Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
California vegetables are in a seasonal transition to more southern areas ranging from the Coachella and Imperial valleys, to the Yuma district….Also look for a big increase this season with Chilean cherries.
Western Vegetable shipments leading up to Thanksgiving have been modest at best, particularly for popular items such as romaine and the other lettuces as well as celery, broccoli and cauliflower.
As coastal California seasons for the various crops wind down, volume has been light, especially for romaine and broccoli. The meager supply situation will probably last at least through the week of December 15th. From Thanksgiving through Christmas produce shipments will be light as the transition has started to the California and Arizona deserts.
A side note is there are a lot more shipments of greens taking place than at other times of the year. These items range from kale, to chard, and collard greens, all of which are in the midst of a renaissance with consumers.
California and Arizona desert shipments ranging from lettuce, to peppers and cantaloupe – grossing about $5400 to Atlanta.
CHILEAN CHERRIES
Chilean cherry exports to North America could soar 45 percent this season. Total cherry exports from Chile should reach 100,00 tons in 2014-15. The South American country is bouncing back from a devastating freeze in 2013-14, which hit cherries and other fruits hard. Cherries will be available at U.S. ports in December and January.
Here’s a shipping round up for deliveries in time for Thanksgiving, ranging from various shipping areas handling everything from strawberries to sweet potatoes, melons and veggies.
Strawberry Shipments from CA, FL, and Mexico
California is shipping about 2 million trays of strawberries per week, primarily out of Ventura County. However, this is expected to decline over the next few weeks.
Early October hot weather and cooler weather in November are two factors blamed for reducing California strawberry shipments. However, by December, Southern California, Florida and Mexico will be ramping up for holiday shipments including Christmas and New Year’s.
Mexican strawberry shipments are now moving into good volume. Florida berries should hit decent volume by the week of November 24th and hit heavy loadings by mid December.
Oxnard, CA strawberry shipments – grossing about $7000 to Boston.
Sweet Potato Shipments
Four states ship the vast majority of the nation’s sweet potatoes. However, North Carolina is shipping as many as Mississippi, Louisiana and California (Atwood/Livingston district) combined. However, volume from all of these states are increasing as we approach Thanksgiving. North Carolina is averaging around 250 truck loads per week.
Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.
Nogales Produce Shipments
While Nogales, AZ will not hit peak produce shipments with product from Mexico until the end of the year, or January, decent supplies are currently available on some items. Watermelons are averaging about 625 truck loads weekly, with honeydew being about one-half this volume. A number vegetables ranging from various types of peppers to zuchnni and butternut squash are available in light volume, but seasonally increasing.
Unfortunately, there are too many mixed loads this time of year, due to limited volume. It’s not uncommon for produce haulers to start out in Central or Southern California and making several pick ups before filling out the truck in Nogales.
Mexican melons and vegetables through Nogales – grossing about $6000 to New York City.
Here is a glimpse of produce loading opportunities from three states on the east coast.
Florida winter produce shipments are generally increasing. However, the following information is qualified by the fact this is WINTER produce, and while state volume is light and increasing, this is all relative to this time of the year.
Florida’s mature green tomatoes, grape tomatoes and roma shipments have been less-than-normal and larger volumes are expected around Thanksgiving (November 27th). This includes the Palmetto-Ruskin volume that is running lighter than normal and south Florida’s shipments from Immokalee.
Heavy rains that struck during fall plantings should produce lighter-than-normal early loadings of sweet corn and green beans through Thanksgiving. Due to rain in September, there will be shipping gaps.
Florida produce – grossing about $2000 to Chicago.
New York Produce Shipments
Most onion shipments are coming out of Orange County, NY. With the harvest completed, shipments are increasing and averaging about 150 truck loads per week….New York apple shipments are steady from the Hudson Valley, western and central parts of the state and the Champlain Valley….Cabbages shipments are originating from western and central areas of the Empire State.
New York cabbage – grossing $1500 to $2000 to New York City.
Maine Potato Shipments
Light loadings of potatoes are originating from Aroostrock County, ME, averaging around 100 truck loads per week. Most product is destined to east coast markets.
Loading opportunities for Michigan apples this season, as well as Red River Valley potatoes, were expected to be good. However, more shipments than originally thought, should occur from both shipping areas.
Michigan apple shipments two years ago were the worst on record because of an early freeze. However, in the fall of 2013, it was the best crop on record. This season, shipments were expected to be good, but are turning out even better.
The Michigan apple crop now stands at 25 million bushels, about three million more than originally predicted. The state is now averaging about 300 truck loads per week. Michigan is the third-largest apple producer, behind New York and Washington state.
Michigan apple shipments – grossing about $3200 to Oklahoma City.
Red River Valley
Trucks remain in short suppply for RRV potatoes.
There should more Red River Valley potato shipments this season for red potatoes than originally thought, primarily due to better yields in North Dakota. The average potato yield in the state jumped 25 hundredweight (cwt.) per acre compared to last year, to a record 315, which shattered the 300 cwt. per acre record set in 2012. The expected higher shipments come despite the harvested acres estimate dropping from 86,000 in June to 79,000 in November; a plunge of 8 percent. Despite the big drop in harvested acres, the 2014 crop still topped the 2013 crop by 1.7 million cwt. (7 percent), producing a 24.3 million cwt. crop.
Minnesota’s Red River Valley portion also has fewer acres, but like North Dakota, had higher yields, 400 cwt. per acre. Minnesota’s June acreage estimate was 49,000 acres, but the November 1 estimate came in at 42,000 acres, a 14.3 percent drop.
Red River Valley red potatoes – grossing about $2000 to Chicago.
While the Washington State bumper apple harvest is nearly finished, a monster sized crop may be getting even bigger – increasing your loading opportunities for the season.
The initial estimate for Washington apple shipments was about 140 million boxes, however, some growers believe it could now hit 150 million boxes.
In fact, the Washington apple crop is so huge some growers are already mentioning sending some of the fruit originally intended for the fresh market, to the processed market, or being used for cow feed. We expect to hear this talk coming from Idaho potato farmers, who are notorious for over production, but not the apple folks!
There also are concerns by apple growers and shippers about the availability of transportation in the midst of large volumes.
One shipper recently stated, “We have needed almost 300-400 more trucks each week out of the state of Washington to deliver this product. And that’s been difficult especially this time of year as the Northwest begins shipping Christmas trees, so trucks are much more difficult to obtain.”
Under these circumstance one would expect produce freight rates for apple hauls to be stronger this year – something we will find out in the weeks and months ahead.
Washington state apples from the Yakima and Wenatchee Valleys – grossing about $6800 to Orlando.
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Florida grapefruit shipments have went from practically nothing to good volume almost over night entering the month of November….Additionally, there’s an over abundance of onions, both domestically and from Peru.
Overall, Florida citrus hauls are ranging from grapefruit, to tangerines and oranges This citrus is said to have good maturities and good eating quality, and that should translate into fewer claims for produce haulers.
Central Florida citrus – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
Onion Shipments
There are big onion volumes from Peru and the Western United States, which is expected to continue at least through the end of the year.
Through October, 2,100 loads of Peruvian onions had been shipped by boat to the United States, up from 1,800 loads last year during this same period. Additionally it is reported about 1,000 loads were in sheds or on the water in early November, up from 600 last year. Ample loading opportunities of Peruvian sweets from American ports are seen through mid-February.
On the domestic front for onion shipments an oversupply appears to be the case, ranging everywhere from Colorado to Utah, Washington and other West Coast states. Overall, volumes are up both from Peru and in the Western United States this fall. With retail sales off about 15 percent industry-wide as of early November, the main problem for onion haulers will be finding a load because shippers may not have a place to deliver them.
Idaho and Malhuer County Oregon onions – grossing about $3650 to Dallas.
Washington’s Columbia Basin potatoes and onions – grossing about $6000 to Philadelphia.
This isn’t one of the better times of the year for hauling produce from California as seasonal shifts to different growing areas or varieties are underway, with items ranging from lettuce to citrus and strawberries.
California Produce Shipments
Lettuce shipments continue from Huron in California’s San Joaquin Valley, but a shift is slowly taking place to the desert of Yuma, AZ to be followed shortly by the nearby Imperial Valley in California.
Yuma lettuce shipments should hit decent volume within about a week. Shipments have been light out of California and Arizona for weeks and could very well remain lighter than normal through Thanksgiving, if not the end of the year.
Romaine volume is particularly light and you should use caution hauling this product coming out of Huron. Warmer than normal weather during October is resulting in romaine growing too fast, leading to some quality issues – particularly with the product going to seed.
Lettuce shipments shifted from Salinas to Huron the last half of October. Now the shift is from the short Huron harvest to Yuma and the Imperial Valley.
California Citrus Shipments
Valencia shipments are coming to a seasonal end, while light loadings of navel oranges have started from Central and Southern California, as well as Arizona.
California Strawberry Shipments
While Salinas and Santa Maria strawberry shipments are nearly finished for the season, light, but increasing volume is taking place from Ventura County.
California Grape Shipments
Meanwhile, grapes continue to provide some of the heaviest volume out the San Joaquin Valley. Loadings are averaging over 1,700 truck loads per week.
Central San Joaquin Valley grapes, other items – grossing about $5400 to Atlanta.
California grape shipments should remain in good volume, providing steady loading opportunities through the end of the year. Meanwhile, the state’s citrus shipments will be picking up soon, while vegetable loadings will be limited as volume gradually shifts to the the desert areas.
Grape shipments at this point in the season are right on the heels of last year’s record loadings of 116 million, 19-pound boxes. If this year’s grape shipments don’t break last year’s volume, at the least it will be the second largest on record. About 70 percent of the total crop has been shipped .
Citrus Shipments
It is estimated California will ship 81 million, 40-pound cartons of navel oranges this season. Of that total, 78 million cartons will be shipped from California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Shipments are modest, but will be increasing in the weeks ahead.
Mandrian orange shipments are also on the rise, with greater volume than a year ago being forecast.
Vegetable shipments
Salinas vegetables ranging from broccoli to cauliflower, among others, will be shifting from the Salinas Valley to the desert areas. The shift to California’s Imperial Valley and the Yuma District in Arizona will be taking place around the third to fourth week of November. Head lettuce from the Huron District is winding down and also will be shifting the desert areas.
Central San Joaquin Valley grapes and other fruit – grossing about $7100 to New York City.
Since our initial report October 27th on a devastating freeze in Chile, it is now appearing the damage was not nearly as serious as initially thought.
A highly damaging freeze could drastically reduce imported Chilean winter produce — and hauling opportunities for American produce haulers.
Chile was hit hard a year ago by freezing temperatures, and this time around it doesn’t seem as bad.
While limited volume of Chilean blueberries have been arriving in the U.S. by air since early October, it will be early December when “blues” begin arriving by boat and significant volume will occur.
Besides blueberries, kiwifruit, cherries and apples had been cited as being adversely affected by the cold. The freeze occurred October 8-9.
Chile is perhaps been known for its table grapes, which normally arrive in good volume at U.S. ports during January, February and March. However, the vast majority of Chilean grape vineyards are located much further north in Chile than where the October freeze occurred.
More updated information on Chilean winter imports should become available in the weeks ahead. Chile is a primary exporter of fresh produce to the U.S., with produce arriving at ports on both coasts, particularly during the winter months. This is possible since that South American country has opposite growing seasons from the United States.
So far West Mexican produce shipments, much of which will be destined for markets across the United States and Canada, has mostly avoided any serious problems from a couple of hurricanes. Volume is expected to be lighter than normal for early season shipments, but should improve significantly as the season progresses.
Some commodities, including squash, watermelon, cucumbers, bell peppers and even a few tomatoes, already are crossing the border into in Nogales. Volume should pick up significantly by mid-to late November. However, the biggest volume typically doesn’t hit until late December or early January. Anytime now, there should be substantial volume of colored and green bell peppers from Sonora and Sinaloa, with the biggest increases being with greenhouse colored bell peppers.
The earliest season cucumbers from Caborca are just now starting to arrive and will continue until early December. Cucumbers should start arriving from Culiacan the first or second week of November and continue until the end of May.
As we approach the winter months, Mexican watermelons are increasing. Over 350 truck loads of watermelons weekly are passing through Nogales and volume is on the rise.
Nogales produce crossing from Mexico – grossing about $5700 to New York City.