Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
Since California rates shot upward on June 4th by $1000 dollars or more from 
California to the midwest and east coast, rates have pretty much maintained that level (around $6000 to Chicago and about $9000 to the east coast). Now the question is whether loads for the 4th of July holiday will take another jump. Since the 4th falls on a Wednesday, there are differing opinions whether rates will go any higher, as opposed to if the holiday fell on, say a Monday or a Friday, making for a long holiday weekend.
In California’s Westside District of the San Joaquin Valley, cantaloupe and honeydew shipments will be starting around Independence Day. Normal shipments are expected, although there’s plenty of apprehension among some melon shippers over the ramifications of the cantaloupe listeria outbreak last year with Rocky Ford region cantaloupe in Colorado. That outbreak adversely affected cantaloupe shipments for other production areas as many consumers stopped buying melons.
In Southern California, record shipments of avocados continue. The region is shipping about 30 million pounds of avocados weekly to points around the USA, with a total for the season expected to hit 415 million pounds!….California cherry loads from the Lodi-Stockton area will be winding down within the next week or so, which will end with a record of around 23 million boxes, up 3 million boxes from the amount shipped a year ago.
Meanwhile, there’s heavy volume with vegetables coming out of the Salinas Valley, and increasing stone fruit shipments from the San Joaquin Valley.
San Joaquin Valley stone fruit – about $5500 to Chicago.
Salinas Valley vegetables/Watsonville strawberries – around $9200 to Boston, and can be a few hundred dollars higher or lower depending upon the day of the week, demand for trucks, etc.
Ohio ships a substaintable amount of vegetables during the summer and fall 
and volume is increasing. The Buckeye state has several major farming operations scattered around different regions shipping dozens of different types of vegetables ranging from squash to bell peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and beans.
Although shipments have started on some items, Ohio cranks up in July.
For example, cabbage and snap bean shipments area just starting, while items such as potatoes and sweet corn will get going by mid July.
The single most active area in the state with a handful of large shippers providing the most shipments, is located in central Ohio around small communities such as Willard and Plymouth.
However, there’s at least one significant vegetable shipping operation just Southwest of Akron in the eastern part of the state — at Hartville. There’s also a couple of vegetable operations in Northwest Ohio, not that far south of Detroit, MI – in towns such as Napoleon and Alvordton, OH.
We are quickly approaching time for shipments of produce for the Fourth of 
July holiday. Since Independence Day falls on a Wednesday, a lot of consumers will only have that one day off work, although many do tie extra days off around the holiday.
But to help you try and plan your schedule so you can be home for the holiday, here’s a look at some shipping areas that will be pretty active a week or so before the Fourth, hopefully increasing your chances for faster loadings, transits and getting to your destination.
In the West, the Watsonville district will be the only California area shipping strawberries, but it good volume. The nearby Salinas Valley should be rockin’ with plenty of vegetable loads. The same goes for the San Joaquin Valley shipping stone fruit and vegetables.
In Washington, the eastern part of the state has moderate volume with blueberries, but better volume will be coming from Yakima and Wenatchee with late season apples from storage, as well as with cherries, with loadings at a peak.
At Nogales, watermelons from Mexico crossing the border have more than doubled over the past decade. Yet, loading opportunities are being limited, depending upon with whom one talks, because of the escalating drug cartel violence south of the border.
In Michigan, decent blueberry shipments are expected for the Fourth of July, plus vegetable volume is increasing.
New Jersey blueberry shipments will be supplying most Eastern markets for Independence Day. The state also is shipping vegetables.
In the Southeast, Georgia continues with Vidalia onions, Ft. Valley area peaches and vegetables from the central and southern part of the state.
Overall Florida produce shipments are down subtantailly by this time of the year, but Belle Glade is shipping a lot of sweet corn.
California rates to the East Coast topped $9000 this week, at least from the Salinas Valley, where vegetable volume is really cranking up, plus 
there is building volume with the nearby Watsonville district strawberries and other berries. Rates also have increased from other regions of California, ranging from the San Joaquin Valley, to Santa Maria and in the Southern part of the state. Truck supplies have definately tightened up, but so far, my sources are reporting you can get a truck, if you’re willing to pay for it.
In Arizona, rates remain strong as Mexican melons and table grapes are moving in good volume across the border into the USA.
If for some reason, you are stuck in New Mexico, the new crop of storage onions from the Southern part of the state are now being shipped. Rates are usually less on onions with a significant factor being you can haul them on flatbeds and other non-refrigerated equipment.
Texas remains active for produce loads, in large part thanks to Mexico. There are a variety of Mexican vegetables and tropical fruit crossing into South Texas. The Lower Rio Grande Valley is shipping watermelons, although weather troubles has reduced loading opportunities there. The Winter Garden District, just south of San Antonio is loading onions.
Salinas Valley vegetables, Watsonville berries – grossing about $9000 and more to Boston.
San Joaquin Valley stone fruit – about $4000 to Atlanta.
Nogales melons and grapes – about $5000 to Chicago.
New Mexico onions – $3000 to Chicago.
Texas produce – $3000 to Atlanta.
I arrived in Chicago yesterday (June 4) and the talk both with people in trucking and in the produce industry was the rates had shot up $1,000 on 
loads from California to Chicago. There sure was a lot of complaining from produce companies, but big smiles on the folks in transportation. It should come as no surprise to anyone. It happens around June 1st every year as produce spring shipments increase and refrigerated equipment comes into short supply, although trucks seemed to be available, if you were willing the pay the price.
The down side to the rising produce rates, is, as every year, the westbound dry freight rate are awful. Dry freight from Chicago and the Midwest is grossing only $2400 to $2500 to the West Coast — and some of it is even cheaper. That may pay for the number 2 diesel, but it’s not going to cover the cost of the driver, or the truck.
Another downside is be wary of companies with which you may not be familiar. Some receivers will look for any little thing to make a deduction from your load. I’m talking about things as petty, for example, as the product in your trailer being one degree off the recommended pulp temperture. That $1000 extra you thought you were making with the rising rates, isn’t going to look near as good when you are paid, if you face a deduction of $200, $300, $400 or more.
As of today, here’s what some loads are paying coming into Chicago.
From California to Chicago:
6 pick ups, five drops, grossing $7,000
5 pick ups, one drop, grossing $6400 (Think I’d take the next load instead, see the next one listed!)
Fresno, 1 pick up, 1 drop $6400
Nogales melons and grapes – $5000 to Chicago
West Texas (90 miles north of Laredo), potatoes – $2400 to $2500 to Chicago.
By Bill Martin
Special thanks to Eclipse Dist., Elburn, IL for the rate information.
Central Florida potatoes – $3000 to Chicago.
Supplies of refrigerated trucking equipment continue to tighten as spring 
produce volume continues to increase, and is being reflected in rates, which are rising.
The pressure to increased rates on produce loads, as usual, is being led by California. More specifically, the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys continue to build in volume. In the San Joqauin Valley, even though an April hail storm knocked out about 15 percent of the stone fruit crop, there will still be around 40 million boxes of peaches, plums and nectarines for hauling this season. The valley also has a lot of vegetables, which doesn’t even include grape shipments that won’t begin until July.
In New Mexico, one normally doesn’t think of produce loads. But if you are in the area, onion shipments are in light volume the Hatch (Las Cruces) area.
Peach shipments from the Ft. Valley, GA area are moving in decent volume, although loadings for the overall season are forecast to be down about one-third. Shipments are expected to finish in late July, a couple of weeks earlier than normal…..South Carolina peach shipments have started and should continue into August.
Georgia peaches – grossing about $2600 to Baltimore.
$8000-plus loads from Salinas to New York City are becoming more common.
As more information becomes available on the prospects for the nation’s apple shipments, which 
get underway in August for the 2012-13 shipping season, it’s becoming apparent there should be record setting loading opportunities for apple haulers out of Washington state.
The reasons are two-fold. First, Washington is on course to pick, pack and ship 120 million boxes of apples in the upcoming season, which would be nearly 7 million more boxes than the season which will close in the coming weeks. Secondly, an April freeze clobbered upcoming crops in Michigan, parts of New York state and in Ontario. This means apple buyers who normally source the fruit from these areas will be relying on Washington state more than ever. In a normal year, Washington state accounts for about 60 percent of the USA’s apple shipments.
Apple volume is expected to remain more normal for the upcoming season from the Mid Atlantic states, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virgina, as well as from the New England states. This holds true as well for New York’s Hudson and Champlian valleys. However, central and western New York apple shippers were not near as lucky during the April freeze.
Washington state apples – grossing about $6200 to Orlando.
Produce shipments from New Jerseyhave been occuring in limited volume since 
March, with items ranging from lettuce, leafy greens, herbs, flat parsely, cilantro, spinach, leeks and radishes. As we enter the summer season volume will pick up significantly for other types of vegetables, especially from the southern area of the state.
Green beans are just starting. Other vegetable loadings will get underway in June and July with bell peppers, cucumbers and squash. Sweet corn loadings kick in around the second week of July. Cabbage shipments recently started.
The Garden state also is one of the larger shippers of peaches and blueberries. Blueberries become available the first week of June, while peaches will get underway around the 4th of July.
Most New Jersey produce items are either starting on time, or a week or so early.
Supplies of refrigerated equipment from shipping areas c0ast-to-coast 
continue to tighten as seasonal fresh fruit and vegetable volume rises. The result is buyers of produce are being forced to pay higher freight rates and truckers now have the upper hand in rate negotiations.
Truck supplies are especially short in California, Nogales, South Texas and in Florida.
The truck supply situation will continue, and worsen, after Memorial Day as receivers replenish supplies.
California hasn’t even got cranked up yet with produce shipments, although they are certainly getting there. If you are a produce hauler, let the good times roll.
The week of May 21st there were already a few loads out Southern California, Santa Maria, as well as the Salinas and San Joaquin valleys topping $8000 to places like New York and Boston.
In Arizona, rates for Mexican grapes crossing the border at Nogales, increased the past week by double digits. The most extreme example was a 30-plus percent hike in rates to Dallas.
Speaking of Texas, strong demand for reefer loads out of the Lower Rio Grande Valley continues. There’s a lot of watermelons and other Mexican fruits and veggies coming into the USA.
In Florida, rates have been all over the board — especially for hauling red potatoes. If you hit it right when truck supplies are really short, you could gross $2000 MORE on a load to the Northeast. Most of the state’s watermelon shipments are coming from areas north of Orlando, with shipments now coming from Georgia.
Salinas Valley vegetables- grossing about $8200 to Boston with some loads higher.
Mexican grapes from Nogales – about $3400 to Dallas.
South Texas produce – about $5500 to Boston.
Florida potatoes – anywhere from $3000 to $5000 to New York.
While many Florida veggies, such as pepper and squash shipments are 
seasonally finished, items ranging from potatoes to tomatoes and watermelons are moving in good volume. Heaviest volume out of Florida is now with central area watermelons, which is approaching 2,000 loads per week. There’s moderate volume with tomatoes, followed by potatoes. But in the overall scheme of things, Florida produce volume is in a seasonal decline.
Georgia is entering perhaps its most active time of the year for produce loads. There’s light volume in the Southern part of the state with blueberries, and heavier tonnage coming from mixed vegetables….About 400 truckloads of Vidalia sweet onions are being shipped weekly. In the Ft. Valley area, Georgia peach hauls are limited, resulting in a lot of multi drop loads as the season hasn’t really kicked in yet and shippers are trying to please as many customers as possible.. But come June that will change rapidly and more straight loads of peaches will become available.
South Carolina peach loadings are only a few days behind those in Georgia.
Georgia vegetables – grossing about $2600 to Chicago.
Florida watermelons – about $4200 to New York City.