Since time is money, some Nogales, AZ, shippers are looking for ways to circumvent the established system.
One truck broker who has operated in the Nogales area for 50 years complains that companies are circumventing brokers altogether to save money, with larger carriers (those with 60 to 100 tractor-trailers) negotiating direct contracts.
Another factor causing some brokers to consider throwing in the towel is internet truck stops; websites where shippers and carriers connect to book loads. This system seems to work fine until something goes wrong, such as a load being rejected by the destination warehouse.
Carriers with local relationships are in a far better position to get problems resolved. Short term, load board may save shippers money and keep carriers on the road, but there is much uncertainty; the burden of checking on the driver’s history and confirming safety records and insurance coverage is on the company responsible for the shipment, whereas this is part of the service brokers provide.
So where does all the northbound traffic go? Seasonal traffic, especially vegetable shipments in the winter months from Mexico’s extensive protected agriculture, go in all directions in the United States and up to Canada.
Though many loads of cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant flow across the border and go westward to California and the Pacific Northwest, others go eastward as well.
“We ship all over the country—New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Denver, and Chicago,” said Alex Chamberlain, president of AC Tomato Sales, LLC. “During the winter months, shipments are pretty regular, but it slows down in the summer when we’re competing in Chicago with Canadian tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.”
This is an excerpt from the most recent Produce Blueprints quarterly journal. Click here to read the full supplement.
