Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
The Westside district of the San Joaquin Valley is now shipping cantaloupe 
and other melons. However, after the Colorado listera outbreak last season involving a number of consumer deaths from eating cantaloupe, sales across the USA were affected. As a result, even though California cantaloupes were not associated with the outbreak, shipments were impacted. As a result fewer Westside district acres were planted this season.
The early portion of what is expected to be record breaking table grape shipments from the San Joaquin Valley is building. Best volume is currently coming out of the Arvin district near Bakersfield. Within days however, there will be light volume of grapes available from as far north in the valley as Fresno and Tulare counties. Including the grapes from Coachella (which are finished), California could ship over 100 million, 19-pound cartons this season.
There’s also other items now being shipped such as tomatoes from the Tracy, CA area, and a number of vegetables from the Fresno area and other parts of the valley.
You may be surprised at the amount of onions California ships, with the heaviest volume coming out of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties. However, since you can haul onions in everything from flatbed trailers to dry vans, rates are significantly lower.
San Joaquin Valley onions – grossing about $5400 to New York City.
San Joaquin Valley fruit, veggies, melons – about $7500 to New York City.
Everything from peaches to apricots, cherries and blueberries will soon be in 
good volume out of the Pacific Northwest, ramping of loading opportunities for those with refrigerated equipment.
Washington state cherry shipments are underway and in peak volume, which should continue through July, with lighter loadings continuing into August. Record cherry shipments are being predicted. Apricots also are being shipped, continuing into the third week of July.
Shipments are expected to be significantly higher for Northwest peaches this season, compared to 2011. Peaches get underway the third week of July and should continue into October.
Oregon blueberry loads became available recently from the southern production areas of the state. Further north in the Williamette district, “blues” have just started.
The Yakima Valley of Washington state is still shipping some apples and pears from the 2011-2012 season.
Washington state fruit – grossing about $6400 to New York City.
During some summers when produce shipments are in peak volume, so much 
product needs to be moved, and the demand for refrigerated equipment is so great, that already high rates then go through roof. It certainly has not happened this summer, and if anything, produce rates declined leading up to the Fourth of July holiday. The Fourth, being on a Wednesday, is felt by some to lessening the impact on rates.
Rates from major some shipping areas, for example in California, dropped 5 to 10 percent and more from the San Joaquin Valley, Salinas Valley, and Santa Maria.
A number of factors apparently resulted in the lower, although still healthy produce rates. For example, stone fruit shipments out of the San Joaquin Valley are down this year, freeing up some equipment. Other areas are shipping a lot less produce than normal such as Michigan (with fruit) and many Southeastern (watermelons, bluesberries and vegetables) states and in the South (Texas watermelons and melons in loutheastern states).
Still, the heaviest produce volume, on a national basis, usually occurs between May and August – and that still holds true this year.
In California, table grape shipments are winding down in the Coachella Valley, but the big volume is yet to come – from the San Joaquin Valley. Grapes have started from the Arvin (Bakersfield) district….The Salinas Valley remains heavy with vegetables shipments.
Southeastern Arkansas is in peak loadings with tomatoes.
Kentucky and Tennessee are now shipping tomatoes, zucchi, strawberries and peppers. Most shipments are on a regional basis.
Although we usually don’t think too much about ports and imported produce this time of year, various ports around the U.S. are receiving summer citrus. for example, there are arrivals of navel oranges from Peru. There is various types of citrus arriving from South Africa, Argentina, and Uruguay.
San Joaquin Valley fruit and vegetables – grossing about $7,500 to New York City.
South Texas watermelons – $3000 to Chicago.
2012 may be a year many Michigan produce shippers will prefer to forget, not 
to mention for produce haulers who like to haul out of this state.
Your best opportunities this summer will be with Michigan vegetables, which have been mostly unaffected by adverse weather. Normal volume is seen and shipments will continue into the fall. Another plus is with blueberries. As a top shipper of “blues” in the country, Michigan blueberries are forecast at about 80 to 90 million pounds, which is pretty normal.
On the downside is with other fruit. Michigan ranks in the top five in apple shipments, but certainly will not this year. Very few new crop apples survivied the April freeze. Any apples you load in next few weeks will be the last remains from the 2011-12 season. The state’s cherry shipments were also clobbered by weather, with 85 to 90 percent of the cherries wiped out. Heavy hits also were suffered with the state’s peaches and grapes.
Vegetable shipments out of Ontario province are gearing up. Sweet corn gets 
underway the first half of July, quickly followed by bell peppers, zucchini, cabbage, beets and tomatoes.
Ontario’s apple shipments will be pretty much non existent this season due a devastating April freeze. Nearly half of the asparagus also was wiped out.
Some of the major vegetables shippers are located around Windham Centre, Scotland, Bradford and Oakland Ontario. Many shipments to the USA are to mid-western markets.
In Quebec province, apples were hit by the same storm that visited Ontario, but losses were not as severe. The province is now shipping vegetables ranging from celery, to cauliflower and broccoli.
While a majority of the shipments remain regional in Canadian, there are loads moving to New England and as far south as New York. The Canadian vegetables are made even more attractive to some Northeastern USA receivers because of the savings over freight rates from the West Coast
Normally we would see a bump in rates for hauling produce as the Fourth of 
July holiday approaches – when Independence Day falls on any day but Wednesday. This is not to say there will not be a increase in produce rates, but some observers are saying it may not be as high, or may not even occur this year for the holiday. Regardless, strong demand for refrigerated equipment will continue before and after the Fourth, and rates are expected to remain healthy in the coming weeks.
In Southeastern Arkansas, peak tomato shipments are continuing. While it has been an excellent growing season, triple digit temperatures have moved in. If the extreme heat continues the mid July conclusion to tomato shipments may happen even before that.
In Virginia, some are not aware the state ranks fourth nationally in tomato shipments, and 6th nationally in potato, apple and snap bean volume.
Moving to the Northwest, Washington state cherry shipments are in heavy volume. Loadings should continue until September and the state is on a course for record shipments.
In California, rates have had only minor fluctuations since early June. The Salinas Valley has lighter than usual volume with broccoli and cauliflower, plus lettuce shipments have been hampered as East Coast receivers took advantage of coastal shipping areas such as New Jersey, which started weeks earlier than normal. This put Eastern lettuce shipments on a collision coarse with West Coast lettuce shipments. Eastern receivers could save $7 to $8 per carton on lettuce, just on shipping costs, when they purchased eastern lettuce as opposed to that product from California.
Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $8500 to New York City
While 90 percent of Michigan apple shipments for the upcoming season were 
lost to freeze, the state should have more loads of blueberries this summer, plus a near normal volume with vegetables. Blueberries should be up over 10 percent from last year (81 million pounds is forecast). However, cherry shipments are pegged at only 1 million pounds, down over 70 percent from a year ago.
Otherwise, volume with vegetables have been increasing during June and should hit peak shipments in July. Veggies, which avoided the freeze damage to apples, started in early June with radishes and turnips. Since then various types of leafy lettuces, zucchini, and cabbage have become available. There also are greens and cilantro. Warm weather is expected to bring on grape and roma tomatoes in mid-July, followed by sweet corn in early August, two weeks or more earlier than usual.
As California table grape shipments will soon be starting from the San Joaquin 
Valley, it is a good two-week swing from a year ago, when the vineyards were 10 to 14 days later than normal. This year, the product is being shipped a few days earlier than normal – and two weeks or more earlier than in 2011. Projections call for 101.6 million, 19-pound boxes of California grapes to be shipped, up 4.5 million cartons from a year ago.
Stone fruit shipments are coming out of the Southern San Joaquin Valley in light to moderate volume and will pick up in volume quickly as the harvest moves northward. The Bakersfield area is shipping potatoes and carrots.
California cherry shipments from the northern part of the valley are winding down, as Washington state will soon take center stage with loads of cherries.
There are still grapes from Mexico and California’s Coachella Valley being shipped in volume. Those areas will still be providing loads into mid July.
One word of caution. There are reports of some red grapes from Coachella having splits, cracks and being low in color. Make sure whoever is paying the freight is aware of this situation before you load — and of course check for quality yourself at the loading dock.
Demand for trucks remains heavy from the Salinas Valley as many vegetables are in peak production. There’s also good volume with strawberries from the nearby Watsonville district. The Santa Maria area has lighter, but consistent movement with vegetables.
San Joaquin Valley stone fruit and vegetables – grossing about $8300 to Baltimore.
Bakersfield area carrots and potatoes – about $6800 to Atlanta.
Produce shipments on the East Coast are a mixed bag this year and some areas 
are shipping more normal volumes, with other areas doing less.
Shipments of New Jersey blueberries, along with vegetables continue to be loaded in normal volumes. Jersey peach loadings are ramping up and should be in peak volume soon, continuing through July.
Further south in the Mid-Altantic area, sometimes referred to as the Eastern Shore, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia are shipping a variety of vegetables, with more coming into play as we enter July. This area, however, has struggled over the years, as it tries to provide shipments during a gap between states to the south of it, and New Jersey to the north, which in theory is supposed to begin shipments when Delaware, Maryland and Virgina are finishing.
However, it’s a gamble every year and if the southern states are late coming in, or Jersey is early, the the Mid-Atlantic states tend to face poor markets, and fewer loading opportunities for produce haulers. As a result this area does not have as many shippers as it used to.
Meanwhile, there are fewer Georgia vegetables, Vidalia onions and peaches this year due to weather factors, although the vegetables were easily hit the hardest of the three.
Vidalia, Georgia onions – grossing about $3200 to New York City.
New Jersey blueberries – about $1800 to Boston.
Record shipments of highly perishables, but high rate paying cherries are 
getting underway from Washington state, along with apricots and onions, and joining the late season apples and pears.
Cherry loadings start in limited volume from the Yakima Valley, but tonnage quickly increases. 23 million boxes are forecast to be shipped from Washington state, which should break the previous record by 3 million cartons….Apricot loadings are close behind starting in mid June, with peak movement occurring the first half of July.
The Evergreen state continues to ship apples and pears from the 2011/12 season, and remains the heaviest volume for produce. About 1,750 truck load equivalents of apples and pears are being shipped weekly from the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys.
Onions from the Walla Walla Valley should get underway the week of June 18th. The Walla Walla onion shipping area is located in Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon. Primary shippers are located in or near Walla Walla, WA and Hermiston, OR.
Washington apples and pears – grossing about $6000 to Philadelphia.
NOTE: Apples, pears and apricots can be loaded on the same truck, but oder from the fruit can be absorbed by potatoes, onions and some other items. Source: TransFresh “Fresh Produce Mixer & Loading Guide.”