Posts Tagged “feature”
Colorado potato shipments continue to remain good and steady out of the San Luis Valley.
Total shipments to date for the current season are 19,980 truck loads, up from 19,124 in 2014. That number remains down from previous years: 2011 had shipments hitting 23,511 year to date in March; 2012 logged 22,754; and 2013 came in at 21,069.
Yellow potato shipments have accounted for just under 16 percent of the 2014-15 crop. In 2014 yellows were slightly over 12 percent, and in the three previous years they were in single-digit percentages.
Red potato shipments slipped a little in 2014-15, down to 5.8 percent from 6.9 percent in 2013-14.
San Luis Valley potato shipments are currently averaging about 750 truck loads per week.
As for the upcoming 2015-16 shipping season, growers just started planting in late April, which is normal, and will continue into May.
With an ongoing drought a major factor in the San Luis Valley’s potato industry, planting this coming season could be down between 8 and 10 percent from last year’s 55,000 acres.
It could be between 50,000 and 52,000 acres, but for now it is uncertain. Acreage in 2014 was bumped up from the previous year’s 49,700 acres.
San Luis Valley potatoes – grossing about $2400 to Chicago; $2200 to Houston.
Watermelons used to be the worse item a produce hauler could haul because they had to be loaded and unloaded by hand, which could lead to outrageous unloading charges. But most melons are now placed in bins on pallets and handled by forklifts. Unloading those bulk load wasn’t practical. Truckers are paid to drive, not chuck melons.
As we plunge further into spring, it is appearing watermelon shipments will be similar to last year. Domestic production from the period April 1 through June 1 shows the following forecasted volumes: Florida/499.7 million pounds; Texas/150.5 million pounds; California/59.5 million pounds; Arizona/14.6 million pounds; and Georgia/3.3 million pounds.
During this period, Mexico is forecasted to export 523.8 million pounds. Volume exported by Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama tails off at this time.
As shipments increase heading towards Memorial Day, the volume should peak at about 45 million pounds per day.
At 16 pounds per watermelon, you’re talking close to 3 million individual watermelons sold on a single day.
Florida is the biggest contributor for the holiday. But Texas is usually fully up to speed by then to help offset the decline on Mexican imports. California and Arizona are also shipping at that time to help supply west of the Rockies.
Florida watermelons, vegetables – grossing about $3000 to Philadelphia.
California produce shipments
With the Huron shipping district in the San Joaquin Valley finished, the primary suppliers of the nation’s vegetable row crops are the Salinas and Santa Maria valleys.
These two areas on California’s coast are shipping Iceberg lettuce, all the mixed and specialty lettuces, cauliflower, broccoli and celery, plus dozens of other items in smaller volumes. California now has over 500 truckloads of head lettuce shipments weekly, mostly out of Salinas.
About the best thing for produce truckers this time of the year in California is fewer production areas, making it easier to get full loads due to the increased volume, plus a lot of product typically is loaded at one dock. This certainly beats wintertime when mulitple pick ups can start in Central or Southern California and extend to Coachella, the Imperial Valley and Yuma – and perhaps even Nogales. Not good.
Over the next two to three months California will be in its peak strawberry shipping period with 6 million to 7 million trays or more being shipped each week.
While Ventura County strawberries are in a seasonal decline, the Santa Maria district is shipping over 500 truckloads per week. Strawberry shipments are building from the Watsonville district, and will soon surpass Santa Maria in volume.
Produce Rates
Salinas Valley vegetables and berries – grossing about $4300 to Dallas; $7100 to New York City.
If you end up in jail in this town, you better like being a vegetarian. One of America’s toughest – and best sheriff’s, Joe Arpaio has a say when it comes to the decision to change Maricopa County’s prison menu to a much more produce-conducive diet.
“They may not like the food, but if they don’t, the other alternative is to not go to jail,” Sheriff Arpaio said in a Phoenix Business Journal report.
And if that doesn’t work, bring in PETA spokeswoman and celebrity Pamela Anderson to dish the food. The Bay Watch star and animal advocate stopped by to serve lunches and promote the change, expressing her hope that other facilities would follow Mariposa’s example.
“We’re saving a lot of lives and I think it’s very helpful and encouraging to get people to eat compassionately and make non-violent choices,” Anderson said, according to the Kansas City Star.
From the business aspect, Sheriff Arpaio told the Phoenix Business Journal that the produce-charged vegan menu is not only a healthier option, it saves the county an additional $200,000 a year in food cost.
The jail system began the shift in diet provisions in 2013 with a focus on vegetarian, however the county contract still permits meat purchases, according to a Yahoo report from the time. Those contracts will expire in May of 2017, and whether or not they will be renewed is still a debate that continues.
While there appears to be local controversy with the county’s food suppliers and those advocating on behalf of inmates who do not necessarily want to be vegan, one thing is for sure; being served by the Baywatch star certainly helped the inmates eat their veggies.
Seven public meetings over the last two years to develop recommendations for federal agencies have been held by an expert committee that has recommended Americans eat more plant-based food, including fruits and vegetables.
“Now that the advisory committee has completed its recommendations, HHS and USDA will review this advisory report, along with comments from the public — including other experts — and input from other federal agencies as we begin the process of updating the guidelines,” said Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a joint statement.
Notably, the committee found that the consumption of fruits has remained low, but stable, for the U.S. population. Vegetable intake has declined, particularly among children and adolescents.
Soon after its recent release, the report was criticized by the meat industry for its move away from recommending lean meat dishes.
“We appreciate the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s recognition of the important role that lean meat can play in a healthy balanced diet, but lean meat’s relegation to a footnote ignores the countless studies and data that the committee reviewed for the last two years that showed unequivocally that meat and poultry are among the most nutrient-dense foods available,” said North American Meat Institute President and CEO Barry Carpenter.
A consumer advocate, however, praised the committee for its latest recommendations.
“The committee has boldly stated that a sustainable diet, higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods, is better for both our health and the planet than the current American diet,” said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “The DGAC has always urged greater consumption of fruits and vegetables, but the recommendation to eat less red and processed meat deserves to be in the final Dietary Guidelines for Americans — and not excised at the behest of the meat industry.”
Florida spring produce shipments continue to roll along, while Georgia is starting to show signs of life.
Over a 1,000 truck loads of mature green, plum and roma tomatoes are being shipped weekly from central and southern portions of Florida. Over 700 trucks loads of sweet corn also are be loaded each week, while good volume also is found with potatoes, bell peppers, cabbage and cucumbers. Dozens of other spring veggies also are being shipped in smaller quantities.
April has seen a big increase in volumes of Florida blueberry shipments. In late March there was virtually no movement, but volume exploded the week of April 6th as shipments took off. However, peak volumes in Florida should start tapering off this week. Total Florida blueberry shipments could be 5 to 7 million pounds above last season.
Florida vegetable shipments – grossing about $3200 to New York City, $2700 to Chicago.
Georgia Produce Shipments
Georgia now is shipping blueberries in light, but increasing volume. Other Georgia produce shipments are mostly light with items ranging from carrots to greens (collards, kale, mustard, turnips, etc.) . There is light, but increasing volume with squash. Cabbage remains light, but should be in good volume by the week of May 4th.
Vidalia onion shipments are increasing, hitting good volume by early May. Peaches from the Fort Valley area should start the third week of May.
While we tend to focus more on imported produce during the winter months when Southern Hemisphere fruits and vegetables are in good production, there is still a substantial amount of product crossing our borders or arriving at ports.
Mangos have become a major commodity over the past couple of decades in America and there currently are larger-than-normal volumes expected from Mexico during the second quarter of 2015. Mexican mango imports will be approximately 36 million boxes during Q2 of 2015, which is about 10 percent more compared to approximately 33 million boxes of mangos imported during the same period from Mexico a year ago.
Additionally, Mexican mango imports in Q2 of 2015 are expected to be 3 percent higher than in 2013, which is the year that had the highest volume of Mexican mango imports on record. The tropical fruit is crossing the border both at Nogales and in South Texas.
Peruvian Avocados
Peruvian avocado exporters expect to ship 204,000 tons of fruit for the 2015 season, an increase of more than 16,000 tons from the 2014 season. Over 71,000 of those tons will be destined for the U.S. market, arriving primarily at East Coast ports. Hass avocados will begin in late April, with production hitting its stride in the summer months and winding down in September.
Nogales Produce Shipments
Mexican imports through Nogales are past a peak for the year, but there is still substantial product, ranging from cucumbers to melons, squash and peppers. The first Mexican grapes should start crossing the border any time now.
Lower Rio Grand Valley Produce
Mexican produce items crossing the border in South Texas range from watermelons to papayas. Texas items range from sweet onions to citrus and cabbage.
Apple shipments, an amazing amount: 61 million bushels fresh-market apples had yet to ship as of April 1, an astounding 27 percent more than last year at the same time.
The April total also was 37 percent higher than the five-year average. As usual, Washington accounted for about 55 million bushels of the fresh-market apples still in storage. New York had 2.4 million bushels, Michigan 2 million bushels and Pennsylvania 694,000 bushels.
The big numbers apply to all major apple varieties. About 23.4 million bushels of red delicious had yet to ship, up from 17.5 million bushels.
Galas still to be shipped increased from 6.7 million to 9.7 million bushels, granny smith from 7 million to 7.2 million bushels, golden delicious from 5.4 million to 6.6 million bushels, fuji from 4.6 million to 5.7 million bushels, Pink Lady from 1.4 million to 1.9 million bushels and Honeycrisp from 329,000 to 670,000 bushels.
Michigan apples – grossing about $900 to Chicago.
Hudson Valley, NY apples – grossing about $1600 to Baltimore.
Yakima Valley, WA apples – grossing about $6700 to New York City.
Apricot Shipments
In an average year California ships about 1.5 million 24-pound packages of apricots. Harvest should get underway in the southern San Joaquin Valley in late April and moves up the state’s Central Valley throughout the spring and early summer.
California apricot shipments, which tend to mirror California cherry shipments, should be finished by the end of June.
Around 400 growers produce apricots from orchards covering 21,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley and Northern California. About 95 percent of the apricots grown in the United States come from California.
While the Nogales port of entry has under gone major upgrades during the past couple of years, there’s concerns that although trucks from Mexico are crossing the border more efficiently, once they get into Arizona, there’s gridlock getting out of town to deliver loads of fresh produce to points across North America.
Last January, for example, two 18-wheelers collided on Grand Avenue in route to Nogales and nearby Rio Rico warehouses. Traffic was brought to a screeching halt. The upgrades to the border crossing allows for more inspections to be made faster, but the growing gridlock getting to distribution warehouses, not to mention leaving town, causes plenty of headaches for produce handlers and produce truckers alike.
As a result Nogales produce shippers as well as the locally based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas are pushing state and federal government officials for major upgrades that would allow big rigs to get from the border to Interstate 19 without running into any traffic lights or making the steep climb onto the highway from Mariposa Road.
The state of Arizona has budgeted $6 million for a feasibility study. Some estimates for the total project have ranged from $60 million to $150 million.
Supporters are calling for construction of a “fly over” bypass allowing trucks to get from the border to Interstate 19. In addition to the flyover, the project would include improvements to Exits 12 and 17 in Rio Rico, the exits for many of the Nogales area’s distributors.
The Nogales port of entry now has a capacity for 4,000 vehicles a day, but even during peak times of the year, only about 1,800 vehicles are crossing daily.
Carrier Transicold of Athens, GA is celebrating a double anniversary this year: 75 years of Carrier road transport refrigeration innovation and the 45th anniversary of the Carrier Transicold business. Carrier Transicold helps improve global transport and shipping of temperature controlled cargoes with a complete line of equipment for refrigerated trucks, trailers and containers, and is a part of UTC Building & Industrial Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
“Carrier’s history encompasses more than a century of innovation in air conditioning and refrigeration, and pioneering achievements in truck and trailer refrigeration have been an integral part of this story,” said David Appel, president, Carrier Transicold & Refrigeration Systems. “Now in our 75th year of providing products for road transport refrigeration, we continue to drive the industry forward with highperformance, environmentally sustainable refrigeration solutions.”
The Carrier Transicold brand was formed in 1970, when Carrier acquired the California-based transport refrigeration equipment maker Transicold Co. and combined it with its Special Products Division, which had experience in trucking applications extending back to 1940. The business was responsible for all types of transport refrigeration, including ocean-going container refrigeration that it had pioneered in 1968.
Carrier’s first foray into truck refrigeration in 1940 included the application of its model 7K refrigeration compressors in early systems. Although haulers had experimented with mechanical refrigeration since the 1920s, most transport refrigeration methods by 1940 still used ice/salt or dry-ice/gravity flow refrigeration systems.
The initial success with the rugged 7K compressor led to the development of a complete truck refrigeration system for trucks and trailers, Carrier’s Type 68D unit. Available in two sizes, the Type 68D used a four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to a high-speed compressor. The relatively compact and adjustment-free unit boasted minimal moving parts, making it durable enough for the often rough conditions encountered by refrigerated trucks with bodies ranging up to 35 feet in length. The logistical improvement eliminated the need for haulers to replenish ice and assured more uniform temperature control over greater distances, helping to pave the way for long-haul refrigerated trucking.
Today, streamlined designs with minimal moving parts remain hallmarks of Carrier Transicold systems, as demonstrated by Vector™ trailer units, featuring EDrive™, all-electric refrigeration technology and Carrier’s X4™ series of mechanical trailer units, which have a reputation for high capacity, reliability and ease of service. In contrast to those early systems, today’s transport refrigeration units provide cooling power to haul perishable and frozen loads in 53-foot trailers, intermodal containers and railcars ranging up to 72 feet in interior length. Recent innovations from Carrier Transicold, driven by Tier 4 engine emissions regulations, have further improved fuel economy and reduced carbon emissions.
“Our X4 series and Vector trailer units and our Supra truck refrigeration units deliver the high capacities that our customers require, while also enhancing the sustainability profiles of their operations,” said Appel. “Benefits include low total cost of ownership and compliance with transport refrigeration emissions regulations.”
Carrier Transicold’s operations have expanded worldwide, with manufacturing facilities located in Athens, Ga., Rouen, France, Singapore and Shanghai. Today, Carrier Transicold plays a growing role as a critical link in enhancing the efficiency of the cold-chain, ensuring that perishables such as food and pharmaceuticals reach consumers in developed and developing countries.
“Our products have long served an important need delivering food and other temperature-sensitive goods to expanding population centers,” said Appel. “It’s a heritage we’re proud of and one that we intend to build further upon with more sustainable and innovative transport refrigeration solutions. It is this higher purpose that motivates and excites us to continue.”