Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
While head lettuce shipments continue from the Salinas Valley and the Huron District in the San Joaquin Valley, volume is rapidly decreasing as the seasonal shift if well underway and volume increases from the desert areas of the Imperial Valley in Southern California and in the nearby Yuma district of Arizona.
Normal shipments are expected from the desert areas through the end of the year. Loadings for romaine from the Imperial Valley should start the week after Thanksgiving.
Lettuce loads from the Salinas Vallely are expected to overlap the Imperial Valley season by a week or two.
Record shipments of tables grapes continues from the San Joaquin Valley spanning the Kern District to the northern part of the valley is averaging over 1,600 truckloads per week…..Also from the Kern District is shipments of carrots, averaging about 350 truckload equivalents per week.
Strawberry shipments from the Watsonville District are in a seasonal decline, while volume is picking up from Ventura County. Moderate volume continues from the Santa Maria District. As with many vegetables in California, berry volume is much lower than only a few weeks ago.
There’s a number of produce items in California providing light volume, but at this point may be helping to fill out the truck. Those items may range from oranges to lemons, kiwi, various veggies and even holiday product such as pomegrantes.
San Joaquin Valley produce – grossing about $4400 to Chicago.
Florida certainly isn’t a destination many produce haulers seek in the fall, unless they are taking a vacation. It is historically quite difficult to find return loads out of the Sunshine state after delivering there. Still, here’s a look at what should be available with citrus and vegetable loads during the next couple of months.
There will be fewer navel oranges available, but larger volumes of grapefruit and tangerines as Florida’s early season shipments move to bigger volumes. The USDA issued on October 11th it’s first season forecast. Florida expects to ship 2.2 million equivalent cartons of navels, 17 percent less than a year ago. Although fewer loads are forecast, it still is a decent volume for the state. While citrus shipments are moving into good volume, lighter movement is seen starting in late December and early January.
Fall vegetable loadings from Central and Southern Florida are expected to be down from a year ago, particularly with items such as sweet corn, green beans, bell peppers, cucumbers and squash. While the harvest began last month, we’re looking at mid November to around Thanksgiving before better volume starts.
While plantings of Florida fall veggies are generally lower this season, larger volume with strawberries from the Plant City area is expected. Light harvest starts in late November with volume and shipments increasing during December.
Shipments of some Thanksgiving produce favorites could be light this year.
For example , in the Glades/Lake Okeechobee region of Florida the was excessive rains during plantings from mid-September to mid-October. This may significantly reduce loads of green beans for the holidays, perhaps has much as 50 percent. Also be on the look out for wind damage to some vegetable items such as green beans, due to winds from Hurricane Sandy.
Other growing regions in south Florida will likely face similar reduced shipments.
Sweet potatoes
Sweet potato sales have increased to the point where normal times of the years, sales are close to those around the holidays.
Mississippi sweet potato shipments are expected to be lighter for Thanksgiving because of weather factors.
Cranberries
In Massachusetts and Wisconsin cranberries loads may down 10 percent. These two states account for the vast majority of fresh cranberry shipments. Make sure companies paying for the freight are aware the berries are smaller than normal this season.
Here’s a look at available fresh produce loads in the Western half of the USA where volume is primarily steady, or increasing.
In South Texas, avocados from Mexico are providing over 600 truckload equivalents per week and the volume will be increasing in the weeks ahead….South Texas grapefruit loadings are very light, but have started, and will hit good volume around mid- November….In West Texas in the Hereford area, as well as in nearby Eastern New Mexico, there is light volume with potatoes.
Looking at the San Luis Valley of south-central Colorado, about 500 truckloads of russett potatoes are being shipped weekly.
Idaho has another huge crop of russet potatoes. While the railroads move a significant amount of the state’s spuds, the majority of the volume still is shipped by truck. Nearly 1,700 truckload equivalents of potatoes are providing loads on a weekly basis.
California’s San Joaquin Valley is shipping everything from grapes to carrots and tomatoes, among other items. Over 2,000 truckloads of grapes are being shipped weekly from vineyards spread between the Bakersfield area to Merced. Decent volume with tomatoes also are available, but a seasonal decline will continue in coming weeks.
In Washington state, apples from the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys may be providing the single largest amounts of fruit volume in the country. A huge apple crop is averaging about 2,500 truckload equipments on a weekly basis.
The Salinas Valley continues to provide the best loading opportunities with fall produce. Shipments of vegetables are holding pretty steady from week to week. Various types of lettuce is providing the heaviest volume. When you combine lettuce, with volume coming from celery, broccoli and cauliflower, the Salinas Valley is averaging about 3,400 truck loads of vegetables a week.
This doesn’t include various lighter volume mixed vegetables, or berries. While the Watsonville district is shipping around 500 truck loads of strawberries weekly, this volume is declining. The nearby Santa Maria district is remain fairly steady with less volume, while shipments from Ventura County are very light, but increasing.
In previous reports there has been coverage of California citrus hauling prospects. Here is some information on lemon shipments, most of which will originate from the California and Arizona deserts between now until February. Loads will also be available from California’s San Joaquin Valley. Overall, lemon volume could be up 20 percent over a year ago.
The San Joaquin Valley’s biggest volume currently is with table grapes and tomatoes. Grape volume easily leads the pack. From the Bakersfield are northward through the San Joaquin Valley, grapes are averaging about 1800 truckloads per week.
Mature green tomato shipments from Central California are totalling over 725 truckloads per week.
San Joaquin Valley grapes, tomatoes, etc. – grossing about $6700 to New York City.
Salinas Valley vegetables, berries – about $4400 to Chicago.
If you haul produce in the fall out of Florida, expect weather related small gaps in the early part of the sweet corn season as well as with small harvest and loading delays with green beans, bell peppers, cucumbers and squash.
Volume for early bean shipments also is expected to be off and on. However, loads are not expected to be until early December.
On some vegetables, including bell peppers, cucumbers and squash, be on the look out for quality issues resutling from frequent rains durng the growing season.
Sporadic harvesting and shipments could make things interesting for the active shipping period when deliveries for the Thanksgiving holidays could get a little dicey. I’m not saying this will happen, but just be aware of the potential problems.
Florida pepper shipments should be in decent volume by the end of October.
If Georgia experiences favorable November weather, shipments there could continue through Thanksgiving.
However, southern Georgia fall veggies are having some problems with whiteflies. For example, some yellow squash is looking more like albino (white) squash as the pests suck out the nutrients. I’d be sure and let my receiver(s) know what you are preparing to load rather than find out if they’ll accept it upon arrival!
Besides squash, the pests also are affecting cucumbers, bell peppers and grean beans. Sweet corn apparently isn’t being significantly hit. Lower yields will mean less product for hauling. Color of the fall vegetables also is being affected. Unfortunately, color and general appearance often receive as much emphasis as the quality of product in this cosmetic world.
South Georgia vegetables – grossing about $2200 to New York City.
Washington and Pennsylvania apple shippers are filling the gap left by major crop losses in Michigan and New York. However, many Eastern growers who thought they would be shipping through the end of the year, probably will not as they run out of product. As a result, the demand for Washington apple loadings likely will increase sooner rather than later.
Apple volumes from Pennsylavania were up to 20 percent more than expected, given the severe crop shortages in New York and Michigan.
Avocado Shipments
More avocados will be crossing the border from Mexico in the USA in the months ahead for distribution by truck throughout North America.
Mexico, which is the largest supplier of Hass avocados to the USA market, prediciting record loads for the 2012-13 crop and expects to export a record volume of avocados to the USA market during the 2012-13 season.
Mexico, projected exports of Hass to the United States from July 2012 through June 2013 will total more than 918 million pounds, up from around 782 million pounds during the prior year.
The most active shipping period and biggest volumes will occur from between October-through-December (around 291 million pounds) and the January-through-March period (around 269 million pounds).
Blueberry Imports
Blueberry imports from Chile just continue to increase and should be available from various USA ports in coming weeks. The initial berries will be arriving via air shipments through the first half of December. But as volume picks up, most blueberries will arrive at USA port via boats. Biggest volume arrivals should be during January and February.
Lower Rio Grande Valley (Mexican crossings of citrus, fruit, veggies, avocados, etc. – grossing about $2200 to Chicago.
Washington apples – about $6000 to New York City.
Potato haulers should find the quality of Maine’s potato crop this year to be the best in a number of years. Last year, growers were plagued with too much water and a disease known as blight.
The Maine potato harvest was recently completed, which is always a race against finishing before the first hard freeze, which damage spuds remaining in the ground. The majority of the state’s spuds are shipped throughout New England, the northeast and as far south as the mid-Atlantic states.
55,000 acres of Maine potatoes were harvested this year. This is small in comparison the nation’s biggest shipper. Idaho has increased its acreage by 25,000 every year for the past several years. This year, the state is reporting 345,000 acres. In 2011, it planted 320,000, and in 2010 it had 295,000 acres.
Idaho has increased in just two years the equivalent of the entire state of Maine’s production.
By comparison, Wisconsin has 63,000 acres, Colorado and Maine are at 55,000, Minnesota 51,000, Michigan at 46,000, Oregon has 41,000, and New York 17,000 acres.
Added together, these states tally 332,000 acres, 13,000 less than Idaho alone produces.
Most of Maine’s potatoes are grown and shipped from Aroostock County, the state’s largest county. It is the northern most county in the state and has a population of 71,482 as of 2011. In the Native American language it means “beautiful language” and is aptly nicknamed The Crown of Maine, in part because of its location.
The potato is northern Maine’s primary agricultural product and in the 1940s Maine’s potato production was tops in the nation. By 1994 however, Maine had fallen to the eighth ranked potato producer and the seventh in the number of acres devoted to potato cultivation in the United States.
The number of acres of farm land devoted to potatoes has decreased in recent years because of rotational crops, conservation and fewer farmers. However, in the year 2000, Maine grew 63,000 acres of potatoes and nearly 90 percent of that was in Aroostook County.
California orange shipments should hit 59.5 million cartons this season, up from 57.5 million boxes a year ago. The increase in available loads will be from early and midseason navels. Valencia shipments, which will come next year as the navel season is ending, should experience a slight decline.
Shipments of California lemons is predicted to remain about the same as last year.
This year’s California navel orange crop, estimated at 93 million cartons, should be slightly larger than last year’s estimated 89 million cartons.
Shipments navel shipmens should begin in early November, with good loading opportunities arriving around the middle of the month.
The fresh produce industry has a history of becoming too anxious to get started shipping – and in fact some shipper take pride in being the first to ship a vegetable or fruit from their district. The problem lies in the fact that too often produce is shipped before it is mature as the shipper seeks to get in on a high market. Cudos to the California citrus growers. In an effort to provide end users with a better-eating piece of fruit than in past years, the state’s growers have agreed to implement what they’re calling the California Standard.
That means some growers may have to hold onto their fruit a bit longer than usual until it meets a specific maturity — and taste — standard.
Not only should this mean more pleased consumers — consumer that will more likely make repeat purchases — but it could also reduce claims and deductions at the receiving end.
Arizona lemon shipments are expected to nearly double from 800,000 cartons to 1.7 million cartons.
Loading opportunities with Florida citrus will be up slightly from a year ago, following the trend of two other major citrus shipping states, California and Texas.
Overall orange shipments in Florida, which goes primarily to processors, is expected to increase four percent, from 206.2 million boxes to 214.9 million boxes.
The USDA predicts Florida loads to see only a slight increase, with the differnce coming in white grapefruit. However, a majority of grapefruit is for the fresh market.
Florida’s speciality citrus production is predicted to fall by seven percent for early-season and the later-season honey tangerines.
Overall Florida fresh produce shipments are entering the slowest time of the year. Good volume normally doesn’t return until late March or April when the spring mixed vegetable season cranks up.
As for USA citrus loading opportunities, the USDA sees a national increase for the fast approaching season. Overall USA citrus shipments are forecast to increase this upcoming season on all varieties except for Florida tangerines, California valencias and Texas oranges, which all are predicted to see slight declines. California’s main citrus volume is with navel oranges, while Texas typically ships a lot more grapefruit than oranges from the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
The USDA predicts the USA will increase overall citrus volume from last season’s 272.4 million equivalent cartons to 284.3 million equivalent cartons this year, a 4.2 percent hike.
Early, midseason and navel oranges are forecast to remain the same from last season, and late-season valencias are expected to increase from last season’s 73 million boxes to 80 million boxes this year.