Produce industry faces increasingly difficult trucking crisis
Produce industry faces increasingly difficult trucking crisis
With gasoline prices at an all-time high and an already-critical trucking situation in place, the Florida produce industry is faced with a double whammy that may threaten big and small companies alike.
Ray Gilmer, director of public affairs for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in Maitland, said that the word in the produce industry is that trucking could reach crisis status this year because of the high fuel prices, but some say it's just another straw on this already weakened camel?s back.
?Understandably, truckers don?t want to deadhead their loads," Mr. Gilmer said. "They can travel north with a full load of fresh produce that pays a decent price, but often they have to return empty or with a load that has a much lower value. Also, the limited hours they are restricted to being behind the wheel creates another difficulty for them. These are all contributors to the trucking crunch felt in the industry today."
Lewis Walker, president V.L. Walker Co. Inc. in Homestead, FL, said that an increasing number of truckers are going out of business, and increased overhead, including rising fuel prices, is among the reasons.
?The industry is expecting an even larger shortage of trucks to haul products this year," said Mr. Walker. "Every spring more trucking companies of all sizes go out of business. Multiple pickups and deliveries, and reaching their destinations on time are other stresses truckers face today. And when they do get where they?re going, they are not always treated well. Drivers will usually go back to the companies who treated them most fairly."
Mr. Walker said that he feels it would be wonderful if people in the produce industry would get together to work toward ways to make trucking a more viable occupation.
?We have two of our own trucks, and that is a big help," he said. "Our outside truckers have been hauling for us for many years, and we tend to depend on each other."
Chuck Weisinger, president and CEO of Weis-Buy Farms Inc. in Fort Myers, FL, said that the problem today is that almost 80 percent of truckers have six or fewer trucks.
?It's a fairly fragmented industry of small trucking companies today," he said. "But the way drivers are treated has a lot to do with so many making the conscious decision to get out of the business. Also, the shorter hours [are] an added burden to them."
Mr. Weisinger said that one recent instance is typical."We moved a truck from Immokalee to Atlanta," he said. "The driver already had some hours, and his log book wasn?t updated. The DOT shut him down for a few hours so he could take the required amount of time off. In the meantime, my customer doesn?t have the product. The trucker also has to refrigerate my product during this time, and that costs him more money. The overall situation has declined for truckers, especially over the last five years."
Mr. Weisinger said that he hears more frequent stories about truckers simply walking away from their loads out of frustration, and just such a situation happened to him a few weeks ago.
?Now I have an insurance claim for a load of tomatoes that was headed to Cleveland. The load was simply dumped. We couldn?t contact the driver by phone, and didn?t find out what was going on until it was too late to salvage the load. I was responsible to pay the shipper because it was an f.o.b. sale, but I also have to pay the receiver for the losses incurred when he had to go out and buy replacement product at a higher price."
?Trucking has been " and continues to be " a very large burden on the produce industry," said Tom O?Brien, president of C&D Fruit & Vegetable Co. in Bradenton, FL. "It is an area where growers and retailers have to put their heads together and work out a solution because its affecting every end of the business."
Mr. O?Brien said that trucking is the toughest part of the industry today. He agrees that drivers are sometimes treated poorly, and therefore have no incentive to stay in the business.
?They deserve respect for making it from point A to point B," he said. "Things like a room for them to rest, refresh themselves, watch a little TV and eat a meal is one idea. It's just a little consideration for a guy who just drove 48 hours and hasn?t had a shower in 24 hours. Not charging them for unloading is another. When we look at typical industries, we expect to see new generations move into it. But it isn?t happening in this case. Drivers don?t want their sons to face the same problems they are today."
Mr. O?Brien added that some drivers have their own issues that make them difficult to deal with, but the majority of them want only to be treated fairly for the valuable service they provide.
Dolphus Broxton, sales manager of Florida vegetables for A. Duda & Sons Inc. in Oviedo, agreed with others that the transportation crisis is a major issue.
?Hispanic communities are an important part of the industry today, and they use a lot of traditional type product," he said. "It is less expensive to import some of the product they use, but transporting it is such a problem that it washes out the cheaper prices. Fuel price increase adds to the problem, of course. Many trucking companies have gone out of business in recent years because they just could not make a living."
Mr. Broxton said that it is one of the reasons the company is working on consolidation programs. Someone still has to pay the tariff, but by putting as many items as possible on a truck, the number of trucks lessens. He added that major chain grocers are beginning to demand consolidations. Duda attempts to consolidate from both its Florida and Michigan growing regions.
Pero Packing & Sales in Delray Beach, FL, is placing an ever-increasing amount of emphasis on its logistics program. Frank Pero, vice president, said that it results in great savings in both time and money, and is particularly valid given the current trucking crisis and rising fuel prices.
?Some truckers run throughout Florida picking up products from nine to a dozen or more locations," he said. "Each pickup takes about two hours. It's a tremendous savings when we can consolidate several loads for customers at one location."
(A full report on Florida spring produce will appear in the April 11 issue of The Produce News.)
Ray Gilmer, director of public affairs for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in Maitland, said that the word in the produce industry is that trucking could reach crisis status this year because of the high fuel prices, but some say it's just another straw on this already weakened camel?s back.
?Understandably, truckers don?t want to deadhead their loads," Mr. Gilmer said. "They can travel north with a full load of fresh produce that pays a decent price, but often they have to return empty or with a load that has a much lower value. Also, the limited hours they are restricted to being behind the wheel creates another difficulty for them. These are all contributors to the trucking crunch felt in the industry today."
Lewis Walker, president V.L. Walker Co. Inc. in Homestead, FL, said that an increasing number of truckers are going out of business, and increased overhead, including rising fuel prices, is among the reasons.
?The industry is expecting an even larger shortage of trucks to haul products this year," said Mr. Walker. "Every spring more trucking companies of all sizes go out of business. Multiple pickups and deliveries, and reaching their destinations on time are other stresses truckers face today. And when they do get where they?re going, they are not always treated well. Drivers will usually go back to the companies who treated them most fairly."
Mr. Walker said that he feels it would be wonderful if people in the produce industry would get together to work toward ways to make trucking a more viable occupation.
?We have two of our own trucks, and that is a big help," he said. "Our outside truckers have been hauling for us for many years, and we tend to depend on each other."
Chuck Weisinger, president and CEO of Weis-Buy Farms Inc. in Fort Myers, FL, said that the problem today is that almost 80 percent of truckers have six or fewer trucks.
?It's a fairly fragmented industry of small trucking companies today," he said. "But the way drivers are treated has a lot to do with so many making the conscious decision to get out of the business. Also, the shorter hours [are] an added burden to them."
Mr. Weisinger said that one recent instance is typical."We moved a truck from Immokalee to Atlanta," he said. "The driver already had some hours, and his log book wasn?t updated. The DOT shut him down for a few hours so he could take the required amount of time off. In the meantime, my customer doesn?t have the product. The trucker also has to refrigerate my product during this time, and that costs him more money. The overall situation has declined for truckers, especially over the last five years."
Mr. Weisinger said that he hears more frequent stories about truckers simply walking away from their loads out of frustration, and just such a situation happened to him a few weeks ago.
?Now I have an insurance claim for a load of tomatoes that was headed to Cleveland. The load was simply dumped. We couldn?t contact the driver by phone, and didn?t find out what was going on until it was too late to salvage the load. I was responsible to pay the shipper because it was an f.o.b. sale, but I also have to pay the receiver for the losses incurred when he had to go out and buy replacement product at a higher price."
?Trucking has been " and continues to be " a very large burden on the produce industry," said Tom O?Brien, president of C&D Fruit & Vegetable Co. in Bradenton, FL. "It is an area where growers and retailers have to put their heads together and work out a solution because its affecting every end of the business."
Mr. O?Brien said that trucking is the toughest part of the industry today. He agrees that drivers are sometimes treated poorly, and therefore have no incentive to stay in the business.
?They deserve respect for making it from point A to point B," he said. "Things like a room for them to rest, refresh themselves, watch a little TV and eat a meal is one idea. It's just a little consideration for a guy who just drove 48 hours and hasn?t had a shower in 24 hours. Not charging them for unloading is another. When we look at typical industries, we expect to see new generations move into it. But it isn?t happening in this case. Drivers don?t want their sons to face the same problems they are today."
Mr. O?Brien added that some drivers have their own issues that make them difficult to deal with, but the majority of them want only to be treated fairly for the valuable service they provide.
Dolphus Broxton, sales manager of Florida vegetables for A. Duda & Sons Inc. in Oviedo, agreed with others that the transportation crisis is a major issue.
?Hispanic communities are an important part of the industry today, and they use a lot of traditional type product," he said. "It is less expensive to import some of the product they use, but transporting it is such a problem that it washes out the cheaper prices. Fuel price increase adds to the problem, of course. Many trucking companies have gone out of business in recent years because they just could not make a living."
Mr. Broxton said that it is one of the reasons the company is working on consolidation programs. Someone still has to pay the tariff, but by putting as many items as possible on a truck, the number of trucks lessens. He added that major chain grocers are beginning to demand consolidations. Duda attempts to consolidate from both its Florida and Michigan growing regions.
Pero Packing & Sales in Delray Beach, FL, is placing an ever-increasing amount of emphasis on its logistics program. Frank Pero, vice president, said that it results in great savings in both time and money, and is particularly valid given the current trucking crisis and rising fuel prices.
?Some truckers run throughout Florida picking up products from nine to a dozen or more locations," he said. "Each pickup takes about two hours. It's a tremendous savings when we can consolidate several loads for customers at one location."
(A full report on Florida spring produce will appear in the April 11 issue of The Produce News.)
