Posts Tagged “company drivers”
My first visit to the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market was in February 1989. Over the past 25 years I have visited the world’s largest produce wholesale facility more than 50 times.
Having been to most of the nation’s major wholesale produce markets, New York City’s South Bronx mammoth is the most fascinating. Being so large it has the most activity, the largest volume of trucks – and produce – moving in and out of the market.
Whenever possible, I enjoy visiting with owner operators, small fleet owners and company drivers who are at Hunts Point. I’ve heard the stories of excessive long delays waiting to unloading, because a receiver is using their reefer unit as a free warehouse. I’ve been told about the unfair claims truckers face, especially on loads that have lost market value from the time it was bought until it arrives at destination. There also are complaints about the $20 gate fee, however, these are often included anymore as part of the freight rate.
While these problems still exist at Hunts Point, it seems I’m finding fewer trucker complaints. Granted, I am only able to talk with a minute percentage of the 130,000 truckers that go the market each year.
However, as transportation costs increase, and good, dependable service becomes more of a premium, it seems more produce receivers than in the past appreciate receiving a delivery on time and in good condition. In other words, you pay for what you get.
Trucks are in greater demand than ever. You hack off a driver, and he or she has other choices. They don’t have to deliver to Hunts Point or anywhere else. In talks with drivers at truck stops and other places, I used to hear as often as not, they simply would not go to Hunts Point because of traffic, gridlock, tolls and yes – treatment at the docks. I don’t hear it as often as I used to.
Hunts Point only has about one-third the number of wholesalers on the market compared to when it opened in 1967. I like to think that while the consolidations, mergers and acquisitions have resulted in fewer, but larger merchants – hopefully their growth resulted from good, honest businesses practices.
For whatever reasons, Hunts Points is a pretty interesting place to visit. — Bill Martin
(This is the last of a four-part series based upon my visit to Hunt Point on Dec. 4, 2014)