Posts Tagged “California”
Fall official begins in the USA on September 22nd, 9:49 CST. However, in a 
sense fall really kicks off in the minds of many, after Labor Day, September 3rd. It also means the beginning of fall produce loads for many new items, and is the start of late season shipping for a number of produce items. Total USA produce volume does not match that of summer, but it certainly beat the low volume season of winter.
California provides a lot of loading opportunties for produce haulers during the fall season.
Grapes – Historic shipments of table grapes from the San Joaquin Valley will peak in September. Nearly 110 million 19-pound cartons are expected to be shipped by the end of the season in late 2012.
Oranges – While the smaller valencia loadings, expected to total 28 million boxes, end in October, the much larger navel orange crop kicks in as valencia finish.
Apples – While shipments have been underway for several weeks, loadings of the popular fuji and granny smith varieties have just started.
Strawberries – Shipments are running about 11 percent ahead compared to this time last year. While loadings are past their summer peak, decent volume continues into the fall. Through August about four to five million trays were being shipped, and this will drop to around three to four million trays during September. While most strawberry shipments through the summer have been from the Watsonville/Salinas area, those loadings with be in decline before ending in late November. The volume from that area will be replaced with shipments originating from Oxnard.
Pomegranates – This may not be one of the visible or promenate produce items for hauling, yet there will be about four million boxes of pomegranates shipped, beginning in early October.
Kiwifruit — About two-thirds of the loadings originate out of the Southern San Joaquin Valley and about one-third from the northern Sacramento Valley. Shipments are expected to be down 15 to 20 percent for the 2012-13 season, with loading forecast at about 7 million, seven pound trays, with loadings to kick off around the second week of October.
Persimmons – Average shipments are forecast, with loadings becoming available around the third week of September from such towns as Madera and Reedley.
Pumpkins – Shipments got underway from around Manteca, CA the week of August 27th., which is about normal. However peak loadings are not expected until the end of September and early October.
Pictured here is a seeded watermelon. Don’t see ’em near as much as you used 
to. They have kind of gone the way of “plucking” a watermelon before you buy it. Remember that? Try plucking one today, and you just might be arrested (plucking is using a knife to cut a triangular piece out of the watermelon to taste to see if it’s worth buying). I never was very good at thumping melons to see if they were ripe. I generally just go by color and making sure they don’t have any soft spots. Anyway, I’ve had bought my share of watermelons over the 10 weeks or so. Some were good and others not so good.
This is first seeded watermelon I’ve purchased this year. Seedless melons are just about all the produce departments in stores sell anymore. They assume we consumers are simply too lazy to be bothered with spitting out seeds. Anyway, the seeded melon was as good as any watermelon I’ve had this summer – and was better than most. It was shipped out of Edinburg, TX. Enjoy watermelons while you can, supplies and quality often diminshed after Labor Day.
Another item that has had fantastic quality this summer are cherries – first out of California and now they are coming out of Washington state and Oregon. A record crop has resulted in reasonable retail prices. Like watermelons, enjoy the Northwest cherries while you can. They will be vanishing from your local supermarket by Labor Day.
Another great buy now in retail stores are California grapes, both red and green. They will typically be available through the end of the year, although supplies in the fall drop and prices trend up. But right now, a record crop is being harvested, quality is excellent and prices good. Let’s hope the heat in the San Joaquin Valley subsides some and doesn’t take a toll of the quality of what is a fruit that has excellent eating.
As expected, there will be a record number of cherries shipped from 
Washington state this season by produce haulers.
Washington state had shipped 18.7 million boxes of cherries as of August 22nd. If you include the Northwest, in other words, mostly Oregon, as of Aug. 22, 22.8 million boxes of cherries had been shipped, which also is a record. By the end of August most of the fruit will have been packed and shipped, and total volume will likely top a record 23 million boxes.
California table grape shipments are ahead of schedule this season due to the warmer-than-normal weather. The primary concern is if the San Joaquin Valley heat eventually starts taking a toll of the vineyards, which could lead to quality problems, something we’ll watch out for as it could impact claims or rejected loads for produce truckers.
It appears this year will be the first time California hits 100 million or more boxes of grapes.
In the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, watermelon shipments continue. Quality appears good enough that you should be able to avoid unfair claims or rejected loads – depending of course, upon whom you are delivering to. There also are steady shipments of Mexican citrus, tropical fruit and vegetables crossing the border into South Texas.
In the Hudson Valley of New York, various vegetables such as sweet corn are being loaded in light to moderate volume. The new apple harvest has just started and volume is very light, but increasing.
South Texas produce loads – grossing about $220o to Atlanta.
San Joaquin Valley grapes – grossing about $4300 to Chicago.
Late summer shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables continue in steady 
volume from around the country.
In New York state, onions have started from Orange County, while cabbage is coming from several areas in both the central and western parts of the state.
Michigan shippers continue to load a variety of vegetables, led by cucumbers and squash, particularly from the western half of the state.
It is a relatively short shipping season for red potatoes from the Big Lake, MN area. Those loadings will soon be giving away to the Red River Valley, which should move into volume shipments after Labor Day.
In California, stone fruit, grape and vegetables loads remain steady for the most part. A similar situation exits for vegetables from the Salinas Valley.
Tabulations for the outlook of national apple shipments have been issued at a recent outlook and marketing conference. The forecast predicts the smallest apple crop since 1986. This would amount to 192 million bushels, ranking it as the 31st biggest crop that will be shipped.
While the forecasts for the East and Midwest regions declined this year, the forecast for the West increased by 6 percent. And although some of its crop was damaged by hail, Washington state is still forecast to produce 135.7 million bushels, 5 percent above its 2011 production.
Washington state apples and pears – grossing about $5600 to New York City.
Michigan vegetables – about $900 to Chicago.
San Joaquin Valley produce – about $6000 to Atlanta.
Triple digit heat in much of the country has finally broken and fall shipments 
of fresh produce are coming. Two such items are fresh cranberries, that will be shipped from a handful of states, plus California apples that fill a niche between loadings of Chilean fruit and apples out of Washington state.
The third largest cranberry crop on record is being forecast by the USDA, amounting to 7.6 million 100-pound barrels. While Massachuetts will be down slightly from last fall, increases are seen in Wisconsin, Washington state, Oregon and New Jersey (the latter being virtually all processed fruit).
Expect Wisconsin cranberry shipments to get started around the week of September 17th, with Massachusetts starting around that same time as well. Oregon and Washington state seasonally start later.
While loadings begin in September, cranberries are still closely associated with the Thanksgiving holiday. Thus, the big volume is moved in the first half of November leading up to the holiday. With this big a crop, some loads will be moving after Thanksgiving (which is November 22nd) for the Christmas holidays.
California Apples
A lot more California apples used to be shipped than are today. This situation reminds me a bit of vegetables shipped from the Eastern Shore area of Delaware, Maryland and Viriginia. This region is sandwiched in between harvests to its south such as the Carolinas and Georgia, and to the north in shipping areas such as New Jersey and New York. If the Eastern shore veggies are too early or too late they are up against shipments from competing areas to the north and south of them. As a result of many “misses” compared to “hits” for the Eastern Shore, shippers have hurt. The result is fewer shippers and less volume than a decade or two ago.
If you are a veteran trucker who has hauled apples from California, you may remember in the mid 1990s there were around 10 million boxes of fruit being shipped for the season. Today, that number has dwindled to about 2.5 to 3 million boxes. Most of the loads originate out the Central San Joaquin Valley including San Joaquin County, Sonoma County and Santa Cruz County.
Shipments will continue through December. Leading apple varieties are fujis, galas and granny smiths.
California continues to work its way through the peak summer shipping season 
as much of the middle part of the country stays in the weather’s frying pan. While this may not be good for crops and livestock in the Mid-west, it is contributing to strong, steady shipments off of the West Coast.
For example, tomato shipments from USA areas such as Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina have been hit hard by the heat wave. This is resulting in more demand and better California loadings, whether it is tomatoes from the San Joaquin Valley, Ventura County, San Diego County, or even from Mexico’s Baja California.
Meanwhile, California should be shipping 4 to 5 million trays of strawberries weekly right on through August — mostly from the Watsonville District. During September, loading are still expected to remain strong — in the 3.5 to 4 million-tray range. While quality of strawberries has been a little up and down this year, some observers are predicing the berries will be much better the latter part of the season. That would be great not only for strawberry lovers, but for the guys and gals hauling them. Better quality should mean fewer claims or rejected loads.
There also remains mostly steady shipments of Salinas Valley vegetables, plus fruits and vegetables from throughout much of the San Joaquin Valley.
Salinas Valley produce grossing – about $7500 to New York City.
California apple and pear shipments have started, joining bell peppers and host of other veggies, stone fruits and grapes being 
shipped. Across the country, summer produce shipments also are moving in good volume as well, although few can match the volume coming from California.
California apples for the new shipping season are under way from the San Joaquin Valley, while the new pear crop is providing loads from the San Joaquin Valley as well as the Sacramento District. Both items join a host of San Joaquin Valley produce items ranging from peaches, plums and nectarines to veggies such as sweet corn, and bell peppers, among others, as well as table grapes and melons.
Looking ahead to fall citrus shipments, California volume is forecast to be pretty normal. Mandarin loadings get underway by mid October, while navel oranges should start shipping in Novemember and continue through May 2013. The 2011-12 navel crop amounted to 88 million 40-pound cartons being shipped. The Valencia orange loadings are winding down and about 28 million cartons will have been shipped by the end of the season.
Michigan
Michigan is a leading shipper of blueberries, which are moving in good, steady volume. There’s also a wide array of vegetables such as sweet corn, bell peppers and squash being loaded on trucks.
New York
Cabbage loads are now coming out of Western and Central New York. Other vegetables will soon be available for hauling.
Eastern Shore
The tri-state area of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia have had a good growing season and steady shipments of vegetables and melons are now occurring.
Eastern Shore produce is grossing – about $1700 to Chicago.
Michigan produce – about $2700 New York and Hunts Point.
California’s San Joaquin Valley produce – about $7500 to New York City.
There have been some reports of “fringe burn” on lettuce being shipped out of 
California’s Salinas Valley. This results from an exceptionally windy summer where the leaves are damaged from the wind and debris that is blown. While all lettuces have been affected to a certain degree, it appears to be more prominent with romaine and romaine hearts.
Otherwise, the Salinas Valley has had great weather this summer, with many days being under 70 degrees F. This is quite a difference from the “roasting” much of the USA is experiencing. Just take a little extra time inspecting the lettuce being loaded on your truck, and make sure your receiver(s) know what is being delivered and have any defect information written on the bill of lading.
There also are reports of some large Iceberg lettuce that is overripe. This occurs when product is left in the fields too long before harvesting.
Berries
California continues on track for possible record shipments of strawberries. The state has been running about 13 million trays ahead of this same period a year ago. The record is 181.3 million trays. The heaviest volume of a long season for shipping California strawberries is coming to a close. Shipments typically decline in August and into the fall.
Once again, here is a reminder to be extra cautious if you are hauling highly perishable berries this time of year, because of the extreme heat occuring in many parts of the USA. Please check out the in transit warming information on the TransFresh ads found on this website.
Besides strawberries out of the Watsonsville district, California also is shipping raspberries and blackberries. There should be decent supplies for hauling over at least the next couple of months.
Salinas Valley produce – grossing about $5500 to Cleveland.
The Salinas and San Joaquin Valleys continue to provide your best loading 
opportunities in California.
Head lettuce may be producing the biggest volume from Salinas and is averaging around 1700 to 1800 truckload equivalents a week. However, there remains significant tonnage coming with other types of lettuce, as well broccoli, cauliflower, celery and many other items….The nearby Watsonville area is shipping a lot of strawberries….
The relentless heat baking much of the USA this summer makes it paramount you take precautions to protect your load (check out the TransFresh ad on this website that provides “in-transit warming” information).
The Santa Maria district has much lighter volume than Salinas, but it also is shipping many of the same vegetables.
The San Joaquin Valley has both fruits and vegetable loadings occurring from many areas. In the central valley around 500 to 600 truckload equivalents of mature green tomatoes are being shipped each week….Table grape loadings continue on pace to what could be record shipments this year, with heaviest volume currently coming from the Arvin and Delano areas.
Shipments from the California desert of cantaloupe (and some other items) has mercifully come to an end as some product was looking pretty rough at the end of the season.
California supplies for refrigerated equipment generally remain adequate, but you shouldn’t face signficant delays for loads in most cases because of the seasonal volume.
Salinas vegetables are grossing – about $7700 to Hunts Point in New York City.
San Joaquin Valley fruits and vegetables – about $5000 to Chicago.
Here’s some items that are now available in your local supermarket, or will be 
available soon.
Starkrimson pears are among the first to be harvested early in the season and have a crimson red color that brightens as its ripens. They have a juicy texture and sweet flavor. Starkrimson pears are recognizable by their unique color and thick, stocky stem with a neck that appears to be growing up and around it.
Bosc pears are large with an elongated neck and have a distinct bronze/yellow color.
Bartlett is among the top pears in the U.S. Bartlett pears are bell-shaped with a classic sweet pear flavor and smooth, buttery texture. Bartlett pears are excellent for fresh eating and are a common pear used for canning.
Bartlett pears are the most popular of the pear varieties. They are picked at full mataurity in August and will ripen from green to yellow by the time they reach your supermarket shelves. The Bartlett is a classic pear for canning and is great for fresh eating, pies and sauce.
Sweet onions from the Vidalia, GA area are pretty much history because of a smaller crop and the season ending earlier than normal. While it may be the most famous of the sweet onions, a number of other states have established themselves in the past decade or so as providing consumers with some pretty tasty sweet onions themselves. South Texas also grows a good sweet onions, but it has ended like Vidalia.
California is now providing sweet onions and will do so into August.
One alleged “sweet onion” I would avoid are those from Colorado. Every year the Rocky Mountain state has bags of onions in my local supermarket labeled “sweet” and they never fail to disappoint, much less set my mouth on fire.
One of the best sweet onions coming on before long I’ve been pleased with from year to year is from the Skagit Valley in Washington state.
One of the better imported sweet onions that should be in your stores by early August are from Peru. Sometimes, they are lacking a little sweetness at the start of the season, but get better as we move closer to fall.
You should also be seeing some good reasonable retail prices on table grapes from California, especially with the red grapes right now. Soon to follow will be the yellow seedless grapes. With a good chance for a record crop from California, there should be some good prices on grapes this summer.
Another good buy in the coming weeks and months should be on potatoes with the new crop set to start. The USA has over one million acres of spuds planted, which is 46,000 more acres than at this time last year.