For Acton and Ibarra, shipping and transportation are major headaches. Acton believes reducing overhead will help, while Ibarra is concerned about ELD usage.
“Electronic logs will have a huge impact on the industry; having expedited shipping operations will be critical to overcome new restrictions,” he says. “This has implications across the supply chain.”
Anders of Paradise Produce found the weather as the most profound challenge to the fresh produce supply chain. “Last year, a lot of product didn’t come aboard as quickly as usual because of the weather—and that’s critical.”
This year suppliers already dealt with flooding and tornados. “For growers, of course, food safety and weather are the most critical issues,” Ford notes. And although foodservice and retailers deal with these issues and more, he thinks there’s little “to hold them back. Business is good, the industry is good, a lot of people are coming to North Texas.”
The Road Ahead
Despite the usual challenges buyers and sellers of perishables face—from food safety and weather to labor shortages and trucking regulation—Dallas produce businesses continue to prosper. “Dallas is a big metroplex with many diverse customers, and that’s a huge advantage,” enthuses Ford at Dallas Direct Distributing.
Offutt agrees: “Dallas is growing, and the population is increasing,” he says, adding, “and when you’re in wholesale produce, the more people you have, the more business you do. I think Dallas is a good place to be in this particular time in history.”
“As long as the economy is good,” Ford adds, “the Dallas produce industry will continue to grow.”
Images: photo.ua, Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com
