Posts Tagged “Michigan”
Photo: Courtesy Vidalia® Onion Committee
Shipments of New Jersey-grown peaches should get underway in early July, a little later than last year. Good quality and quantity are being predicted, with loadings lasting through mid-September. More volume is seen this season since some trees planted three to five years ago are coming into production. (more…)
Only a few weeks ago if someone predicted there would be 21% more USA fresh-market apples in storage than the year before, you’d been considered a little nuts. The same goes are anyone predicted there would be nearly 130 million boxes of apples shipped this season, especially after year’s damage to apple crops in Michigan and New York.
Washington state is on pace to ship 129.6 million boxes this season, shattering the previous record by more than 20 million boxes.
Consider this. Washington could ship 132,245 truckload equivalents of apples this season, which ends this summer. (divide 129.6 million boxes by 1,980 boxes of apples that make up a truck load.)
Washington grower-shippers and officials knew they’d have a big crop, but not this big. Following July hailstorms, the estimate was in the 100 million to 110 million box range.
Apparently the 2012 crop is no fluke. It seems every five to seven years, apple shipments have jumped to another level. In recent years loadings were in the 100- million to 109-million box range. Prior to this there were years where shipments settled into the 80-million box volume.
For the 2013-13 season, observers are already talking about shipments being in the 120-million box range. In other words, loadings hitting 120-million boxes is expected to become the new standard.
Michigan and New York apples
Apple shippers in Michigan and New York are expressing optimism about a big comeback from a disastrous freeze killing 2012-13 season that wiped out about 85% of Michigan’s crop and 52% of New York’s.
Early variety apple shipments are expected to get underway around the third week of August.
Washington state apples – grossing about $6600 to New York City.
While California is the top shipper of peaches, South Carolina and Georgia usually rank second and third, and not necessarily in that order, depending upon the season.
Peach shipments from South Carolina will get started by early June, usually a few days later than nearby Georgia. However, it won’t be until good shipments come on several weeks later, you’ll have decent loading opporunities. Peak loadings should come just in time for the Fourth of July.
Florida
An unseasonably cold March and disease could very well slash watermelon shipments from Central and South Florida by 50%.
Michigan
Western Michigan apple shippers apparently dodged the proverbial bullet last week, avoiding significant freeze damage, which would have been a scary repeat of a year ago, when most shipments were wiped out by the cold. It appears there will be be good apple shipments when movement starts this summer.
Similar to 2012, Michigan growers have 36,500 acres in apple production this season.
Ontario
Asparagus growers in Southern Ontario have taken a hit as freezing temperatures took their toll on the crop recently. Frozen asparagus has a clear appearance and spears will droop as it warms up and should not be shipped. However, these plants will grow more spears.
Avocados from Mexic0Produce truckers this season have already picked up a lot of avocado at ports of entry along the Southern border. Trucks have delivered nearly a million pounds of Mexican avocados to markets across the USA and Canada. However, this is only the beginning. Before the season ends later this year, a billion pounds of Mexican avocadoes will have been hauled to markets a cross North America.
California
California cherry shipments kicked off the third week of April and volume is building. Decent loading opportunities are now just beginning to happen. Decent volume for deliveries in time for the Memorial Day holiday (May 25-27), with earlier varieties are expected. However, the later variety bing volume will be substantially less than a year ago.
The San Joaquin Valley southern region including Brooks and Tulare shipments will likely peak May 16-21. Overall peak shipments should be around May 25 to June 7. The bing cherry crop shipments are expected to be off by 30% to 50% from last year, due in large part to an alternate-bearing cycle.
California has had normal asparagus shipments during April, but loadings are expected lighter than usual now and this will probablycontinue through May.
Michigan
Like so many areas of the country, a colder than normal spring has Michigan asparagus shipments off to a slow to start. Significant increases in volume are not expected until the third week of May, two weeks or more behind schedule.
Florida
After recovering from an early March freeze, Florida sweet corn grower-shippers are finally entering peak spring shipments. Peak loadings normally start around mid-April.
Georgia
Georgia sweet corn shipments also are going to be a little later due to the cold growing season. Corn loadings from Georgia should start in late May, but decent shipments will not be happening until early June. Georgia’s shipments normally end after July 4.
South Georgia vegetables – grossing about $2400 to New York City.
Central Florida vegetables – about $4000 to Boston.
Georgia shipments should start from the Fort Valley area in mid-May, about a week or two later than in recent years. Loadings should be more normal this season, with peak movement occurring in July and continuing until about August 10. The season then should conclude a week or so later.
Looking at Vidalia onions, too much rain, mostly in March, is resulting in a disease known as seed stems. This results in bolts, flower stalks and seeds showing up on the plants in the field. Seed stems cause the core of an onion to become hollow, which results in rapid deterioration of the entire onion. Most of this is problem is removed at the packing shed with grading, but keep an extra eye out for it when loading. A significant reduction in loading opportunities is expected because of the problem.
South Carolina peach shipments typically follow Georgia shipments, with only a few days or a week separating when the two areas start and finish.
Michigan
Michigan ranks third in the nation for asparagus shipments, annually producing 25 million pounds. The harvest is usually underway by May 1st, but cold weather has the crop behind schedule. Asparagus should finally be getting underway anytime now.
Michigan also is one of the leading shippers of blueberries., with loading opportunities normally from June to September, with the most volume occurring in July and August.
“Blues” shipments from Michigan totaled only 72 million pounds in 2011 and 87 million pounds in 2012. This year, it may return to a more normal loading amount at over 100 million pounds of blueberries.
In case you haven’t noticed strawberries in retail supermarket are costing about 30 percent more, or about a dollar more per 16 ounce claimshell package, than only a few weeks ago. After a summer of plentiful supplies, this is the time of year when strawberry production is in a transition from the bountiful fields at Watsonville, CA to areas further south, such as Ventura and Orange counties, as well as in Mexico. It will be the first of the year before supplies increase, and perhaps some break in what you are paying in the stores.
Long gone are days of 99-cent-per-pound apples. Yet, this fruit is one of the better buys in produce departments. Despite a freeze wiping out the vast majority of apples in Michigan last spring, plus cold weather hitting New York apples hard, the nation should have nine percent more apples than a year ago – thanks to a humongous crop in Washington state. Still it depends on the variety, what you will pay. For example, two of my favorites, the Gala and the fuji apples are selling at my store for $1.77 per pound. However, another favorite of mine, the Ambrosia apples, costs about 50 percent more.
Table grapes have been another wonderful eating experience this year. California’s crop has been so sweet and cruncy I sure hate to see the season end. I’m noticing the late season grapes from California are not quit as good as the super tasting product that has been available for month. Grapes also have been one of the best buys in the produce department. The California product will soon be replaced by grapes from Chile. We can only hope Chile has as good a crop.
Other good buys in the produce department continue to be bananas and kiwifruit.
While Michigan and New York took major hits with apple crops this year, there are plenty of apples for hauling through the end of the season, which won’t occur until next summer. In fact, nine percent more apples remain in USA storages, compared to a year ago.
As of December 1st around 103 million bushels of fresh-market apples remained for haulers. This also is nine percent above the five-year average.
Forget the freeze-related losses in Michigan and New York, Washington state is loading the fruit in record numbers. 34-million bushels of red delicious apples alone, remain to be shipped. Beside red delicious, there are more Galas, golden delicious, fujis and granny smiths than last year.
Florida Citrus
While loads of Florida citrus will be down by five percent this season, the USDA still sees 146 million boxes being shipped. The primary decrease in volume will occur with the early and mid season varieties, which are off seven percent. The USDA issued its first forecast in October and will follow with monthly updates through the end of the season in July.
The USDA makes its first estimate in October of each year and revises it monthly as the crop takes shape until the end of the season in July. Disease and weather factors are cited for the decline in volume.
During the 2011-12 season, Florida moved 146.6 million boxes of oranges.
For Florida specialty fruit, the USDA predicts volume declines with tangelos and tangerines.
As for Florida grapefruit, the Sunshine state should ship around 18 million boxes, down from the forecaset of 20.3 million boxes a month ago.
Florida citrus – grossing about $2400 to New York.
Washington state apples – about $5600 to New York.
This is Thanksgiving week and transportation needs and availability tend to get a little funky, or unpreditable. Thanksgiving shipments have pretty much taken place, so the greatest need for trucks is expected to come as receivers relpinsh stocks following the long holidayweekend.
The New York and Michigan apple industries got clobbered this season by bad weather, and shipments are expected to remain at record levels from both the Yakima Valley and Wenachee Valley. The 2012-13 crop year – 121.5 million boxes could be shipped.
A breakdown by apple variety, also shows in millions of boxes, the following: Red Delicious/32.986; Golden Delicious/11.384; Granny Smith/11.163; Fuji/14.796; Gala/19.915; Braeburn/2.031; Jonagold/0.79; Cameo/0.618; Cripps Pink/2.81; Honeycrisp/2.95; and others/2.982.
As of November 1st, approximately 19.1 million boxes of apples had been shipped. As of the same date in 2011, approximately 14.6 million boxes had been loaded. During 2010, that number was 14.2 million boxes.
Pears
Through early November, Northwest growers had shipped 31 percent of the 2012-13 crop, up from 25% at the same time last year.
The 19.2 million boxes expected this year are down from last year’s 20.5 million-box record crop, but overall shipments should be right at the five-year average.
Potatoes and Onions
Washington state also is a major shipper of potatoes and onions, with the vast majority of loads originating from the Columbia Basin and extending into the Umatilla Basin of Oregon.
This area combined is accounting for nearly 750 truck load equivalents of onions on a weekly basis, and another 500 truck load equivalents of potatoes each week.
Washington state potatoes and onions – grossing about $6200 to Atlanta.
Washington state apples and pears – about $5400 to New York City.
Washington and Pennsylvania apple shippers are filling the gap left by major crop losses in Michigan and New York. However, many Eastern growers who thought they would be shipping through the end of the year, probably will not as they run out of product. As a result, the demand for Washington apple loadings likely will increase sooner rather than later.
Apple volumes from Pennsylavania were up to 20 percent more than expected, given the severe crop shortages in New York and Michigan.
Avocado Shipments
More avocados will be crossing the border from Mexico in the USA in the months ahead for distribution by truck throughout North America.
Mexico, which is the largest supplier of Hass avocados to the USA market, prediciting record loads for the 2012-13 crop and expects to export a record volume of avocados to the USA market during the 2012-13 season.
Mexico, projected exports of Hass to the United States from July 2012 through June 2013 will total more than 918 million pounds, up from around 782 million pounds during the prior year.
The most active shipping period and biggest volumes will occur from between October-through-December (around 291 million pounds) and the January-through-March period (around 269 million pounds).
Blueberry Imports
Blueberry imports from Chile just continue to increase and should be available from various USA ports in coming weeks. The initial berries will be arriving via air shipments through the first half of December. But as volume picks up, most blueberries will arrive at USA port via boats. Biggest volume arrivals should be during January and February.
Lower Rio Grande Valley (Mexican crossings of citrus, fruit, veggies, avocados, etc. – grossing about $2200 to Chicago.
Washington apples – about $6000 to New York City.
There will be fewer apples for hauling in two of four of the leading eastern states this fall. 
New York got hit the hardest by frost related weather earlier this year, but there also will be fewer loads available for produce haulers in North Carolina. Pennsylvania and Virginia will be up in volume only slightly.
New York state’s Western and Central apple shipping areas were hit the hardest, with less frost damage occuring in the eastern part of the state, home of the Hudson Valley. Still, New York’s volume will be down 52 percent from last apple season ( 590 million pounds compared to 1.2 billion pound a year ago).
In Pennsylvania, apples are forecast to be at 481 million pounds. It shipped 458 million pounds last year.
North Carolina took a beating. This year it expects to load 40 million pounds of apples compared to 140 million pounds in 2011.
The leading apple shipper in the mid-west, Michigan will ship 85 percent fewer apples this season.
Ironically, Washington state, which normally ships about half of the nation’s apples every year, is expected to account for 77 percent of the nation’s apple loads for 2012-13. This is despite suffering some hail damage. The state was on track for historic volume, until the fowl weather hit. Still, Washington state is expected to have its second largest amount of apple shipments on record.
One difference produce haulers can expect out of the Northwest this season is for Washington shippers to be packing more apples than normal in the smaller, consumer bags. This is because Michigan normally is heavy with bagged apples, and Washington packers will be looking to help fill this void.
Produce truckers should always watch what is being loaded, not only for proper count, but for quality and appearance of the product being loaded. This is especially true if you are hauling apples from most shipping areas this season. Expect shippers to be loading some fruit with pits or hail damage marks on it. Just make sure whom you are hauling for is aware of this situation to help reduce changes of claims or rejected loads. Also, be sure and note it on the bill of lading.
Washington state apples grossing – about $5600 to New York City.