USA apple shipments are expected to rise 13 percent in the 2013-14 season, despite a smaller crop from industry leader Washington state.
About 243 million bushels are expected to be hauled, mostly by truck, up from 216 million bushels in 2012 and nine percent above the five-year average.
Major comebacks in Michigan and New York, which were clobbered by late freezes in 2012, helped make up for the smaller Washington crop.
Washington growers are expected to ship about 140 million bushels this year, down from 155 million bushels in 2012 but four percent higher than the five-year average.
New York, the No. 2 producer, is expected to ship about 32 million bushels in 2013, up from 17 million bushels in 2012 and 15 percent above the five-year average.
Shipments from Michigan, the third-largest USA apple shipper, should soar from 2.7 million to 30 million bushels.
In Pennsylvania, the No. 4 USA shipper, about 10.5 million bushels are expected, down from 11.8 million bushels in 2012 and eight percent below the five-year average.
Loadings from Virginia, are estimated at 5.5 million bushels, similar to last year and three percent above the five-year average.
California apple shipments are finished for the season, and were expected to produce about 4.8 million bushels in 2013, down from 7.1 million bushels last year and 32 percent below the five-year average.
Hudson Valley apples – grossing about $1200 to Chicago.
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Looking around the nation, here are some upcoming loading opportunities ranging from Texas, to Idaho, Colorado, New York and South Florida.
New York’s nearly 700 apple growers are expected to harvest approximately 32 million bushels of vintage apples by November – a new record.
After last year’s short crop, there will be lots to celebrate this fall. A year ago, frost led to a crop of only 17.1 million bushels.
New York apple shipments of it top variety McIntosh is currently underway in the Eastern part of the state, and will soon be shipped from orchards statewide. Apple varieties ranging from Zestar, to Gala, and HoneyCrisp area and other varieties are being loaded from production areas across the state.
Hudson Valley New York apples – grossing about $2700 to Atlanta.
Texas Citrus Shipments
Rio Grande Valley Texas citrus shipments should get underway with a pretty normal start in early to mid-October this season.
About 75 percent of the Lone Star state’s citrus shipments will be with grapefruit, and 25 percent with oranges. Peak loadings typically occur between mid November and the first of the year.
Colorado Potato Shipments
Due to lack of water and poor markets there is a 10 percent reduction in acreage from last year in Colorado. Planted acreage is about 50,000 acres this year. Most shipments from the state originate in the San Luis Valley, although there is much smaller volume coming out of Northeastern Colorado.
San Luis Valley Potatoes – grossing about $1750 to Dallas.
Idaho Potato Shipments
While early season shipments of Idaho potatoes haven’t yielded any significant quality problems (just some small sized potatoes), the state had a lot hot weather during the growing season. It’s just something to keep an eye out for when loading, in case quality problems start developing.
Idaho Potatoes – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.
South Florida Imports
South Florida ports are receiving papyas from Central American for distribution throughout the USA. The heaviest arrivals occur between July and March from such countries as Belize and Guatemala. Don’t count on straight loads of the tropical fruit, but sometimes a few pallets can help you get where you need to go.
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It’s looking like excellent loading opportunities for fruit out of the Northwest, as well as apples from Michigan from now right into next summer.
While loadings of pears certainly are not one of biggest volume produce items available for hauling, it is substantial. The nice thing about the fruit from the Northwest, is being loaded with apples. The Northwest typically ships as many apples each year as the rest of the nation combined. If the estimate holds, this would be the third largest amount of Northwest pear loadings on record – plus one of the larger apple crops.
Northwest pear shipments this season are estimated to be 19.8 million cartons, about two percent more than a year ago and about four percent more than five year average.
Washington state apples and pears – grossing about $4800 to Cleveland.
Michigan Apple Shipments
About 70 percent of Michigan apple shipments originate from the Fruit Ridge region. While the official estimate for loads this season is 26 million bushels, some observers are predicting as much as 30 million bushels. Michigan apple loadings have been underway since the third week of August. Whatever the final total for shipments this season, it should end up next summer as one the biggest on record.
Michigan also continues to ship a variety of vegetables, blueberries and melons.
Michigan produce grossing – about $2100 to Atlanta.
South African Citrus Imports
Imports of South African summer citrus are at about the half way point through the season. Over 30,000 tons of citrus have arrived, mostly at Eastern seaboard ports.
The final boat is scheduled to arrive during the third week of October, with the season expected to be competed before USA domestic shipments get started. This is the 14th season of citrus imports from South Africa to the USA and average annually approximately 40,000 tons.
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By BC Tree Fruits
The Okanagan orchards are buzzing with preparations with this year’s BC Tree Fruits apple harvest. Apple shipments start this month and will be running to the end of February 2014. Apple season is one of the busiest times of the year for the 500 grower fruit cooperative.
Apples are largest crop grown by BC Tree Fruits of Kelowna, BC with this season’s apple harvest estimated at 2.5 million cartons. From familiar favourites such as the McIntosh and Granny Smith to the newer and very popular Ambrosia, which was a chance seedling created in Oliver BC, a total of twelve apple varieties are harvested. “All our growers are excited for this year’s apple season,” shares Hank Markgraf, BCTF Field Services Manager and Orchardist. “Our orchards consistently produce the best quality apples in Canada, and having a wide variety keeps our fans searching for that familiar BC Leaf at the produce aisles.”
To highlight the work BC Tree Fruits’ growers put into apple season the focus this year is educating consumers on what goes into each apple. “Many people don’t fully realize the care and skill our orchardists put into each of the apples they produce,” says Chris Pollock, BCTF Marketing Manager. “We plan to share as much of the process as possible with consumers so they feel an even stronger connection when they ‘Look For The Leaf’ this season.”
Through traditional and social media, BC Tree Fruits will feature an insider look into their apple harvest. Their website currently offers a full description, including tasting notes, for each apple variety, as well as other seasonal fruit. Apple fans can keep up to date with full apple harvest and apples season details from September to February on the BC Tree Fruits Facebook and Twitter pages.
About BC Tree Fruits:
BC Tree Fruits Industries Limited is part of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative and is owned by 520 local grower families. The organization markets and distributes a variety of BC-grown fruit including apples, pears, cherries, peaches, apricots, prune plums and blueberries. BC Tree Fruits’ head office is based in Kelowna, B.C.
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While there are the more obvious fresh produce loads available out of California this time of year such as Salinas Valley vegetables and San Joaquin Valley grapes, the state has significant volume with other items ranging from Asian pears to apples, kiwifruit , persimmons, and strawberries.
Asian Pears
Asian pear loadings got underwa y in late July from the Central San Joaquin Valley and should be available into October, with normal volume expected.
Apples
Early variety apple shipments started in mid July and volume should total abouit 4.8 million boxes for the season, which will wind down this month. Last year California loaded 7.1 million boxes of apples. Volume this season is about 32 percent bellow the five-year average. Primavera Marketing Inc. of Stockton and Bidart Bros. Marketing of Bakersfield account for about 90 percent of California’s apple shipments.
Kiwifruit
California expects to load about 7.5 million of kiwi in 7-pound trays this season. Fruit originating out of Butt County in northern California will be similar to a year ago, as will production coming out of southern areas of the San Joaquin Valley. Kiwi shipments should continue though May 2014.
Persimmons
San Joaquin Valley persimmons is more of a speciality item with small volume compared to many California produce items, with shipments from October through Thanksgiving. It can help fill a load and is compatable for shipments with items ranging from grapes, to stone fruit, strawberries and even artichokes.
Strawberries
Strawberry shipments have been declining as loadings shift from the Watsonville District southward to the Santa Maria area and Ventura County. Quality hasn’t necessarily been awful this season, but at times it also has left a lot be desired.
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It’s looking like there will be more apples to haul during the 2013-14 season than last year’s huge crop. The major difference will be other major apple shipping states will be offering a lot more loads. Last year, it was primarily Washington state having any apple volume.
Nationwide new apple shipments could be anywhere from 250 and 252 million bushels, compared to the 215.7 million bushels produced nationwide a year ago. Bad weather conditions in 2012 for New York state cost apple haulers about half of its loading opportunties. Michigan was hit much harder as it shipped only 2.738 million bushels in 2012, compared to the state’s five-year average of 16.238 million bushels. This season Michigan apple shipments should come back with a vengence topping 26 million bushels.
The Michigan apple harvest got under way last week with paula reds, with ginger golds following closely behind.. It is a pretty normal start for fruit from Michigan’s Fruit Ridge, which produces 70 percent of the state’s apples.
California Grapes
California growers ship over 70 varieties of table grapes and the vast majority of those graped will be transported to markets across the USA and Canada from August through October. Record loads are predicted to be shipped by refrigerated trucks this season, mostly from the San Joaquin Valley.
Chilean Avocados
At various USA ports on both coasts, one the big items for the new season are avocados being imported from Chile. It is predicted that trucks hauling the product from ports to north American market will transport 30 to 35 percent mor of the tropical fruit than last year.
Last season was a record breaking year for Hass avocados, with shipments, mostly by truck, topping 1.5 billion pounds. For 2013, loadings are projected to increaseby another 10 percent to 1.65 billion pounds.
San Joaquin Valley grapes, melons veggies, stone fruit – grossing about $7300 to New York City.
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Produce truckers should not expect this summer to bring normal loading opportunitunites for many New York state vegetables.
Shipping gaps and less volume due to torrential spring rains interrupted spring plantings on many of the Empire State’s commodites, ranging from sweet corn, to green beans, cabbage, squash and potatoes.
This situation exists pretty much in every shipping area of the state.
For example shipping gaps on New York sweet corn will start in early August. In similar situation exists for green beans.
There also are question marks relating to New York cabbage shipments. Volume is predicted to be sporatic with shipping gaps occuring in late August and early September.
Excessive rains and recent triple digit heat a few weeks ago are expected to cut Orange County, New York’s onion shipments by 10 percent this coming season. Limited shipmentes are underway. Like many New York state veggies, these storage onions are typically shipped to East Coast markets through April.
The USDA ranked New York as the 7th leading vegetable shipping in the nation in 2011 for fresh market vegetables and 7th in the nation for production of processing vegetables.
New York vegetable shipments originate from numerous areas spread across this giant states. Likewise, apples may not come from as many different regions, but still are shipped from six primary areas the Eastern Hudson Valley, Western Hudson Valley, Champlain Valley, Central, Lake Country and Niagra Frontier.
New York ranks second nationally in apple shipments. It’s new season starts in a few weeks with an excellent crop being forecast.
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While plenty of apples continue to be shipped from the 2012-13 season out of Washington state, the new crop will start heading to market, mostly by truck, in less than two months!
Estimates of apple shipments each pre-season tend to be conservative, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we ended up having record loadings, as happened for the 2012-13 season.
The nation’s leading shipper of apples, Washington state, will have fewer loads this coming season, but there will still be plenty of fruit for hauling – even from there.
An estimated 251 million bushels of fresh-market and processed-market apples are expected to be shipped in the new season, up from 215 million for the 2012-13 crop, according to estimates.
About 67% of U.S. apples typically go to the fresh market, according to the Vienna, Va.-based U.S. Apple Association.
While production in industry leader Washington is expected to fall, from 154 million to 148 million bushels, big gains in Michigan and New York, which were devastated by freezes in the spring of 2012, should result in even more apple loads than last season!
An estimated 26.3 million bushels of apples could ship from Michigan in the 2013-14 season, up from 2.7 million bushels this season.
New York production is expected to jump from 16.9 million to 34 million bushels.
Pennsylvania’s apple volumes are projected to fall from 11.7 million to 10.5 million bushels.
The 26.3 million bushel total in Michigan would be the largest since 2009, when about 27.4 million bushels shipped from the Wolverine State.
Washington state pretty much has a lock on apple shipments right now – grossing about $4300 to Chicago, around $6500 to New York City.
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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.
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While plenty of apples continue to be shipped from the 2012-13 season out of Washington state, the new crop will start heading to market, mostly by truck, in less than two months!