Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ended longer border inspections he had implemented April 15, it was good news for produce haulers and produce shippers. The policy was started nearly a week earlier. However, some think it may be weeks before the supply chain gets back to normal.
The immigration policy decision came as Texas is trying to stop the open border policies of the Biden administration. It resulted in gridlock and hundreds of millions of lost dollars and delays in shipments including produce items such as avocados and strawberries.
Abbott’s move ultimately created a logjam of trucks between the U.S. and its largest goods trading partner. Vegetable producers say their produce is spoiling in idling trucks and they are losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
Nearly $9 billion of fresh produce crosses the Texas border from Mexico each year, said Dante L. Galeazzi, CEO and president of the Texas International Produce Association. And for the past week, that produce has been held hostage, with businesses and goods “being used as bargaining chips,” Galeazzi was quoted as saying.
What used to be a routine border crossing turned into a 30-hour wait for some trucks. Meanwhile, the fruits and vegetables in those trucks spoiled, leaving some produce department shelves sparse or empty in advance of the holiday weekend, he said.
“It could take a week or longer, up to probably three weeks, before the supply chain realigns,” Galeazzi said.
Losses to fruit and vegetable producers are estimated to be more than $240 million, said Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.
Consumers will also pay a price as producers look to recoup some of their losses and supplies run low.
Americans can expect to spend more on strawberries, avocados and asparagus, with the impacts being felt the heaviest in the Midwest and Northeast, Jungmeyer said.
It could ultimately take several weeks for supply chains to recover from the weeklong slowdown at the border, said Matthew Hockenberry, a Fordham University assistant professor who studies supply chains and logistics.
“It’s also just so hard to predict, because there’s so much supply instability right now,” he said, noting that China’s latest wave of lockdowns and the war in Ukraine are causing even more disruptions.
“The amount of supply uncertainty is so high that to add another straw here to the camel’s back is a dangerous proposition.”
Mexican grape shipments for 2022 should reach a new high, surpassing 25 million boxes, a 19.5 percent increase compared to last year, according to the Mexican Table Grapes Growers Association (AALPUM).
In a press confernce, the AALPUM president Marco Antonio Camou, AALPUM and the Fresh Produce Association of Americas (FPAA) reported what is expected for Mexican table grapes.
The largest volume is red seedless varieties at 46.9 percent, followed by white seedless varieties at 41.08 percent, then black seedless varieties at 5.97 percent and cotton candy at 4.70 percent.
The first harvest is expected for the beginning of May, with picking accelerating from May 15th onward. The early season should produce some 7.4 million boxes through May, followed by peak season with 16.59 million boxes in June. Finally the late season, in July, should produce around 1.45 million boxes of table grapes.
The season is expected to extend longer this year, past the U.S. independence day of July 4th into the middle of that month.
It was noted growers have been working with the planted crop to reduce the peak experienced in the past in May and June, and instead offer a more steady constant supply of the fruit.
Also, there are some expectations due to the delayed arrival of Chilean grapes, there will be some overlap between the stock of the two countries.
Shipping will continue from Nogales, AZ and other forward distribution points until mid‐July.
In addition to cotton candy, there are several hundred thousand boxes of exotic flavored varieties. In this estimate these varieties are included in their respective color group.
Gem-Pack Berries LLC of Irvine, CA and and Red Blossom Sales Inc. of Salinas, CA merged last October and combined the companies now has about 5,000 acres of strawberries in Florida, Mexico and California, as well as raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
Gem-Pack reports the expansion now allows year around shipments of berries with the ability to continue growing.
During the next three months, strawberry shipments will be heavy, creating more opportunities to work on branding with retailers.
The company is a major shipper of strawberries. It will increase strawberry volume by 15 percent this year. Although, it has a few new items.
It is shipping pineberries out of Florida, as well as new blackberry varieties from Mexico. The company also added raspberries to its product line.
The company also offers organic strawberries out of Baja, Mexico, and Watsonville, CA.
Plenty of good volume is expected with Mexican mangoes this spring and summer, with shipments already well ahead of last year.
Importers received 31.7 million 8.8-pound boxes of mangoes from January 20 to March 20 this year, an increase from the 28 million boxes shipped at the same time a year ago, according to USDA.
During 2021, the U.S. received the equivalent of about 138.3 million 8.8-pound boxes of mangoes, up from approximately 132.1 million boxes in 2020.
Mexican mangoes start arriving in the U.S. in February and should continue into September.
Circuli Bros. LLC of Rio Rico, AZ reports growing regions experienced unusually dry weather this season, helping produce some exceptional mangoes.
Sweet Seasons of Pharr, TX has a wide selection of mangoes from February to August.
Varieties include criollo, ataulfo, keitt, Manilla rosa/carabao, yellow criollo, tommy atkins, irwin, kent and others. Baby green mango, ataulfo and tommy atkins are the most popular. A variety called mango criollo verde could be on the horizon from Sweet Seasons.
Quality is good this season, and volume should be up. April to May is Sweet Seasons’ peak shipping period for mangoes.
Amazon Produce Network of Vineland, N.J., offers mangoes year-round, and is the companies’ biggest volume commodity.
The operation sources mangoes from all the major growing areas, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala.
During April, the company imports mangoes from Guatemala, primarily for the East Coast, and from Mexico mostly for the West Coast.
Increased inspections of commercial vehicles, including trucks carrying fresh produce from Mexico to the U.S., is delaying deliveries during a time of excess supply chain disruptions.
This is tied to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowing to strengthen border protections and inspections in response to the Biden Administration’s plans to end pandemic emergency health orders that allowed federal officials to turn away migrants seeking asylum.
The Texas Border Truck Inspection Enforcement Action is one of the measures, which allows for state inspections after U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspections.
Several trade groups have written to Abbott to reconsider what these actions do to cross border trade and ultimately to consumers of these products.
Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas Bwrote:
Texas has some of the most secure Commercial Ports of Entry anywhere along the U.S. border. Officers use sophisticated technology to see through the trailers and catch illicit cargo and prevent human smuggling.
Adding an additional Texas DPS inspection once trucks have crossed the border is causing serious delays with no commensurate increase in border safety.
Unfortunately, delays from DPS inspections mean that up to 80% of perishable fruits and vegetables have been unable to cross daily. This is causing losses of millions of dollars a day for employers and employees who have been idled.
Trucks are waiting over 24 hours to cross the border. Customers are unable to load product from their Texas suppliers. Transportation shortages are increasing as available trucks are stuck waiting in line to cross the border.
Food shortages will rise as we head into Easter. Trucks are running out of diesel fuel to run refrigerated units on the trailers, resulting in catastrophic damage to highly perishable fresh fruits and vegetables. This means that even when a truck is able to cross the border eventually, the product could be damaged significantly.
If DPS inspections stopped today, it would take over a week for the supply chain to return to normal. Unfortunately, the loss of inventory, freshness, and sales will never be recovered, and these losses are a direct economic loss to Texas companies, and lost sales to their customers around North America.
Dante Galeazzi, CEO/president of Texas International Produce Association Bwrote:
Last night, commercial trucks crossing the Pharr International Bridges were in a miles long line that took until nearly 2am this morning to clear the bridge. Today, the line is at a stand-still as trucks are crawling out of the import lot. Many carriers and brokers are reporting hours of non-movement.
Border security is an important element of this region, but so is the trade that keeps millions of Texans employed. According to a study from Texas A&M, fresh produce arriving from Mexico not only employs nearly 8,000 Texans but is also responsible for $850M in economic impact to the state. Further, our industry is in the midst of the ‘Easter Pull’ in which grocery stores are ordering products for the holiday promotion. The execution of this order has wreaked havoc up and down our supply chain and is likely to leave state store shelves with limited fresh produce supplies.
Warehouses have staff sitting idle, with no trucks to unload. Buyers in other parts of the country cannot understand why their product is not available. US trucking companies are losing money as they sit around for days with no loads to haul. I have even heard from a member that a trucking company is refusing to send trucks south of San Antonio out of concern there will be no cargo available. This is destroying our business and the reputation of Texas. I foresee companies making plans to move their business to New Mexico and Arizona.
TIPA urges your office to modify this action. We implore you to work with the Department of Homeland Security on a more effective process which meets the country’s need for security while balancing our dependency on efficient trade.We oppose any state-level action that results in an inspection process that duplicates the inspections already performed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, whose work at the land border ports of entry is informed by highly attuned risk assessment models, intelligence gathering, and a commitment to the agency’s dual mission of enforcement and facilitation.
Border Trade Alliance president Britton Mullen said:
The Border Trade Alliance believes strongly that cross-border trade and travel efficiency should be balanced with security.
While border states like Texas have an important role to play in ensuring truck safety and code compliance, the state should be working in collaboration with CBP, not engaging in a new inspection scheme that will slow the movement of freight, which will only exacerbate the country’s supply chain crisis and put even more upward pressure on consumer prices.
The BTA urges the Governor’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security to work cooperatively to meet the country’s security and economic needs.
At the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition Spring Meeting in El Paso April 11, Abbott said, “Texans demand and deserve an aggressive, comprehensive strategy to secure our border—not President Biden’s lackluster leadership. As the federal government continues to roll back commonsense policies that once kept our communities safe, our local law enforcement has stepped up to protect Texans from dangerous criminals, deadly drugs, and illegal contraband flooding into the Lone Star State. Texas will always be a law-and-order state, and I thank our law enforcement officers who have answered the call to protect and serve their fellow Texans in the federal government’s absence in securing our border.”
Zespri’s 2022 export program is underway, with the first 1.15 million trays of kiwifruit now on their way to Japan.
The MV Solent Star is the first of a planned 72 ships set to deliver a crop estimated to be over 190 million trays (or 680,000 MT) of fruit to Zespri’s global markets, according to a company statement.
Zespri Chief Global Supply Officer Alastair Hulbert said that “demand for Zespri Kiwifruit is incredibly strong across our global markets and this season we’re expecting another large and great-tasting crop of fruit,”
“We’re looking at exporting more than 115 million trays of SunGold kiwifruit and around 70 million trays of Green in 2022, and this season also marks our first commercial volumes of Zespri RubyRed kiwifruit which will be available to consumers in New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and China,” he added.
While global demand for kiwifruit remains strong, the industry is facing a number of headwinds this season given the ongoing impact COVID-19 is having on labor availability.
Port congestion is a matter that has company officials on alert, the statement said.
In total, Zespri expects to undertake four charter sailings to North Europe, 12 to the Mediterranean, six to the US West Coast and 50 to Zespri’s Asian markets, and to send around 20,000 containers of kiwifruit this season.
“The continued use of charter vessels will be important in our ability to avoid much of the congestion we’re seeing at container ports, and we’re also looking at new options this season such as partnering with T&G Global to co-ship fruit to North America,” Hulbert said.
The first shipment under these conditions is expected for April.
The 2022 season has the potential to be another record-breaking year with more kiwifruit produced than ever before. A forecast of at least 190 million trays will need to be harvested, overtaking last year’s record of over 177 million trays. On average, each tray has around 30 pieces of kiwifruit.
California navel orange shipments as winding down, although loadings are expected through the end of May.
Markon Cooperative Inc. of Salinas, CA reports supplies of smaller sizes (113s and 138s) are tightening, with elevated prices expected for the remainder of the navel season.
Valencias
- California’s Valencia harvest will begin around the first week of May and run through September
- Expect stocks to be dominated by larger 72- and 88-count sizes
Navels
- California Navels are expected to ship through the end of May
- Small sizes (113- and 138-count fruit) are diminishing as the crop matures. Quality and taste are exceptional Southern San Joaquin Valley oranges and other citrus – grossing about $9000 to New York City.
The Flavor Tree Fruit Company of Hanford, CA., is gearing up for good volume cherry shipments this season. Peak loadings will occur in May.
The company reports there have been ideal growing conditions in California in all of its cherry-growing regions.
Although the business doesn’t see the high yields of a year ago, it expects larger sized fruit. That still should translate into good volume overall.
The Flavor Tree Fruit Company has been preplaning as much as possible in all areas of logistics. This includes earlier than normal ordering of packaging and materials months in advance of the season before it was even know how big the crop would be.
The company also expressed concern over the availability of transportation during the season due to skyrocketing diesel fuel prices, etc.
Stemilt Growers LLC, headquartered in Wenatchee, Wash. kicks off its domestic cherry season in the Golden State and operates as Chinchiolo Stemilt California, which has a cherry-packing facility located in Stockton, CA. The company’s cherries are grown in both new and established districts in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
The company holds a unique position in the cherry industry, boasting the longest cherry season.
Stemilt expects to harvest cherries in late April, with good volume in early May. Peak volumes should run for three consecutive weeks beginning around May 9 through Memorial Day.
The company is looking forward to the possibilities of more 5 River Islands cherries from the Delta region in California.
With Florida spring vegetable shipments to peak later this month, Florida blueberry shipments are already there.
Florida’s blueberry harvest is in full swing and state officials estimate acreage at 5,200 and production near 20 million pounds.
Blueberries grow throughout the state of Florida, primarily from Hendry County in the south to Alachua and Putnam counties in the north, Doug Phillips, University of Florida’s blueberry extension coordinator, said in a news release. “There are some rabbit eye blueberries grown in the Florida Panhandle, mostly on smaller farms with U-pick operations,” he said. “Most blueberries grow in central Florida, although there is significant acreage in both the north-central and south-central regions.”
Florida has the first U.S.-produced blueberries to reach the domestic market in early spring. Harvest generally begins in March in the south-central and central regions and continues through early May, when market prices decline. Phillips said the state’s market window is when prices are typically the highest, which is an advantage for Florida growers. The state ranks eighth in the U.S. in terms of utilized blueberry production.
“We are not very large, but we do produce the first fresh fruit of the country and that makes us very relevant,” Phillips said.
Shipments of Chilean table grapes and other fruits do not have sufficient coverage from shipping lines to reach the United States market at the height of its growing season.
According to a statement from the Chilean fruit growers association Fedefruta, a lack of cargo space for fresh fruit in the Valparaiso port is generating the problem.
Fedefruta president Jorge Valenzuela said that growers are asking that “for these two weeks they give us space with cold storage that can operate with greater frequency”. The timeframe is particularly tight since “we are looking at the last shipments before the marketing order takes effect in the United States”.
The scenario is affecting table grapes to the greatest extent, as they are subject to market controls in April, and also when the industry is harvesting at its highest level.
“We are talking about a very perishable product, and this dictates the timeframe for when it is harvested, packed and transported. We thought that the fruit would have shipping priority in these weeks of the year:, Valenzuela added.
He also called on the port operators, TPS and TPV, to make greater commitments in future seasons to offer conditions that allow the industry to return to the full shipping capacity required to export this crop.
While table grapes have the biggest impact, stone fruit and the last of blueberry shipments from the central growing regions are also impacted. Valenzuela said that the weekly shipping frequency is about half of what it used to be, which “is having an important affect on most table grape growers that depend on these weeks to get their product to the North American market”.
The statement clarified that this issue is independent from delays in arriving to the market, which have also led to problems in meeting commitments with the supply chain to the north.
He also said that there must be an understanding that fruit must ship in a certain timeframe, despite that the ports are under high pressure to receive imported goods and products which are exported year round.