Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
California apple and pear shipments have started, joining bell peppers and host of other veggies, stone fruits and grapes being 
shipped. Across the country, summer produce shipments also are moving in good volume as well, although few can match the volume coming from California.
California apples for the new shipping season are under way from the San Joaquin Valley, while the new pear crop is providing loads from the San Joaquin Valley as well as the Sacramento District. Both items join a host of San Joaquin Valley produce items ranging from peaches, plums and nectarines to veggies such as sweet corn, and bell peppers, among others, as well as table grapes and melons.
Looking ahead to fall citrus shipments, California volume is forecast to be pretty normal. Mandarin loadings get underway by mid October, while navel oranges should start shipping in Novemember and continue through May 2013. The 2011-12 navel crop amounted to 88 million 40-pound cartons being shipped. The Valencia orange loadings are winding down and about 28 million cartons will have been shipped by the end of the season.
Michigan
Michigan is a leading shipper of blueberries, which are moving in good, steady volume. There’s also a wide array of vegetables such as sweet corn, bell peppers and squash being loaded on trucks.
New York
Cabbage loads are now coming out of Western and Central New York. Other vegetables will soon be available for hauling.
Eastern Shore
The tri-state area of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia have had a good growing season and steady shipments of vegetables and melons are now occurring.
Eastern Shore produce is grossing – about $1700 to Chicago.
Michigan produce – about $2700 New York and Hunts Point.
California’s San Joaquin Valley produce – about $7500 to New York City.
Golf ball sized hail hit some Wenachee Valley apple orchards July 20 causing 
severe damage, while other orchards escaped, or received only minor damage. The bottom line for apple haulers is what was expected to be bumper apple shipments for the 2012-13 season will be reduced. It is a matter of how much. This really won’t be known for several weeks.
Also keep in mind when you are loading new season apples from this area, some fruit could have minor “dings” and other damage. Just make sure appropriate parties with whom you are working that are associated with the haul are aware of it.
Hail storms often are pretty localized, so hopefully the overall damage won’t severely affect shipments for the new season. Washingon state has a huge apple crop, and loadings are expected to be brisk because of significant weather damage to Michigan and Ontario apples, and to a lesser extent some orchards in New York state….Meanwhile apples from the old crop continue to be shipped.
Washington state apples – grossing about $6000 to New York City and Hunts Point.
There have been some reports of “fringe burn” on lettuce being shipped out of 
California’s Salinas Valley. This results from an exceptionally windy summer where the leaves are damaged from the wind and debris that is blown. While all lettuces have been affected to a certain degree, it appears to be more prominent with romaine and romaine hearts.
Otherwise, the Salinas Valley has had great weather this summer, with many days being under 70 degrees F. This is quite a difference from the “roasting” much of the USA is experiencing. Just take a little extra time inspecting the lettuce being loaded on your truck, and make sure your receiver(s) know what is being delivered and have any defect information written on the bill of lading.
There also are reports of some large Iceberg lettuce that is overripe. This occurs when product is left in the fields too long before harvesting.
Berries
California continues on track for possible record shipments of strawberries. The state has been running about 13 million trays ahead of this same period a year ago. The record is 181.3 million trays. The heaviest volume of a long season for shipping California strawberries is coming to a close. Shipments typically decline in August and into the fall.
Once again, here is a reminder to be extra cautious if you are hauling highly perishable berries this time of year, because of the extreme heat occuring in many parts of the USA. Please check out the in transit warming information on the TransFresh ads found on this website.
Besides strawberries out of the Watsonsville district, California also is shipping raspberries and blackberries. There should be decent supplies for hauling over at least the next couple of months.
Salinas Valley produce – grossing about $5500 to Cleveland.
Most fruit and vegetable rates are paying significantly more than rates on 
potatoes and onions right now, but the difference in rates will be shrinking in the next several weeks as overall fruit and veggie volume seasonally declines and the spud and onion volume rises with the new crops.
There is over 1 million acres of potatoes planted in the USA for the crop that is now being harvested. That is 46,000 more acres than at this time a year ago! Translation: There’s a huge crop that will need to be transported to market – and the railroads can only haul a relatively small amount of it. That means plenty of hauling opportunties this fall, winter and next spring for truckers with refrigerated equipment.
The top nine states with the most potatoes in order of size are: Idaho, Washington, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan and Oregon.
Idaho, the USA’s biggest potato producer, will have a lot more potatoes for hauling this season.
Potato shipments from Washington and Oregon get underway in early August, with volume expected to be normal and about the same as a year ago. Washington has about 25,000 acres of spuds for the fresh market. The Umatilla-Hermiston potato volume may be down a little from last season. No big deal though.
In central Wisconsin, red, white, yellow and russet potato diggings have been underway and shipments begin when the old crop is all sold, or customers begin demanding fresh potatoes from the new season, over the old ones which have been in storages forever. The spuds becoming available will be more abundant than on average from the past five years.
Onions
Helping Western onion shipments was the early demise of the Vidalia, GA onion season. It has created bigger demand for onions in the West and demand for trucks from places such as Bakersfield, CA and from Southern New Mexico and the Pasco area of Washington state. Also, imported onions from Peru will begin arriving at USA ports in early August.
Idaho potatoes are grossing – about $4800 to New York City’s Hunts Point.
The Salinas and San Joaquin Valleys continue to provide your best loading 
opportunities in California.
Head lettuce may be producing the biggest volume from Salinas and is averaging around 1700 to 1800 truckload equivalents a week. However, there remains significant tonnage coming with other types of lettuce, as well broccoli, cauliflower, celery and many other items….The nearby Watsonville area is shipping a lot of strawberries….
The relentless heat baking much of the USA this summer makes it paramount you take precautions to protect your load (check out the TransFresh ad on this website that provides “in-transit warming” information).
The Santa Maria district has much lighter volume than Salinas, but it also is shipping many of the same vegetables.
The San Joaquin Valley has both fruits and vegetable loadings occurring from many areas. In the central valley around 500 to 600 truckload equivalents of mature green tomatoes are being shipped each week….Table grape loadings continue on pace to what could be record shipments this year, with heaviest volume currently coming from the Arvin and Delano areas.
Shipments from the California desert of cantaloupe (and some other items) has mercifully come to an end as some product was looking pretty rough at the end of the season.
California supplies for refrigerated equipment generally remain adequate, but you shouldn’t face signficant delays for loads in most cases because of the seasonal volume.
Salinas vegetables are grossing – about $7700 to Hunts Point in New York City.
San Joaquin Valley fruits and vegetables – about $5000 to Chicago.
New York ranks among the top five states in shipments of fresh fruits and 
vegetables. Produce shippers are located in many different regions of the state. Since New York is over 300 miles wide from East to West this covers a lot of territory. We’ll be covering apples soon, but right now we’ll focus on vegetable shipments, which are underway.
For example items are available for hauling such as cabbage, beans, squash, cucumbers and potatoes from shippers in the Rochester, as well as Buffalo, NY areas. Such operations are located near small agriculture communities such as Elba located just west of Rochester, as well as Marion just east of Rochester, and Eden found south of Buffalo.
Cabbage is a big item near the towns of Holley and Stanley, NY.
Orange County New York has a number of large onion shippers. Shipments are expected to get underway around the third week of August.
A primary destination for New York produce shipments, of course, is the Hunts Point Terminal Wholesale Market in New York City, although loads are also destined to a number of other major cities ranging from Boston to Philadelphia and Atlanta, among others.
Since a significant rise in early June of rates for hauling fresh produce from 
some major shipping areas — particuarly the west coast, it has been a pretty quiet summer as rates have remained relatively stable, and few serious truck shortages have occurred.
While some produce items may have record shipments this year, such as California grapes and Washington state cherries, other areas ranging from Michigan fruit to South Texas vegetables, as well as California stone fruit, have taken some hits from the weather. I’m sure there may be other factors involved ranging from more contract rates, which tend to provide more rate stability on a seasonal, if not a year around basis. The struggling economy, with a lot of pitfully low rates for dry freight, may have more carriers seeking higher paying produce loads, particularly this time of the year.
Nationally, here’s a glimpse at loading opportunities for fresh fruits and vegetables.
South Carolina peaches are still being shipped , primarily in an area located south and southeast of Columbia stretching to the Georgia state line. Speaking of Georgia, peach loadings are on their last leg and should be finished within a week as the latter part of the season had exceptionally light production. South Carolina won’t be far behind.
In South Texas, various citrus, tropical fruits and vegetables from Mexico continue crossing the border into the Lone Star State. They join lesser amounts of produce grown and shipped from the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Southern New Mexico continues to ship onions…..In Michigan, blueberries and various vegetables such as cucumbers and squash are providing loads.
In Idaho, the country’s largest potato shipper continues to provide hauls from the 2011-12 harvest. New product should become available for hauling next month.
In the Columbia Basin of Washington state, potato and onion loads remain available. An excellent crop of sweet cherries are now coming out of Washington’s Yakima and Wenachee valleys, along with late season apples. Shipments of Washington pears are virtually finished.
In California, the vast majority of produce shipments are now coming from shipping areas north of Interstate 10.
Salinas Valley vegetables are generally grossing – about $7700 to New York City.
Washington states potatoes and onions from the Columbia Basin – about $3000 to Chicago.
South Carolina peaches – about $3400 to Boston.
Georgia peaches – $3300 to New York City.
Colorado is the fourth leading shipper of onions by volume in the USA, and 
loadings not only with onions, but other vegetables begin this month from the northeastern part of the state.]
In the San Luis Valley, which at an elevation of 7,600 feet, is the highest and largest commerical agricultural valley in the world, potatoes from the 2011-12 season should be finishing up soon, just in time from the new crop of russets to get started. Colorado ranks in the top 10 among potato shipping states.
The Rocky Ford area of Colorado has started shipping cantaloupe, but loading opportunities will be off a whopping 70 percent this season. Much less acreage was planted following the disasterious 2011 season where a food borne illness – listeria – killed 32 people, plus sickened nearly 150 people in 28 states. Only about 180,000 cartons of Colorado cantaloupes are forecast to be shipped, and distribution will not be nationwide this year, as in the past.
San Luis Valley potatoes – grossing about $1600 to Dallas.
Truckers wanting to find a load in the mid-west for delivery to the West Coast 
in order to take advantage of attractive eastbound produce rates are finding it difficult. Even when a load is obtained, the westbound freight rates are horribly low.
Obtaining produce loads in the Central USA somewhere between the Canadian and Mexican borders isn’t necessarily easy, but here’s some of the best opportunities.
Watermelons may not be your favorite items for hauling, particularly if you’re stuck alongside some field waiting for enough product to be harvested to fill your trailer. Additionally unloading charges are something you have to be keenly aware of, because they can be pretty darn steep, especially if the melons are loaded in bulk, and not in bins placed on pallets.
Watermelons shipments are occuring everywhere from South Texas, to Western Oklahoma, the bootheel of Southeastern Missouri, and from Southwest Indiana and Southeastern Illinois.
Mississippi is still shipping sweet potatoes, although loadings out of Louisiana are pretty done for the season.
In Michigan, blueberry shipments are gearing up, joining a number of vegetables which are already available.
Missouri watermelons are grossing – about $1500 to Atlanta.
Mississippi sweet potatoes, about $1200 to Atlanta.
Texas watermelons, about $1400 to Oklahoma City.
Produce loadings have seasonally moved northward, some by as much as 
three weeks earlier than normal.
A case in point is New Jersey where southern area vegetables have been ahead of schedule for weeks. Now it is peach loadings taking center stage. Jersey peaches started the third week of June, but do not normally get underway until around July 10th. The Garden State ranks fourth nationally in peach volume behind California, South Carolina and Georgia….New Jersey also is a leading shipper of blueberries, which are now moving in volume.
Watermelon loadings are available from the Charleston-Beaufort area of South Carolina…..North Carolina continues to ship sweet potatoes.
Florida has entered its deadest part of the year as far as produce is concerned, while the state of Georgia isn’t a whole lot better. Weather problems really hurt Georgia vegetable, blueberry and watermelon shipments this year. Vidalia onion volume has dwindled and the latter end of the Georgia peach shipping season is lighter than normal.
New Jersey blueberries – grossing about $2600 to Orlando.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – about $1750 to Philadelphia.