Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
Volume and shipments continue to seasonally build in California, resulting in 
more demand for refrigerated equipment. This means rising freight rates, which have increased five to 10 percent and more recently.
There will be huge increase in avocado shipments this year — as much as 25 percent more out of Southern California. Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican festival widely celebrated in the U.S. May 5 will mean big shipments of the fruit. The amount of avocados shipped to U.S. markets with be split about evenly from those loaded in California, and with avocado border crossings from Mexico. Southern California also will be loading berries and citrus.
Various types of lettuce shipments are increasing from the Huron District in the San Joaquin Valley. Broccoli and cauliflower loadings have started from the Salinas Valley. Light volume with strawberries, broccoli and cauliflower has got underway from Santa Maria.
There have actually been a few $7000 freight rates from California to the East Coast. It’s going to be interesting in another month of so to see how high freight rates have risen as produce volume and demand for refrigerated equipment builds.
Southern California produce – grossing about $6700 to Boston.
NOTE: Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of a much smaller, less trained Mexican military unit that defeated the French in battle in 1862.
Texas is among the top one-half dozen states when it comes to fresh produce 
shipments. Although it has lost acreage and production over the years as more growing operations were shifted to Mexico, the Lone Star State still remains an important piece in the nation’s food supply chain. Although the production/acrerage may not necessarily increase in coming years, the amount of produce coming in from Mexico should increase significantly starting in 2013 with the completion of a Mexican highway connecting production areas in Western Mexico with the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Onion shipments have started from South Texas, which is the state’s leading vegetable item in volume, coming off of 20,000 acres. Other leading veggies from the state is cabbage, carrots and spinach, although there’s dozens of other veggies.
However, there were heavy rains and hail in Hidalgo County on March 29th, and we’re still waiting on damage assessments to see how much truck loadings will be affected. This includes another big item from Texas, watermelons. The good news is hail storms are usually localized, meaning some fields may have been hit, while others may escape damage altogether.
By the end of this year, a 143-mile cross-continental highway known as the Autopista Durango-Mazatlan is scheduled for completion. It will reduce travel time from West Mexican growing regions to ports in Texas. This won’t mean the closing or reduced importance of the major Mexican crossing at Nogales, AZ. It could mean more loading opportunities for U.S. truckers for Mexican produce crossing the border into the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Texas vegetables grossing – about $2500 to Atlanta.
I’m in Central and Southern Georgia this week checking out everything from peaches, to vegetable and pecan shipments for 2012.
As with much of the country, it has been a mild winter in the south, which is resulting in crops — and shipments occurring one to two weeks earlier than normal.
The Georgia peach harvest should kick off around May 8 – 10, with shipments by truck picking up by mid-May. Georgia is the third largest shipper of peaches in the nation, behind California and South Carolina. Georgia ships about two million boxes of peaches in an average year.
As for vegetables, I was standing in a field of kale that was being harvested yesterday and the field foreman said kale will be shipping for another six months. Similar accounts can be said for many other vegetables as Georgia will be shipping good volume through the summer and into the fall.
Georgia Greens from the southern areas of Georgia – grossing about $2800 to New York City.
Very light shipments of California lettuce got underway last week from the 
Huron District of the San Joaquin Valley. Shipments are increasing this week, but full volume isn’t expected until around Easter (April 8). Lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower shipments from the Imperial Valley and Yuma District are finished.
Broccoli and cauliflower shipments have now seasonally transitioned from the California and Arizona deserts to the Salinas Valley. Lettuce loadings should start from Salinas in late April.
Salinas vegetables – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
Overall, there should be excellent quality vegetables coming out of the Salinas Valley this spring due to excellent growing conditions. This should translate into a huge demand for trucks, especially as we enter May and the big volumes of veggies start coming out of the fields.
Produce shipments from the eastern portions of the United States continue to 
be seasonally light. Florida is still one of the better places for loading produce right now, although it’s biggest volume in spring shipments are still ahead of us. South Florida potato shipments continue to increase, but still are light. Tomatoes are among the volume leaders with about 750 truckloads a week. Plant City strawberry volume is in a seasonal decline. There’s also varying amounts of citrus and vegetables. Blueberries have started in light in volume, but increasing from Central and Northern Florida.
Central and Southern Georgia has light volume with mixed greens…North Carolina sweet potatoes continue steady shipments. The state has 65,000 acres of sweet potatoes and ships about 50 percent the volume in the United States.
Truck availability has been tightening some in North Carolina and Florida, with rates from Florida showing a little strength.
New York state has light to moderate shipments of apples and cabbage from Western and Central areas. Apples addionally are being shipped from the Hudson Valley. The Empire State also is loading about 150 truckloads of storage onions per week, primarily from Orange County. Of course, apples, cabbage and onions are not compatible on the same load and can result in quality issues due to oder absorption, etc., especially on longer hauls.
New York cabbage is grossing – about $200o to Boston.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – about $2750 to Boston.
Florida vegetables – about$3000 to New York City.
Supplies of refrigerated equipment are tightening for hauling Lower Rio 
Grande Valley produce, as well as Mexico fresh products crossing the border into Texas. This has resulted in some relatively small rate increases. Everything from grapefruit, oranges, greens, and cabbage, among other items are being hauled out of South Texas to various U.S. destinations.
There continues to be steady movement of Colorado potatoes out of the San Luis Valley…..The same goes for Michigan apples from the Western part of the state.
In the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota shipments of red potatoes have recently increased by about 15 percent. Most of this season, loadings have been below those of a year ago. However, increased demand should keep shipments above 2011 levels through the spring and into the summer. No significant rate increases have been reported.
Grand Forks, ND red potatoes shipments – grossing about $3900 to Philadelphia.
Colorado russet potatoes – about $1600 to Dallas.
Michigan apples – $2000 to Houston.
South Texas produce – $3000 to Chicago.
March can be one of the more frustrating months if you haul fresh produce. 
We are getting there, but certainly haven’t arrived. Several major shipping areas are starting to wind down, while others are still trying to ramp up with spring volume. A great example is in the West. Winter shipments of lettuce and other veggies from the deserts of Arizona and California provide loading opportunities during the winter, but are entering a transition period, where shipments will be moving northward to the Huron area of the San Joaquin Valley, following closely by Salinas. There’s now light volume with vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower from Santa Maria and Ventura County. Strawberry volume in Southern California is ramping up, but certainly not there yet.
Florida is similar in that vegetable volume is increasing, but won’t be hitting seasonal numbers until early April.
The steady, more consistent shipments are with hardware items ranging from apples, pears, onions and potatoes from the Northwest, potatoes from Colorado and Wisconsin; sweet potatoes out of Lousiana, Mississippi and the leader — North Carolina.
By this time next month we should be seeing significant increases in loading oppportunities, particularly from California and Florida, with rates rising accordingly.
Yakima Valley apples and pears grossing – about $5500 to Atlanta.
South Florida vegetables – about $2200 to Baltimore.
It’s still too early for decent loading opportunities out of Florida — while we’re still another two to three weeks away from significant volume, particularly with vegetables. Yet, the Sunshine state is better now than it was only a few weeks ago when it comes to finding a load.
From South Florida, about 250 truckloads of red potatoes are being loaded a week. There is even heavier volume with roma, mature green, cherry and grape tomatoes coming out of the Southern areas of Florida….The Plant City and Dover location near Tampa is shipping some of the most beautiful and tasty strawberries you can image (I just bought this shown in photo today).
Central Florida produce shipments – grossing about $2300 to Chicago.
There are four percent more apples remaining in storages around 
the United States to be shipped, compared to this time a year ago. The vast majority of those apples will be shipped out of Washington state, although significant amounts will be loaded between now and late summer from Michigan and upstate New York.
The Yakima and Wenatchee Valleys in Washington are shipping about 2,500 truckload equivalents of apples weekly. By comparison, the Western region of Michigan is moving around 175 truckloads per week. New York state is averaging over 200 truckloads of apple shipments weekly, but keep in mind those numbers include loadings spread out from Eastern New York’s Hudson Valley to areas in the Central and Western portions of the state.
Light shipments are available from New England and the Applachian states.
Michigan apples are grossing – about $1000 to Chicago.
New York Hudson Valley – about $2400 to Atlanta.
Washington state – about $5800 to New York City.
Supplies of trucks from major produce shipping areas around the country appear to be mostly adequate.
One of the most active shipping areas has Mexican produce crossing the border at Nogales, AZ. Heavy volume of vine ripes, roma, plum and grape tomatoes are accounting for about 1,200 truckloads a week, and this doesn’t include many items ranging from melons and various kinds of vegetables.
From the San Luis Valley of Colorado, over 700 truckloads of potatoes are being shipped each week.
South Texas also has significant shipments of produce, whether talking about product moving from the Winter Garden District south of San Antonio (cabbage), or citrus and vegetables from the Lower Rio Grand Valley, not to mention good volume crossing the border from Mexico, ranging from onions and carrots to tropical fruits.
In the Northeast, potatoes loadings from the Presque Isle, ME area are exceeding 100 truckloads per week. Maine potatoes are grossing about $1700 to New York City.
Lower Rio Grande Valley produce – about $1700 to Chicago.
San Luis Valley potatoes – about $2700 to Atlanta.
Nogales produce – about $1200 to Los Angeles.