Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
There should be significantly more produce loading opportunities from the Rocky Mountain State, primarily due to a great snowpack and a lot of favorable growing conditions.
Depending on location, snow packs in the Rocky Mountains have been anywhere from 130 to 150 percent of normal, filling up reservoirs, and easing concerns over drought conditions.
Colorado Peach Shipments
Peach shipments from Colorado’s western slope have been underway since the last week of July. Loadings should continue until after Labor Day, and a few limited loadings could be available into the third week of September. Last year, peach volume was off 25 percent because of weather factors. This season loadings are expected to only be down 10 to 15 percent from what is considered a full crop. There also are some loadings available with apple and pears, although its is much smaller than with peaches.
Rocky Ford Melon Shipments
Cantaloupe shipments, as well as honeydew are now coming out of Colorado’s Rocky Ford area. Loadings should be available for another month.
Colorado Vegetable Shipments
San Luis Valley potato shipments could be up as much as eight percent this season. A combination of 54,200 acres of potatoes planted, combined with plentiful water supplies have helped. While limited potato shipments started from Northeastern Colorado a week ago, most volume comes out of the San Luis Valley. SLV harvesting generally gets underway after Labor Day and wraps up in October, with shipments continuing into following the summer.
The Northeastern part of the state also is shipping items ranging from onions to sweet corn and squash.
South Carolina produce peaches and vegetable loadings continue. We also take a look a upcoming Wisconsin cranberry shipments.
South Carolina Produce Shipments
There is good volume peach shipments from South Carolina that finally got going in July and will continue with nice volume through August, although a seasonal decline will begin soon. Loadings, however will continue into September.
South Carolina, despite being a small state (41st in size among the 50 states), ranks high in produce shipments. It is the nation’s second-largest shipper of peaches, behind California, and ahead of Georgia. South Carolina places in the top 10 for truck loadings of leafy greens, cantaloupe, peanuts, watermelons, tomatoes, mixed vegetables and sweet potatoes.
South Carolina peaches and vegetables – grossing about $3400 to New York City.
Wisconsin Cranberry Shipments
Cranberrries have experienced a 57 percent increase in shipments nationwide from 2002 to 2013. As a result, poor prices are resulting from too much fruit for the amount of demand. Many U.S. growers are struggling to create new markets to absorb a growing oversupply of the tiny tart berries grown in marshes. Wisconsin is at the center of the glut. Between 2012 and 2013, Wisconsin had a 25 percent boost in production, a record-breaking harvest of 6 million barrels of cranberries. The state produced 67 percent of all cranberries harvested in the United States in 2013, marking the 19th consecutive year as the country’s leader in cranberry shipper.
Central Wisconsin cranberry shipments will be starting in mid September in light volume. Heaviest volume occurs as we enter November leading up to Thanksgiving (Nov. 27th).
There should be excellent hauling opportunities for apples and pears from Washington this season.
Similar to most crops along the West Coast this year, Washington apple shipments got underway unusually early with the Gingergold variety in late July. It may have been the first time fruit was picked before August.
As the season is off and running it appears there will be record shipments this year, mostly by truck. Washington apple shipments are expected to be around 140 million cartons, which would easily surpass the previous record of just under 130 million cartons during the 2012-13 season.
Washington Pear Shipments
The green colored Bartlett pears started being shipped from Washington state in early August. As the Bartletts lead off pear loadings, other varieties are nearing being shipped as well.
Red Anjous and Starkrimson are getting underway this week. Soon to follow will be the Bosc, Forelle, Comice, Seckel, Asian and Red Sensation pears. Shipments of Bartletts, Starkrimsons and Red Sensations will continue through December. Seckels, Comice and Asian pears ship during the winter months, and Red and Green Anjous typically ship from late summer or early fall into the next summer.
Washington apples, pears and cherries – grossing about $4300 to Chicago.
This is an update on produce shipments from Washington, Oregon and California.
Northwest Onion Shipments
Potato shipments for the new season have recently got underway from the Columbia Basin in Oregon and Washington state. They are now moving into good volume.
In Walla Walla, WA, shipping of Walla Walla sweet onions have been ongoing for serval weeks and will continue until around Labor Day.
Northwest potato shipments from the old crop are still happening, but declining in volume as the season concludes.
California Produce Shipments
Strawberry shipments have been on a steady keel for a while now out of the Watsonville area averaging about 900 truck loads per week. Volume also is steady from the Santa Maria district, although volume is only about 25 percent of that from Watsonville.
Meanwhile moderate loadings of broccoli, cauliflower and celery continues. Lettuce, not surprisingly, leads Salinas Valley vegetable shipments. Head lettuce and romaine alone, are averaging over 1800 truckloads per week. There also are other types of lettuce and a few dozen different other veggie items being shipped.
Tomato loadings are available from the Central San Joaquin Valley, as well as the Oceanside area, and from Baja crossing the Mexican/US border at Otay Mesa.
Pear shipments are now ongoing from the Sacramento area and the northern San Joaquin Valley.
California pears – grossing about $4900 to Dallas.
Salinas Valley produce – grossing about $5600 to Cleveland.
Labor Day (September 1st) is less than a month away and here is a quick view of some items that should be available for hauling between now and then.
Michigan sweet corn shipments are currently at a peak, and there is decent volume coming out of the Goshen, IN area…..Michigan also continues with good volume blueberry shipments and summer vegetables.
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Sweet Corn Shipments
Western North Carolina sweet corn shipments should still have good volume by Labor Day, along with tomatoes.
California sweet corn should have good volume out of the San Joaquin Valley for Labor Day, although shipments will be ligher than Memorital Day or the Fourth of July. Melons out of the Westside District will continue in steady volume, as will as grape shipments, whose volume has been excellent, but the majority of the loadings will take place after Labor Day through the end of the year.
Sweet Potato Shipments
With a short sweet potato crop nationally for the 2013-14 season, limited loading opportunities are available as the seasons comes to an end. However, the 2014-15 sweet shipments should improve, particular since leading producer North Carolina has increased its plantings from 54,000 acres a year ago to 66,000 acres this year.
Here’s hoping sweet potato shippers don’t get in such a hurry to ship product in the new season that they don’t take time to cure first. Curing sweet potatoes, which doesn’t take that long, are much better. North Carolina shipments should get underway after Labor Day, while Mississippi may start the last week of August.
Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
Mississippi sweet potatoes – grossing about $2100 to Chicago.
Here is a look a new season shipments for New York and California apples, plus some other loading opportunities in both of these states.
New York Apple Shipments
New York state’s apple harvest is scheduled to begin August 15th, with shipments getting underway shortly thereafter. The Empire State expects to ship about 30 million bushels of fruit this season, down only slightly from the 32 million bushels shipped during the 2013-14 season. However, total volume is still expected to stay above the state’s five-year averages of 29.5 million bushels. Although the apple harvest should end in November, loading opportunities will continue well into next spring, if not summer. The Hudson Valley is New York’s leading area for apple shipments, although several other areas of the state also have the fruit in significant volume.
New York vegetable shipments are moving in steady volume, especially from western and central areas of the state.
Western New York vegetables – grossing about $1600 to New York City.
California Apple Shipments
Apple shipments out of California’ San Joaquin Valley got underway a couple of weeks ago, but are only entering volume loadings now. This is one of the earliest maturing crops on record. Overall, California expects to ship about 2.4 million boxes of apples this season, which is fairly normal.
While gala shipments started in mid July, granny smiths should get underway the week of August 11th, followed by fujis around August 18th. followed by Pink Lady apples in the middle of October.
California’s San Joaquin Valley produce shipments are in good volume with everything ranging from grapes to tomatoes, stone fruit and vegetables.
San Joaquin Valley vegetables and melons – grossing about $7500 to New York City.
Here’s a quick glimpse at some produce loading opportunities from 11 different states ranging from coast-to-coast.
Washington Produce Shipments
Washington state continues to ship its 2013-14 season crop of apples, averaging about 1,500 truck load equivalents per week. Also coming out of the Yakima and Wenachee vallies are fresh cherries. Volume remains strong, but is still only about one-third the volume of apple shipments.
Washington fruit – grossing about $7500 to New York City.
Michigan Produce Shipments
Peach shipments from the Benton Harbor area and other areas of Southwest Michigan have started. Loadings for the stone fruit are generally a relatively short haul – within a 500 mile radius for the most part. Chicago is one of the more popular destinations…..Apples from the area are expected to get underway the third week of August. Meanwhile, Michigan blueberry shipments are moving into good volume, while summer mixed veggies continue.
Michigan blueberries – grossing about $2700 to Atlanta; Michigan vegetables grossing 15 to 20 percent less.
New Jersey Produce Shipments
Garden State peach shipments started a couple of weeks ago and are now moving into good volume. Jersey blueberry loadings are still occurring, butare now past peak volume. The southern part of the state also is shipping a mixture of vegetables.
Watermelon Shipments
Watermelon loadings continue from a number of states. While eastern Texas watermelon shipments, as well as Georgia watermelon shipments are declining, volume is steady out of South Carolina, but cranking up in North Carolina, followed closely by the Eastern Shore states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia…..Look for increasing volume of Missouri watermelons out of the boot heal area…..The watermelon season has recently started out of Southwest Indiana and Southeast Illinois.
While peak summer California produce shipments continue, few record shipments are taking place, with the possible exception of table grapes.
Most commodities and are having normal volume, or being slightly off of average shipments. Record California grape shipments occurred last year, totaling 116.2 million boxes of grapes (19-pound equivalent). This year, shipments are estimated to bet over 116.5 million boxes. The San Joaquin Valley is California’s largest grape shipping region, and loadings started earlier than usual. As of the week ending July 4, shipments were well ahead of the prior year, amounting to six million boxes out of the Coachella Valley and the San Joaquin Valley. This year, during the same period, 9.2 million boxes were shipped. The vast majority California grape shipments will take place after September 1st, when as much as 65 or 70 percent the volume will take place during the fall an into the winter.
The Central San Joaquin Valley also has good, steady volume with peaches (averaging about 425 loads per week) as well as plums and nectarines. There also are tomatoes, sweet corn and dozens of other vegetables loadings taking place, plus Westside district melons.
Further south in the valley in the Bakersfield area are avocados, with truckloads averaging over 1,000 per week, plus steady movement with carrots.
Moving to the Salinas area, strawberry shipments from Watsonville continue. Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and celery lead a wide contingent of other veggies being shipped from the Salinas Valley. A similar situation exists just to the south in the Santa Maria shipping district, although on a smaller scale.
Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $8300 to New York City.
Central San Joaquin Valley stone fruit and grapes – grossing about $5200 to Chicago.
U.S. potato shipments from the old crop are still on going as the new season rapidly approaches. Plus, Rocky Ford cantaloupe shipments in Colorado are now underway..
Idaho and a number of other potato shipping states are scrambling to unload their old crop in order to get going on shipments for the 2014-15 season. The old crop of potato shipments is expected to continue well into August. At the same time, depending on the growing and shipping area, the new crop of spuds became available last week. Both Washington and Oregon are expected to have their first potatoes for the new season by early August, while Wisconsin potato shipments will soon follow. Then you have Idaho russet potatoes being shipped by the week of August 10th. Some red potatoes and other varieties have already started out of Washington state.
Colorado Cantaloupe Shipments
A spring freeze and two major hailstorms will have a significant effect on Colorado’s Rocky Ford cantaloupe shipments, leaving farmers uncertain over how big their crops will be this year. One grower is reported to have lost an estimated 60 acres of the 360 acres of cantaloupes that he planted this spring. Just how much yields will off set the weather damaged melons, remains to been seen. Loadings of cantaloupe started last week and will continue into September. Overall, it is estimated anywhere for 15 to 25 percent of the cantaloupe were lost. The area also ships honeydew and watermelon, but no reports on these items were available.
Arkansas Valley growers banded together in 2011 to trademark the Rocky Ford cantaloupe name and define its boundaries after melons from Jensen Farms in Holly, 90 miles east of Rocky Ford, were implicated in a listeria outbreale that killed at least 32 people.
Over the past decade, Colorado growers have planted an annual average of 2,000 acres of cantaloupes.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $5500 to New York City.
While most upstate New York state vegetable shipments are getting underway as much as two weeks late this year due to weather factors, things are finally starting to pick up.
First of all, vegetables are grown and shipped from a number of different areas of the state. Here are just a few cities and towns located near some of the larger vegetable operations: Marion, Florida, Goshen, Holley, King Ferry, Pine Island, Marion and Stanley.
Mid July Starts
Just getting underway are items ranging from green beans to cucumbers, and cabbage. Just a note, there will be some slow starts. For example green bean shipments are expected to be off 20 percent until about about the first of August, with normal volume coming on by the middle of August. Cabbage is one of New York’s bigger items, but shipments will be down as much as 50 percent unil mid August, when normal volume should arrive.
Late July Starts
Vegetable loadings should start by late July or early August with sweet corn, which will continue until early October. Other similar starting dates apply to squash and red round tomatoes. Labor Day Starts
Both potato shipments and onion shipments should be starting in early September around Labor Day.
New York state continues to be one of the leading shippers of fresh produce, consistently ranking in the top ten among states.