Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
Potatoes and onions, c
ommonly known as “hardware items” because they are less perishable and generally pose fewer problems when hauling, also normally do not pay as good a freight as most more perishable items. However, the further into fall and the closer to winter, overall fresh fruit and vegetable volume declines, and so do freight rates — and loading opportunties. Therefore, if nothing more than out of necessity potatoes and onions begin looking more attractive if you want or need to haul produce.
Oregon Onions
In the Snake River area of Oregon there is good demand heading into winter for trucks. An early start of the shipping season combined with fewer onions means less product is left for shipping than normal. Truck loads could be down 15-20% for Treasure Valley growers, due to the fourth-hottest summer on record and other weather-related issues. Fewer onions mean shippers are having less difficulty finding enough trucks to move product.
Idaho-Oregon Onions
Around the border area of Western Idaho and Malheur County, OR, nearly 700 truckloads of storage onions are being shipped weekly.
Washington-Oregon Onions and Potatoes
Similar volume with onion shipments are available from the border area of the Columbia Basin in Washington and the Umatilla Basin of Oregon. In Northwest Washington, just north of Seattle is light volume with red and white potatoes from the Skagit Valley.
Idaho Potatoes
The nation’s largest volume potato shipper has another huge crop this year. The state is averaging around 1500 truck load equivalents per week, although a significant amount of these potatoes are loaded in rail cars.
Colorado Potatoes and Onions
Storage onions are being shipped from Colorado’s Western Slope, near Olathe, and will continue well into January. Excellent quality is reported. Loads have been moving out of the area at a brisk pace in part because of Colorado’s freight advantage over western shippers….In south-central Colorado is the San Luis Valley, which is shipping around 750 truck loads of spuds per week.
Colorado potatoes – grossing about $1800 to Dallas.
Idaho potatoes – about $5500 to New York City.
Columbia Basin/Umatilla Basin (Washington and Oregon) potatoes and onions – about $4200 to Chicago.
Produce shipments in the Eastern shipping areas of the USA have entered its lightest volume period of the year. Still there are a number of states that ship produce the year around, although most of it is in light volume.
The New England states, particularly, Massachusetts and Vermont are loading apples destined primarily for markets in the Northeast as well as Eastern Canada….Massachusetts also is providing loading opportunities with cranberries from the Cape Cod area.
New York state probably has the best volume in the Northeast. Apple loadings are occuring in the Hudson Valley. Some other areas of New York have less volume than usual due to weather factors earlier in the year….The Empire State also is a major shipper of storage onions. It is averaging about 250 truckloads per week with volume increasing. Orange County, NY is providing the most shipments….New York also is shipping cabbage, primarily from the Buffalo and Rochester areas.
In the Applachacian districts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia light to moderate volume of apples are moving. However, all four states combined are averaging only about 125 truckloads per week.
Sweet potatoes from Eastern North Carolina are moving in decent volume.
Southern Georgia has light shipments of cabbage, as well as kale and other greens.
Florida will have limited loading opportunities until spring. Grapefruit and other citrus are being shipped. If for some reason you are stuck in Western Florida, there are limited amounts of mature green tomates, as well as grape tomatoes being loaded.
New York cabbage – grossing about $1700 to New York City.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – about $2200 New York City.
Fall is definately settling in across the USA and autumn produce loads also are increasing.
The biggest indication the new season is gearing up is in the Northwest with shipments of apples from Washington’s Yakima and Wenachee Valleys. Last week the state’s apple volume exceeded 2,200 truckload equivalents and the amount will continue increasing in the weeks ahead. Demand for apples around the country is strong in big part due to Michigan losing most of its crop due to weather, plus significant losses in New York state.
In California, the heaviest volume for produce shipments continues with table grapes from the San Joaquin Valley, averaging about 1,600 truckloads per week. Salinas Valley lettuce is providing the next most available loads averaging about around 1,200 truckloads each week. There also are good loading opportunities with Watsonville area strawberries and with tomatoes from the Central San Joaquin Valley. The valley also is shipping stone fruit, but it is now in a seasonal decline.
In the upper mid-west, central Wisconsin about 400 truckloads of potatoes a week, but this will be increasing. In the same area, fresh cranberry shipments are small compared to potatoes, but still significant and will be increasing, particularly by the end of October as Thanksgiving shipments get underway.
In New England, there are light amounts of apples being shipped. Massachusetts cranberry shipments from the Cape Cod area also have started, and will increase in a similar fashion to those in Wisconsin.
On New York’s Long Island, about 60 truckloads of potatoes are being shipped weekly from the eastern end of the island.
Looking at North Carolina, the nation’s largest sweet potato shipper, there are about 65,000 acres of the product. Normal volume is expected. Some of the old crop is still being loaded. However, the new sweet potato crop will soon provide most of the shipments. A average amount of about 15 million cartons of sweet potatoes should be shipped from North Carolina over the next 10 or 11 months.
Washington apples – grossing about $4400 to Chicago.
Salinas Valley vegetables and berries – about $7100 to New York City.
Wisconsin potatoes – about $1000 to Chicago.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – about $1500 Atlanta.
This is the time of year when shipments of Florida grapefruit gets underway, as 
well as the new crop of sweet potatoes from various states coast-to-coast. It also means shipments of avocados will soon be shipping from California to arrivals of ports of entry from Mexico, as well as at various ocean ports receiving avocados from Chile.
Florida Grapefruit Loads
There was a shortage of California fruit and those shipments the first half of September ended about two weeks earlier than usual. Florida citrus shippers are beginning their new season shipping grapefruit right on schedule. Growers in the Indian River region began harvesting the last week of September. Loading opportunities for Florida grapefruit should start volume in early to mid-October.
Avocado Shipments
Plenty of avocado shipments should be available as California supplies wind down and Mexican and Chilean shipments increase.
California loads will be available longer than usual this fall, and big volumes from Mexico will be crossing the border in the coming weeks. By mid-October, California should be mostly finished for the season.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potato shipments in the USA may be down slightly this season, which extends through next summer.
As we previously reported, Louisiana and Mississippi were onlyslightly affected by Hurricane Isaac in late August….North Carolina and California are the largest shippers of sweet potatoes.
In 2011, there were 133,600 acres of sweet potatoes planted, while this year an estimated 131,400 acres planted.
Record or near record shipments of peanuts, almonds, walnuts, and pistachios 
are predicted by the USDA in the coming months. In fact, most types of nuts are expected to be plentiful for the fall, holiday and winter season, coming off of the 2012 harvest.
For example, record shipments of peanuts are predicted for the top four producing states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama and number four Texas. Georgia has nearly 60 percent more planted acrerage than a year ago and expects to ship over 2.8 million pounds of peanuts. The state accounts for nearly 50 percent of the nation’s peanut shipments.
Total U.S. peanut shipments are projected to be 5.9 million pounds in 2012, up from 3.6 million in 2011.
Almond loadings are expected to be up three percent from last year, totalling 2.1 billion meat pounds for 2012 on some 780,000 acres. California ships about 80 percent of the world’s almonds, with the leaders being Georgia, Texas and New Mexico. Total USA loadings in 2011 amounted to about 270 million pounds, and this is seen as increasing this year.
California also accounts for about 99 percent of the walnut volume in the United States, up two percent from a year ago. It’s not a record, but is close.
Record pistachio shipments are forecast out of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada totalling 550 to 575 million pounds.
Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a Canadian province consisting of an island of 
the same name, as well as other islands. Before the Confederate Bridge was completed in 1997, big rigs and four wheelers headed to the island, had to use ferry service between the Canadian mainland and the island. The bridge is just under 8 miles in length. PEI is the smallest Canadian province in both land area and population. It’s population is only 145,855 and is evenly divided between urban and rural dwellers.
Although the potato harvest has been under way for a few weeks, it is beginning in earnest in the next couple of weeks. This translates into the best loading opportunities in the weeks and months ahead. The island has over 80,000 acres of potatoes. Overall, yields will likely be slightly below average, with early varieties particularly light, and sizing smaller than normal. So be sure your receiver(s) is aware of this.
Loads are expected to be near normal.
PEI russet potatoes will be shipped into February, goldrushes into April 2013 and burbanks into the summer.
With the big USA crop, Caribbean markets could be more attractive to PEI growers this season.
A strong Canadian dollar presents another hurdle to island growers looking to export to the USA.
For truckers looking to stay in Canada or the East Coast of the USA, lighter crops in eastern Canada and the eastern USA could help offset the expected big volumes out out of Idaho and other western states.
Washington state has new crops of potatoes, pears and apples now being 
shipped to point across North America.
In the Skagit Valley, located just north of Seattle, red, yellow, white and even a few purple potatoes are now providing loads. Much of the activity centers around the town of Mount Vernon. This isn’t the heavest volume produce area in the state, but it has a reputation for having consistent quality. That reduces chances of claims and rejections for the trucker.
Washington’s main potato shipping area is in the Columbia Basin in the southern part of the state, that also extends into the Umatilla Basin of Oregon. This region is averaging nearly 900 truckload equivalents of potato shipments a week. The Columbia Basin also is shipping dry onions.
The Yakima and Wenatchee valleys are now shipping the new crop of pears. Oregon shipments will be up slightly from a year ago with 10.6 million 44-pound equivalent boxes forecast. Washington state may be down slightly from last year with about 19.1 million 44-pound boxes. Although the Northwest is expected to have six percent fewer pear loads this season, it still exceeds the five-year average for shipments by about two percent.
Between Washington state and Oregon, the two states account for about 75 percent of the nation’s pear volume.
As has been reported in several recent stories on HaulProduce.com, a huge apple crop is still being forecast, with loadings expected to be brisk this season as Washington state works to fill voids in Michigan and New York state, who are shipping less apples due to weather related problems.
Columbia Basin potatoes and onions – grossing about $5600 to New York City.
Washington apple and pears – about $3700 to Chicago.
California fall produce shipments are in full mode, although this certainly does not mean the volume is there you normally find 
during the late spring and summer.
One of the best hauls continues to be table grapes out of the San Joaquin Valley. It is providing big volume and is one the finest quality crops in recent memory. That shouldstranslate into a reduction of claims and rejected loads. Grapes are averaging about 2,000 truck loads per week. Good volume also continues from the San Joaqun Valley with peaches, plums and nectarines although shipments are now in a seasonal decline.
If there is one segment of the produce industry capable of over producing on a scale of the potato industry, it is the growers of tomatoes. Vine ripe tomatoes abound in California with shipments coming out of Ventura County, the San Diego area, as well as Mexican product originating from Baja California. However, the biggest tomato volume is with mature greens grown in the San Joaquin Valley as well as areas located between the valley and the San Francisco Bay area (such as Tracy).
In the Salinas Valley, vegetable loads remain pretty consistent, led by head lettuce, then celery, plus broccoli and cauliflower. Plenty of other vegetables help fill partial loads as well….Although strawberry shipments are lower from the Watsonsville District, they are still accounting for over 600 truck loads per week.
Salinas Valley strawberries and vegetables – grossing about $7000 to New York City.
San Joaquin Valley grapes – about $4800 to Chicago.
During the 2011-12 shipping season, truckers hauled nealy 35,000 truckload 
loads of Colorado potatoes to destinations thoughout the USDA. The Rocky Mountain state has started shipments for the 2012-13 season, although volume is very light.
Harvesting began in August with some farming operations, but others are just getting underway with digging potatoes. San Luis Valley potato acreage is up slightly this year and totals 55,100 acres. While this is certainly significant, it doesn’t compare to th 72,000 acres planted a decade ago. 70 years ago colo had 175 grower/shippers. now there are about 20. although fewer, they are much larger operations.
Some growers started harvesting in August, and others are beginning in early-to-mid September, depending on location and conditions.
The San Luis Valley produces 92% of Colorado’s potatoes, with the remaining spuds coming primarily from the Greeley area. Colorado is ranked in the top five potato producing areas in the USA, both in acres planted and production. Colorado is the number 2 fresh potato shipper in the country.
Location of the San Luis Valley is south, central CO. It is found southwest of Pueblo, CO, with the heart of its potato shipments coming from the Monte Vista and Center, CO area.
85% of the valley’s potatoes are russets, although it produces about 60 different variets of potatoes in all.
While loading opportunities for summer vegetables in the mid-west and 
northeast may have been hindered some due to dry, hot weather, loadings are expected to be brisk for this fall in Georgia. Normal vegetables shipments are expected from the southern part part of the state. Here’s a look at when primarily fall veggies shipments should be available.
These items should continue providing loads in good volume until the first frost hits, which normally comes in mid to late November. The exception is cabbage, which is more frost resistant.
Squash –mid September
Cucumbers — late September
Peppers — early October
Corn and beans — mid October
Cabbage — early November
As the fall Georgia vegetable shipments start declining in November, loading opportunities will be increasing in Florida. However, Florida volume will be light, compared to its most active time of the year, which is spring.