 1, 28% more than last year at the same time.
The May total also was 38% higher than the five-year average, according to the May Market News report from the Vienna, Va.-based U.S. Apple Association.
Washington accounted for 40.9 million bushels of apples still in storage on May 1. New York had 1.45 million bushels, Michigan 1.24 million bushels and Pennsylvania 555,000 bushels.
Holdings of almost all major varieties were up from last year. Red delicious holdings increased from 13.6 million to 18 million bushels; galas from 4.2 million to 6.9 million bushels; golden delicious from 4.2 million to 5 million bushels; fuji from 3.3 million to 4.3 million bushels; Pink Lady from 913,000 to 1.4 million bushels; and Honeycrisp from 71,000 to 306,000 bushels.
Granny smith holdings fell slightly, from 5.41 million to 5.4 million bushels.
Yakima Valley apples and pears – grossing about $4500 to Chicago.