Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
The U.S. trucker shortage has become so severe companies are trying to recruit drivers from abroad more than ever.
The American Journal of Transportation reports the country has been struggling with a chronic lack of drivers for years, but the shortage reached crisis levels due to the pandemic.
Covid-19 simultaneously sent demand for shipped goods soaring while touching off a surge in early retirements.
Filling stations are facing gasoline outages, airports are short on jet fuel and lumber prices hit records with some suppliers partly blaming delivery delays.
Trucking has emerged as one of the most acute bottlenecks in the supply chain that has been hit quite hard amid the pandemic.
“We’re living through the worst driver shortage that we’ve seen in recent history, by far,” Jose Gomez-Urquiza, the chief executive officer of Visa Solutions told ajot.
As a result, demand for Visa Solutions’ services from the trucking industry has more than doubled since before the pandemic, and “this is 100% because of the driver shortage,” he said.
In July, a roundtable meeting was held with the trucking industry to discuss efforts to improve driver retention and reduce turnover.
Among the measures the industry is seeking is lowering the minimum age to 18 from 21 for interstate drivers and adding trucking to the list of industries that can bypass some of the Department of Labor’s immigration certification process.
Last year’s lockdowns also made it harder for new drivers to access commercial-trucking schools and get licensed.
Companies have offered higher wages, signing bonuses and increased benefits however, their efforts haven’t done enough to attract domestic workers to the industry.
In 2019, the U.S. was already short 60,000 drivers, according to the American Trucking Associations and that number is anticipated to swell to 100,000 by 2023, according to Bob Costello, chief economist Petroleum Marketing Group.
He also pointed out that there’s also a capacity shortage, or an unusually small number of trucks on the road, at the same time that demand has surged, he said.
“Even if there were drivers, there is a finite number of trucks at any moment in time, so you have two issues happening at once,” Fuller said.
Heat and humidity in July and early August has resulted in quality problems for iceberg, romaine and leaf lettuce in the Salinas Valley, and caution is recommended if you are loading these items.
Markon Cooperative of Salinas reports USDA inspectors have been seeing increased quality issues, particularly in romaine lettuce out of California’s Salinas Valley. A cycle of heat spikes followed by humid, overcast mornings over the past few weeks has been stressing the product and causing internal burn and fog burn in commodity and value-added products.
Markon notes iceberg and green leaf have also exhibited some defects, but romaine has been more affected.
Weather has been more stable recently and it is believed quality will improve, but there still could some sporadic issues in the days ahead.
Pro-Act of Monterey, CA also recently noted seeing some tip and fringe burn on romaine due to the high temperatures, but supplies remains strong.
Common defects reported with iceberg include puffiness, pink discoloration and ribbing. Much of this is caused by warm temperatures in the growing regions. Mexico has had issues with rain and has caused for shortages of availability. Shipments are expected be increase as schools start again.
Belding-based BelleHarvest, Michigan’s oldest grower-owned distributor of fresh apples, has acquired Michigan Fresh Marketing, one of the leading produce sales organizations in Michigan. The addition further diversifies their offerings and accelerates the company’s growth potential.
The acquisition maximizes the respective strengths of both organizations and positions BelleHarvest to continue the growth trajectory realized after the past two years as a combined sales alliance.
BelleHarvest is now the second largest apple shipper in Michigan. The organization will continue to market under both brands, while operating from nine fresh apple packing lines. This includes the existing Michigan Fresh pre-sort line in Comstock Park, Michigan. The deal brings a robust locally grown vegetable program to BelleHarvest, which will be marketing under the well-established Michigan Fresh name.
“We are excited to formally bring our two teams to build a more comprehensive set of solutions for our customers,” according to BelleHarvest CEO, Milt Fuehrer. “This acquisition allows us to deliver a unified strengthened experience to our retail customers and grower partners.”
Founded in 1957, BelleHarvest has been the expert partner in bringing the best apples from the field to the store shelf. The acquisition brings together two dynamic teams with decades of experience delivering fresh produce throughout the country. Together, they will continue to deliver the same quality, innovation, and dedication that their current and future customers demand.
Markesan, Wisconsin — Alsum Farms & Produce grower partner, Trembling Prairie Farms Inc. is harvesting a new crop of Wisconsin Celery with shipments lasting through the first week of October.
Located in the muck soils of Green Lake County, Trembling Prairie Farms, a family farm owned and operated by John and Connie Bobek along with their four children in Markesan, is in its 10th year of growing and packing locally grown celery serving the Midwest retail and foodservice markets.
In 2012, Trembling Prairie Farms started with 3 acres of celery and now has expanded to over 45 acres. The farm starts with a Midwestern selected celery variety that grows extremely well in the Wisconsin climate. One of many advantages Trembling Prairie Farms Wisconsin Celery brings to the local market is celery at its peak freshness for a milder flavor and snappier crunch.
The process of growing celery starts in local greenhouses in late February to early April and is then transplanted in 12 different plantings. Celery planting in the muck soil begins on May 1 with the goal of the last planting to be in the ground by July 1.
Trembling Prairie Farms Wisconsin Grown Celery began distribution the week of July 19.
Pandol Bros. of Delano, CA reports the central California table grape harvest has been underway since early July, with three to five percent production harvested and one percent shipped.
While there has been a gradual reduction of area planted due to changes in water regulation, production is staying stable with higher yields from the acres planted.
Production is seeing a “normal harvest flow” with the halfway mark expected sometime in September and the end either in November or December, depending on the first freeze.
Shipping will reach halfway in late September and two to four percent of the crop will be shipped in 2022.
The cost of both ocean freight rates and inland truck freight rates are reported much higher than in the past.
Trucking is seeing a lack of drivers and there is a two to four-month wait for a trained, drug-tested driver to get an appointment for a licensing test.
Peru is the world’s leading exporter of blueberries and volume continues to grow.
Blueberry Producers of Peru (Proarandanos) has forecasted the volume of organic blueberry exports will double during the 2021-2022 season.
Total blueberry exports are estimated to total over 200,000 tons with organic exports reaching 14,000-15,000 tons, up from 7,500 tons last season.
The Association of Exporters (ADEX) has estimated organic blueberry exports will increase 220 percent, as this projection considers shipments for last season standing at 4,000 tons.
With the estimated growth rate, Peru would export 12,800 tons. While export items don’t distinguish between organic and conventional, it is difficult to have a reliable record. The only way to have a reliable record is to gather information from each blueberry company.
According to Proarandanos, the growth in both conventional and organic blueberry exports is due to the productivity, increase in the cultivated area in which they increased by 6,178 acres, for a total of 3,707 acres now.
Peru’s blueberry harvest began in May and will conclude in March 2022, with the largest volumes being exported from August to December.
With Chilean clementines and lemons already in market, and navels and mandarins on the way, the Chilean Citrus Committee of ASOEX has released an updated season forecast.
Clementine volumes, originally expected to increase by seven percent to 55,000 tons, are now projected to jump to 59,000 tons, a 14% increase over 2020. Export volumes of lemons, navels and mandarins remain in line with the first 2021 forecast (98,000, 89,000 and 145,000 tons, respectively). With a total citrus forecast of 391,000 tons, Chile expects to ship roughly 85% of all volume to the U.S. market.
As of early July, Chile had exported 8,142 tons (519,369 boxes) of clementines, totaling 40,040 tons (2,541,962 boxes), up 11% over same time last season, with 98% of the volume being sent to the U.S. (39,392 tons; 2,500,892 boxes). Of the volume shipped to the U.S., 69% was destined for the East Coast (27,315 tons; 1,736,608 boxes) and 31% for the West Coast (12,077 tons; 764,284 boxes).
Navel shipments are steadily increasing, with the largest week of exports was expected in the 2nd week of July. Chile shipped a total of 6,595 tons of navels the previous week, with 5,534 tons (84%) destined for North America. Lemon exports have also been steady and strong, with 11,476 tons (52%) heading to North America. The first mandarin shipments were recorded in early July, with the entire volume (140 tons/8,767 boxes) destined for the U.S.
Good Chilean Citrus volume will continue through October.
Mexican tomato exports will set a new record in 2021.
The USDA reports Mexico is already broke a record in 2020, with the value of shipments increasing by 20.5 percent and volume increasing 5.1 percent over the previous year.
Between January and March 2021 tomato exports totaled $829 million reflecting an increase of 5.1 percent year-over-year, with almost all of those shipments destined to the U.S.
Restaurant and hotel industry re-openings in the U.S. and Mexico, plus the renegotiation of the Tomato Suspension Agreement, and higher export prices have led to more tomato plantings.
Tomatoes already were the most exported agricultural product by Mexico, with a constant growth in recent years.
In terms of volume, Mexican tomato exports were 579,000 tons, reflecting an increase of 9.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021.
The USDA estimates Mexican tomato exports for the 2021-2022 season (October-September) will total 1.83 million tons, 2 percent higher than the previous cycle. While for the 2020-2021 season, the USDA estimates exports will be 1.8 million tons.
Following fewer plantings and shipments a year ago due to the pandemic, it appears New York state vegetable shippers are back on track with more normal volume this season.
Turek Farms, King Ferry, NY reports volume was down about 20% in 2020, but this year, more normal volumes are seen.
Located in the Finger Lakes region, Turek also grows and ships broccoli, Brussels sprouts and a few other items. By mid-July, loadings of cabbage, summer squash, and sweet corn were underway.
Reeves Farms of Baldwinsville, increased vegetable acres by about 5%, slowly as the market demands, but like everyone else is planning no significant increases in acreage. The company begin picking sweet corn the second week of July 10. Summer squash started a in mid June 16. Cucumber shipments were launched in late June 27.
Torrey Farms of Elba in western New York has about the usual amount of cabbage, and grow in a five-county region. By mid July Torrey Farms was shipping green beans, zucchini and yellow squash, cucumbers and cabbage. Harvesting cabbage continues into November, and some of it will go into storage, possibly into December. The firm will ship cabbage through May.
Besides the storage crop, the new crop of onions just got underway a few days ago and continue into October.
On the North Fork of Long Island, Satur Farms of Cutchogue has a cold storage and shipping facilities in nearby Calverton. Satur Farms has its usual mix and varieties of leafy greens. The volume is similar to past seasons.
Minkus Family Farms of New Hampton, started
shipping onions at the beginning of August.
REEDLEY, CA — Fruit World, a family-owned, grower-shipper of organic and conventional fruit and the largest California grower of organic Thomcord grapes, started shipping this popular variety at the end of July, with good volumes available from mid-August through early-October. Thomcord seedless grapes are a hybrid of Concord and Thompson Seedless grapes, with the rich, full Concord flavor and the tender skin and seedless qualities of the Thompson.
Seven years since planting, Fruit World’s Thomcord vines are now fully mature and heavy with luscious purple clusters. “The recent warm weather in California’s Central Valley is rapidly increasing the color and brix, so we’ll begin harvesting 7-10 days earlier than last year,” said CJ Buxman, co-founder of Fruit World.
Fruit World Thomcord grapes are shipped in 10 x 2 lb recyclable and compostable paper totes, with bright, colorful graphics. The company will also be shipping 20 x 1 lb clamshells.
In 2020, Fruit World shipped their organic Thomcord grapes across the United States, in addition to air freighting to customers in Asia. “While we anticipate this year’s crop to be heavier than in 2020, last year we sold out in mid-September,” Brianca Kaprielian, co-founder of Fruit World added. “We encourage retailers to contact us early to confirm their orders and meet the high consumer demand for this popular variety.”
In 2020, Fruit World shipped their organic Thomcord grapes across the United States, in addition to air freighting to customers in Asia. “While we anticipate this year’s crop to be heavier than in 2020, last year we sold out in mid-September,” Kaprielian added.
About Fruit World:
Fruit World is a fresh produce company with generations of history. Fruit World grows and ships the most flavorful fruit in California—including organic and conventional citrus, organic grapes, organic stone fruit, and more.