Posts Tagged “feature”
In an effort to speed delivery and meet increasing consumer demand to have goods delivered to their doorstep, Walmart is strengthening its partnership with the on-demand drone delivery startup DroneUp.
Walmart first partnered with DroneUp — operator of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) — in 2020 and launched a pilot program to deliver at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits.
“The trial demonstrated we could offer customers delivery in minutes versus hours. Now, after safely completing hundreds of drone deliveries from Walmart stores, we’re making an investment in DroneUp to continue our work toward developing a scalable last-mile delivery solution, John Furner, CEO and president of Walmart U.S., said in a recent press release.
Furner said Walmart is “uniquely positioned” to advance drone deliveries because of the retailer’s expansive footprint — over 4,700 stores nationwide — plus, 90 percent of the population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart location.
He said Walmart’s investment in DroneUp will apply to flying and ground delivery. The first official operation is being launched at a Walmart store in Bentonville, Arkansas.
“Conducting drone deliveries at scale is within reach. DroneUp’s expertise combined with our retail footprint and proven history of logistics innovation puts us right where we want to be for that day. Because when it comes to the future of drone delivery, we know the sky’s the limit,” Furner said in the post.
DroneUp was the first operator to use the FAA 107.39 waiver, which allows delivery flights to take place over people and moving vehicles. The Virginia startup is an authorized government drone services provider and operates commercially nationwide and for 11 states serving public sector agencies.
Walmart isn’t the only company looking for alternative means of handling fast deliveries. Amazon is planning to launch its own unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fleet and Google’s Wing UAV service recently piloted an operation during the pandemic lockdown and delivered books to school children.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY – LGS Specialty Sales, a leading importer of citrus, avocados, grapes, and persimmons, announces an update on its 2021 summer citrus season. Over the next few months, LGS’ Darling Citrus® line will include Cara Caras, lemons, minneolas, navels and W. Murcotts.
“The summer citrus season is always an exciting time at LGS,” said Luke Sears, president and founder of LGS Specialty Sales. “Our growers supply us with quality fruit and we’re excited for shoppers to experience and enjoy the various products we have available during the summer months.”
- Cara Caras – The Chilean Cara Caras will be available from August through September. The company reports the quality is great with the size trending smaller than previous seasons.
- Lemons – The Argentinian lemon season will run throughout August along with Chilean lemons through October to finish out the season. Both regions are producing premium fruit with excellent juice content.
- Minneolas – The Peruvian minneolas are of great quality with a vibrant appearance and good brix/acid ratio. The size is evenly split, which allows for availability in different pack styles and bulk sizes.
- Navels – The Chilean navel season will run throughout mid to late October. The size is trending smaller with the volume up 5-10 percent from 2020.
- W. Murcotts – The Peruvian and Chilean W. Murcott season will run from August through early November. The fruit is producing great flavor, an ideal acid/brix ratio and a vibrant orange exterior.
Additionally, LGS’ summer avocado program is also seeing great success. The Columbian summer program is producing quality avocados through August until the winter program kicks off in November. The Peruvian avocados are producing great oil content and the season is anticipated to go throughout September.
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About LGS Specialty Sales, Ltd.
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LGS Specialty Sales, Ltd. has been importing fruit from select growers around the world for 30 years. Today, LGS is a leading importer of clementines, oranges, avocados, grapes, lemons, minneolas, cara cara oranges and persimmons.
By INDUSTRY PRESS RELEASE July 23, 2021
Bridges Produce has built their business on long term partnerships and their relationship with Fruit d’Or is no exception. The Bridges team has worked with Fruit d’Or, for over 24 years and has acted as their exclusive organic fresh cranberry sales representative in the United States for the last 7 years. During this time, they have seen the program grow and diversify across many markets and distribution channels. This Fall, Bridges will be adding Massachusetts based Decas Farms conventional fresh cranberries to their available offerings.
In March 2021, family-owned Fruit d’Or based in Quebec, Canada acquired Decas Cranberry Products Inc. The Patience Fruit & Co organic brand is well-developed in Canada and is a strong organic player in the US cranberry market. Decas Farms has an 80 year history of producing high quality fresh cranberries and cranberry products.
There continues to be opportunities for significant growth across the fresh cranberry category which grew over 4.1% in 2020. Bridges will be able to offer both 8oz. and 12 oz. Patience Fruit & Co. brand organic cranberries and 12 oz. Decas Farms brand conventional cranberries from October through December shipping from three locations – Carver MA, Los Angeles, CA, and Vineland, NJ.
With Decas Farms now under the Patience Fruit & Co’s umbrella, they plan to pack and ship the majority of the organic and conventional fresh fruit at the Decas’ Massachusetts facility. “Bridges is excited to add a Massachusetts based packing house and the additional SKU’s in the Decas Farms label. The combination of Patience and Decas has greatly increased our capacity and efficiency of logistics. We can now cover the full cranberry category with both organic and conventional options with three loading locations in the US,” said Ben Johnson, Bridges Produce’s President. With these increased efficiencies, and hundreds of years of combined experience Bridges expects to provide even higher levels of customer service paired with the superior quality fruit that all three companies are known for.
A record volume of 3.4 million metric tons (MT) of table grapes was traded in the 2020-21 season despite “multiple hurdles”, according to a USDA report.
At the world level, the pandemic doesn’t appear to have limited output as losses by some producer countries are being offset by gains in others, keeping production at 24.7 million MT, just below the record level set in 2017-18, the report said.
In addition, if forecasts are realized, this year could also mark the first time Peru surpasses Chile in production.
“Global trade has faced many challenges this past year due to COVID‐19 and its many effects. Agriculture as a whole has had to overcome, and continues to be confronted with, significant transportation challenges as part of the fallout from COVID‐19,” the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report on World Markets and Trade said.
“Included in these are worldwide shipping delays and container shortages, with resultant high shipping costs, while countries also face labor shortages to varying degrees due to COVID‐19 measures.
“Table grapes experienced further obstacles the latter half of the season that made the year even more trying.”
The report noted that in Peru, striking workers blocked roads and shipments in Ica in December, hitting growers in the top producing region during the Andrean country’s second-largest export month.
Additionally, in the midst of Chile’s harvest in January, unseasonal and torrential rain caused severe damage in three of the main growing regions, it said. Producer associations in O’Higgins, the largest producing region, reported losses of up to 80 percent.
And in March, the cargo ship Ever Given ran aground and blocked the Suez Canal, impacting India’s exports destined for Europe at the peak of its shipping season.
But the report noted that there is also “no relief expected from lower volumes”, with production levels remaining high.
“Adequate supplies are often being met with logistical challenges in getting fruit to import markets, but most major exporters have been able to reach markets, with some even expanding their reach to new destinations. Chile, the United States, and Mexico are the only top producer‐exporters anticipated to see reduced shipments, but mostly due to lower supplies,” it said.
“Despite the litany of challenges, the table grape industry has shown great resilience. With steady high volumes, imports and exports are each projected to reach a record of more than 3.4 million tons.”
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.
Global food import costs are expected to rise 12% in 2021 to a record due to surging commodity prices and robust demand during the COVID-19 crisis, the United Nations food agency said.
The world’s food import bill, including shipping costs, is projected to reach $1.715 trillion this year, from $1.530 trillion in 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its twice-yearly Food Outlook report on Thursday.
Growth in agricultural trade during the pandemic showed the inelastic nature of food consumption and the resilience of international markets, but price rises since late 2020 were raising risks for poorer import-reliant countries, the FAO said.
Its monthly food price index hit a 10-year high in May, reflecting sharp gains for cereals, vegetable oils and sugar, Reuters reports.
The FAO said a separate index of food import values, including freight costs that have also soared, reached a record in March this year, surpassing levels seen during previous food price spikes in 2006-2008 and 2010-2012.
A strong volume increase for staple food imports last year had already driven up global import costs 3% to a record.
Exceptions were beverages and fish products that are more sensitive to economic conditions and which saw demand curbed by supply chain difficulties, the FAO said.
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.