Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
I’ve recently returned from a produce show in Dallas and although freight rates on 
California produce loads have recently been steady, or in some cases declining a little, most people I’ve talked to (shippers, wholesalers, truck brokers, trucking companies) only see this as the calm before the storm. In coming weeks as volume builds throughout many California shipping districts, they are expecting rates to show significant increases. $9000 produce rates from the West Coast to the East Coast are expected to be common. Some would not be surprised if rates hit $10,000.
Here’s the outlook for loading opportunities on the huge volume of summer fruit that annually is shipped from California.
Strawberries – Mostly available right now out of Southern California and to a lesser degree from Santa Maria. Yet California ships 88 percent of the nation’s strawberries and it really cranks up in a few weeks when Watsonville starts shipping in volume.
Blueberries – These berries are now being loaded out of the Arvin district and as the season progresses will move northward in the San Joaquin Valley to Delano and Kingsburg. California expects to ship 15 to 20 million pounds of “blues” this year.
Melons – watermelon and honeydew from the Bakersfield area kicks off in mid-June, followed by cantaloupes around July 1st.
Stone Fruit – It was in 2008 around 60-million 25-pound cartons of peaches, plums and nectarines were shipped, but last year loadings were down to an estimated 47 million cartons. Don’t expect anymore this year. California has been shipping too much stone fruit that doesn’t taste very good, and are replacing some orchards with improved varieties….Cherries are a different story. Californians know how to grow good tasting cherries! This year the state should be loading decent volumes of cherries by the third week of May. Shipments should be in the 8 to 10-million box range; 12-million boxes in the unlikely event perfect weather continues.
Table Grapes – The Coachella Valley is currently shipping grapes and will continue through June. Shipments will then transition to the Arvin/Bakersfield district, where the huge volume will begin and gradually moves northward through the San Joaquin Valley. California may have record shipments this year, and top 100-million boxes for the first time.
Apples – California isn’t really known for apple shipments as it is dwarfed by Washington state. However, it does have 16,000 acres of orchards and available loads should be similar to last year. Shipments of the gala variety begins in late July and runs through mid-September. This variety will be followed by granny smiths in August and and fujis in September and cripps pink in October.
Oranges – The 75-million-plus cartons of navels are pretty much history for this year, while smaller loadings of valencias are now being shipped. About 28 million, 40-pound boxes of valencias should be shipped.
Going from East to West with U.S. produce shipping areas, in Florida I’m not sure why 
rates are little, if any more to Boston than to New York City. Afterall, you’ve got another 200 miles to Boston from Florida. Of course, Boston traditionally offers fewer return loads. So if you can gross $3600 to New York, surely a load of Florida vegetables, melons etc. should be getting close to $4000.
Southern Georgia shipments are cranking up with peppers, squash, greens and cabbage, while Southeastern Georgia Vidalia onions are in full shipping mode. Overall, expect Vidalia onion loadings to be off 20 to 30 percent this season due to disease.
In South Texas, sweet onion shipments are two to three weeks ahead of schedule and should be pretty much finished around May 10th. The Lower Rio Grande Valley also is loading items ranging from citrus, to beets, greens, cabbage, etc.
There are steady shipments of Idaho potatoes — grossing about $4200 to Atlanta.
The same holds for storage onions from the Idaho and Malhuer County, Oregon region — grossing about $5400 to Baltimore.
South Texas produce – about $2800 to Los Angeles.
Vidalia, GA onions – about $2600 to Chicago.
Whether talking the desert areas of the Imperial or Coachella Valleys, or 
Southern California to Ventura County, Bakersfield, and on to Santa Maria and Salinas, produce is being shipped. Granted, not all the areas are in full harvest, but shipping areas are abundant. It will only get better for produce haulers in the weeks ahead as demand for refrigerated equipment increases and rates climb accordingly.
In the desert, you’ll find bell peppers, beans and sweet corn in both the Imperial Valley and the Coachella Valley. Cantaloupe loadings begin in a couple of weeks or so. Also, the Coachella Valley ships the first domestic grapes in the U.S. each year. Coachella grape loadings will begin a week to 10 days earlier than normal this year — around the first week of May. Loadings should continue through June, with about 9 million cartons forecast.
California cherry shipments begin from the central and south areas of the San Joaquin Valley the first half of May, but expect shipments to be lighter than normal. Heaviest cherry loading opportunities come with the later bing cherry variety from the Stockton-Linden-Lodi area. Overall, unless Mother Nature does a whack job on these perishable beauties, California should ship 8.5 to 9 million boxes of cherries, the most in a decade!
California desert vegetables – grossing about $7200 to New York City.
Produce shipments from the Huron District in the San Joaquin Valley, as well 
as loads out of the Salinas Valley have returned to normal following disruptions due to rain. The seasonal transition of the lettuce harvest and loadings out of Huron are quickly shifting from Huron to Salinas. Volume is building from the Salinas Valley, not only with lettuce, but other vegetables, and should become heavy in May.
Here’s an update on San Joaquin Valley stone fruit shipments that get underway soon. Both peaches and nectarines usally start by late April, with plums coming on in May. Expect peach and nectarine loading opportunities this season to be off 20 percent due to hail. There was a 20-mile-long swath of the storm cutting through from Southwest of Kingsburg going east to south of Dinuba and Reedly. Shippers with stone fruit orchards you may load with in this area were adversely affected the most.
Looking ahead to the Bakersfield, Kern County shipping area, potato shipping will get underway the second week of May with red, yellow and russet spuds. This will be followed by watermelon loads becoming available in early June, while table grape shipments get started in early July…..Meanwhile steady shipments of carrots are continuing from this area.
Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $7000 to New York City.
Supplies of refrigerated a equipment are tightening some as we get further into 
spring. How big a shortage of trucks for hauling produce will be this year will start to reveal itself in the weeks ahead and should be really interesting by late May and onward through the summer.
In Florida, blueberry loadings from Central and North Florida are now in good volume and hauls are available into June….Meanwhile, Georgia “blues” are right behind Florida. Good Georgia blueberry shipments should be available by next week….Back to Florida, rates for hauling watermelons out of the southern part of the state have jumped 20 percent in recent days. Vegetable volume from Florida continues to be heavy.
In South Texas, vegetables continue to be loaded, combined with a lot of veggies and tropical fruit from Mexico crossing the border into Texas. Cantaloupe shipments have started from the Rio Grande Valley. There’s still no overall damage reports on storm-hit watermelons in South Texas. There will be fewer loads, but who knows how much less? Loadings are light, but will be increasing and continue into mid-June.
In California, the Imperial Valley is quieter with the seasonal end of vegetable shipments. However, cantaloupe shipments will start in mid-May….About 300 truckload equivalents of carrots are being shipped weekly from the Bakersfield area.
Southern California continues to ship good volumes of avocados, strawberries and citrus…..The Santa Maria district, along with the Salinas Valley will become more active with produce shipments in the weeks ahead.
In Washington state, there are steady loadings of apples and pears from the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys.
Washington state apples and pears – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
Southern California produce – grossing about $5000 to Chicago.
South Texas produce – about $4800 to New York City.
South Florida veggies – about $3600 to New York City.
Southern California orange shipments have picked up as late season citrus 
quality has improved. Loading opportunities for navel oranges should continue through most of June…..Looking ahead to cherry shipments, loads will become available later this year than normal – with decent volume not occurring from the Southern San Joaquin Valley until the second or third week of May. Barring bad weather, California could ship 11 to 12 million cartons of cherries this year.
California is shipping about 1,000 truckloads of strawberries a week, with heaviest volume still coming out of Ventura County….Most lettuce loads are coming from of the Huron District in the San Joaquin Valley….Salinas has light volume with broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and other items, but is increasing and should really get going as we enter of the month of May.
Southern California produce – grossing about $6600 to New York City.
Fresh table grapes from Mexico should start crossing the Mexican-U.S. border
at Nogales, AZ within the next couple of weeks. Initial volume will be light, but will increase quickly. Beginning in early May there should be around 2.5 million cartons of grapes crossing the border weekly for distribution throughout the United States and Canada. This volume should continue until around the middle of June. From there it will start a seasonal decline with crossings ending in early July. In total, there should be around 15.5 to 16 million cartons of Mexican grapes cross the border.
As grape crossings increase, many of the spring vegetables from Mexico are decreasing.
Mexican veggies at Nogales – grossing about $2400 to Chicago.
California peach, plum and nectarine shipments, which were expected to start 
in a few weeks, will be reduced due to an April 11 hail storm. The affected area ranges from Hannaford to near Oros, with the Traver area hit hardest. Damage assessements and how much shipments will be affected are still being assessed…..Meanwhile, lettuce shipments continue from Huron in the San Joaquin Valley. Light to moderate vegetable loadings are taking place from Salinas.
In Florida, red potato loadings continue increasing from southern and central parts of the state. However, it is various spring vegetables still providing the most volume….The Sunshine state is still shipping citrus. Orange loadings should total 145 million boxes, up from 139 million a year ago. Florida grapefruit volume should hit 18.8 million boxes, up slightly from last year.
Steady shipments of Idaho potatoes continue, averaging about 1700 truckload equivalents per week.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $4000 to Atlanta.
California Huron area lettuce – grossing about $7000 to Boston.
Central Florida vegetables – about $2600 to Philadelphia.
Your best bets for getting quickly loaded these days are Southern California, South and Central Florida, as well as Nogales, AZ.
In Southern Cal, whether talking strawberries, oranges, avocados and some
vegetables, the best volume is here, although there’s increasing activity in the San Joaquin Valley, Salinas and Santa Maria….Mexican produce crossing the border at Nogales continues in brisk volume, although we’ll start seeing a seasonal decline the further we get into April. By late April or early May imports of grapes from Mexico will start taking center stage.
In Florida, volume will should follow a similar path of Mexican imports at Nogales. There are large variences in Florida produce rates depending on the area, and the commodities you are hauling, and to a certain extent when you are available to load and how bad the shipper needs a truck. For example rates to New York are varying anywhere from $3000 to $4000.
In south Texas, hail damage a couple of weeks ago wiped out 20 to 30 percent of the areas 10,000 acres of watermelons. Some onions also were hit, but not as much. The Lower Rio Grande Valley also is a big shipper of grapefruit and oranges. But it’s going to be awhile before we’ll know how much shipments starting next fall will be affected.
Nationally, three percent more apples remain in storages for shipping, with much of that fruit being in Washington state. Steady shipments should continue through the summer.
Yakima Valley, WA apples – grossing about $5700 to Pittsburgh.
South Texas veggies – about $1600 to Oklahoma City.
Central Florida veggies – about $3500 to New York City.
Southern California produce – about $5000 to Chicago.
Southern California continues to provide the best loading opportunities
although this will be gradually changing in the weeks ahead as volume from the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys continue to increase. Helping to bridge the transition is the Santa Maria area found between Ventura County and Salinas.
Although about three-fourths of California navel oranges have been shipped, loadings will continue until early July….Strawberry volume is building from Oxnard to Orange County and the San Diego areas. Much ligher strawberry volume is now coming out of Santa Maria. This district also is shipping light to moderate amounts of broccoli, cauliflower and a host of other vegetables.
Looking ahead, California peach shipments, as with so many other produce commodities, should get underway earlier than usual this year due to the mild winter and favorable spring. Initial San Joaquin Valley peach shipments should start in mid-May, but volume loadings are not expected until early June.
Southern California produce – grossing about $6800 to New York City. Rates often tend to show strength towards the end of the week as truck supplies are depleted.