Posts Tagged “potatoes”
While I’ve written some reports suggesting caution when loading Washington state apples from the Wenachee Valley due to 
damage from a July 20 hail storm, information is now starting to come out relating to the pears from the same area. Expect pear shippers to be loading some “hail grade” pears. Appearance is affected, but eating quality should be fine. Just make sure the parties with whom you are working to deliver the load are aware of this condition to the fruit and it is noted on the bill of lading. Washington state pear shipments are expected to set a record this season volume wise.
In Michigan, produce shipments have been running early this season, not only for vegetables, but blueberries. Expect both to complete shipping a week or two ahead of schedule this summer. Michigan blueberry volume will drop significantly beginning the week of August 27th…..Expect a similar situation with “blues” coming out of Oregon and British Columbia.
In the San Luis Valley of Colorado, potato hauls should be ramping up by the end of August…Virtually all USA potato shipping areas are expecting to load more spuds during the 2012-13 shipping season.
On the East Coast, watermelon shipments have increased significantly over the past three years from Maryland and Delaware. Virginia also is shipping melons…..Expect increased loading opportunities on watermelons for the upcoming Labor Day weekend from areas ranging from West Texas to Indiana and North Carolina.
Delaware watermelons – grossing about $1100 to New York City.
Most fruit and vegetable rates are paying significantly more than rates on 
potatoes and onions right now, but the difference in rates will be shrinking in the next several weeks as overall fruit and veggie volume seasonally declines and the spud and onion volume rises with the new crops.
There is over 1 million acres of potatoes planted in the USA for the crop that is now being harvested. That is 46,000 more acres than at this time a year ago! Translation: There’s a huge crop that will need to be transported to market – and the railroads can only haul a relatively small amount of it. That means plenty of hauling opportunties this fall, winter and next spring for truckers with refrigerated equipment.
The top nine states with the most potatoes in order of size are: Idaho, Washington, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan and Oregon.
Idaho, the USA’s biggest potato producer, will have a lot more potatoes for hauling this season.
Potato shipments from Washington and Oregon get underway in early August, with volume expected to be normal and about the same as a year ago. Washington has about 25,000 acres of spuds for the fresh market. The Umatilla-Hermiston potato volume may be down a little from last season. No big deal though.
In central Wisconsin, red, white, yellow and russet potato diggings have been underway and shipments begin when the old crop is all sold, or customers begin demanding fresh potatoes from the new season, over the old ones which have been in storages forever. The spuds becoming available will be more abundant than on average from the past five years.
Onions
Helping Western onion shipments was the early demise of the Vidalia, GA onion season. It has created bigger demand for onions in the West and demand for trucks from places such as Bakersfield, CA and from Southern New Mexico and the Pasco area of Washington state. Also, imported onions from Peru will begin arriving at USA ports in early August.
Idaho potatoes are grossing – about $4800 to New York City’s Hunts Point.
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.
Since a significant rise in early June of rates for hauling fresh produce from 
some major shipping areas — particuarly the west coast, it has been a pretty quiet summer as rates have remained relatively stable, and few serious truck shortages have occurred.
While some produce items may have record shipments this year, such as California grapes and Washington state cherries, other areas ranging from Michigan fruit to South Texas vegetables, as well as California stone fruit, have taken some hits from the weather. I’m sure there may be other factors involved ranging from more contract rates, which tend to provide more rate stability on a seasonal, if not a year around basis. The struggling economy, with a lot of pitfully low rates for dry freight, may have more carriers seeking higher paying produce loads, particularly this time of the year.
Nationally, here’s a glimpse at loading opportunities for fresh fruits and vegetables.
South Carolina peaches are still being shipped , primarily in an area located south and southeast of Columbia stretching to the Georgia state line. Speaking of Georgia, peach loadings are on their last leg and should be finished within a week as the latter part of the season had exceptionally light production. South Carolina won’t be far behind.
In South Texas, various citrus, tropical fruits and vegetables from Mexico continue crossing the border into the Lone Star State. They join lesser amounts of produce grown and shipped from the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Southern New Mexico continues to ship onions…..In Michigan, blueberries and various vegetables such as cucumbers and squash are providing loads.
In Idaho, the country’s largest potato shipper continues to provide hauls from the 2011-12 harvest. New product should become available for hauling next month.
In the Columbia Basin of Washington state, potato and onion loads remain available. An excellent crop of sweet cherries are now coming out of Washington’s Yakima and Wenachee valleys, along with late season apples. Shipments of Washington pears are virtually finished.
In California, the vast majority of produce shipments are now coming from shipping areas north of Interstate 10.
Salinas Valley vegetables are generally grossing – about $7700 to New York City.
Washington states potatoes and onions from the Columbia Basin – about $3000 to Chicago.
South Carolina peaches – about $3400 to Boston.
Georgia peaches – $3300 to New York City.
Colorado is the fourth leading shipper of onions by volume in the USA, and 
loadings not only with onions, but other vegetables begin this month from the northeastern part of the state.]
In the San Luis Valley, which at an elevation of 7,600 feet, is the highest and largest commerical agricultural valley in the world, potatoes from the 2011-12 season should be finishing up soon, just in time from the new crop of russets to get started. Colorado ranks in the top 10 among potato shipping states.
The Rocky Ford area of Colorado has started shipping cantaloupe, but loading opportunities will be off a whopping 70 percent this season. Much less acreage was planted following the disasterious 2011 season where a food borne illness – listeria – killed 32 people, plus sickened nearly 150 people in 28 states. Only about 180,000 cartons of Colorado cantaloupes are forecast to be shipped, and distribution will not be nationwide this year, as in the past.
San Luis Valley potatoes – grossing about $1600 to Dallas.
Ohio ships a substaintable amount of vegetables during the summer and fall 
and volume is increasing. The Buckeye state has several major farming operations scattered around different regions shipping dozens of different types of vegetables ranging from squash to bell peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and beans.
Although shipments have started on some items, Ohio cranks up in July.
For example, cabbage and snap bean shipments area just starting, while items such as potatoes and sweet corn will get going by mid July.
The single most active area in the state with a handful of large shippers providing the most shipments, is located in central Ohio around small communities such as Willard and Plymouth.
However, there’s at least one significant vegetable shipping operation just Southwest of Akron in the eastern part of the state — at Hartville. There’s also a couple of vegetable operations in Northwest Ohio, not that far south of Detroit, MI – in towns such as Napoleon and Alvordton, OH.
While many Florida veggies, such as pepper and squash shipments are 
seasonally finished, items ranging from potatoes to tomatoes and watermelons are moving in good volume. Heaviest volume out of Florida is now with central area watermelons, which is approaching 2,000 loads per week. There’s moderate volume with tomatoes, followed by potatoes. But in the overall scheme of things, Florida produce volume is in a seasonal decline.
Georgia is entering perhaps its most active time of the year for produce loads. There’s light volume in the Southern part of the state with blueberries, and heavier tonnage coming from mixed vegetables….About 400 truckloads of Vidalia sweet onions are being shipped weekly. In the Ft. Valley area, Georgia peach hauls are limited, resulting in a lot of multi drop loads as the season hasn’t really kicked in yet and shippers are trying to please as many customers as possible.. But come June that will change rapidly and more straight loads of peaches will become available.
South Carolina peach loadings are only a few days behind those in Georgia.
Georgia vegetables – grossing about $2600 to Chicago.
Florida watermelons – about $4200 to New York City.
We’re not talking huge volumes of loads involving fresh produce in the 
Midwest, or Central USA, but there are quite a few areas shipping this time of the year. Even a partial load may allow you to get to another destination to fill out the trailer, or deliver and get a full haul.
Texas – There are 350 to 400 truckloads of Mexican avocados crossing the border into the Lower Rio Grande Valley each week. There’s also a significant amount of Mexican watermelons moving into Texas as well. The valley itself continues to ship various vegetables.
New Mexico — It may not be big volume, but onions are being shipped from the Las Cruces area.
Michigan — Light to moderate volumes of apples are available from Western Michigan. In about a month vegetable shipments will get underway.
Wisconsin — Potato loadings continue from the Stevens Point (central Wisconsin) area in moderate volume.
Colorado — The San Luis Valley is averaging around 500 truckloads of potatoes a week.
Nebraska — The Cornhusker state is certainly no Idaho, or even a Colorado or Wisconsin, when it comes to potato shipments. However, there are spuds in limited amounts coming out the Southwestern (Imperial) and Northeastern (O’Neill) parts of the state.
Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $2000 to Houston.
South Texas produce – about $4600 to New York City.
Going from East to West with U.S. produce shipping areas, in Florida I’m not sure why 
rates are little, if any more to Boston than to New York City. Afterall, you’ve got another 200 miles to Boston from Florida. Of course, Boston traditionally offers fewer return loads. So if you can gross $3600 to New York, surely a load of Florida vegetables, melons etc. should be getting close to $4000.
Southern Georgia shipments are cranking up with peppers, squash, greens and cabbage, while Southeastern Georgia Vidalia onions are in full shipping mode. Overall, expect Vidalia onion loadings to be off 20 to 30 percent this season due to disease.
In South Texas, sweet onion shipments are two to three weeks ahead of schedule and should be pretty much finished around May 10th. The Lower Rio Grande Valley also is loading items ranging from citrus, to beets, greens, cabbage, etc.
There are steady shipments of Idaho potatoes — grossing about $4200 to Atlanta.
The same holds for storage onions from the Idaho and Malhuer County, Oregon region — grossing about $5400 to Baltimore.
South Texas produce – about $2800 to Los Angeles.
Vidalia, GA onions – about $2600 to Chicago.
Produce shipments from the Huron District in the San Joaquin Valley, as well 
as loads out of the Salinas Valley have returned to normal following disruptions due to rain. The seasonal transition of the lettuce harvest and loadings out of Huron are quickly shifting from Huron to Salinas. Volume is building from the Salinas Valley, not only with lettuce, but other vegetables, and should become heavy in May.
Here’s an update on San Joaquin Valley stone fruit shipments that get underway soon. Both peaches and nectarines usally start by late April, with plums coming on in May. Expect peach and nectarine loading opportunities this season to be off 20 percent due to hail. There was a 20-mile-long swath of the storm cutting through from Southwest of Kingsburg going east to south of Dinuba and Reedly. Shippers with stone fruit orchards you may load with in this area were adversely affected the most.
Looking ahead to the Bakersfield, Kern County shipping area, potato shipping will get underway the second week of May with red, yellow and russet spuds. This will be followed by watermelon loads becoming available in early June, while table grape shipments get started in early July…..Meanwhile steady shipments of carrots are continuing from this area.
Salinas Valley vegetables – grossing about $7000 to New York City.