Each year, spring marks more than just warmer weather and blooming flowers—it kicks off one of the most strategically important shifts in the U.S. truckload freight market: produce season. While the industry is shaped by long-term cycles and annual trends, produce season remains one of the most disruptive recurring events on the freight calendar. Understanding when and where this surge occurs, and preparing for its ripple effects across modes and regions, is essential for shippers looking to protect service levels and control costs. Let’s break down the dynamics of produce season and the key strategies to manage through it successfully.
Where and when does produce season hit?
Produce season refers to the annual ramp-up in freight volumes tied to agricultural harvests. As spring temperatures rise, farms begin shipping fresh crops like leafy greens, tomatoes, onions, and melons to distribution centers and retailers across North America.
This surge typically begins in late March to early April, starting in warmer southern regions—Mexico, Florida, Texas, and Southern California—then gradually moves north through states like Georgia, the Carolinas, the Midwest, and into the Pacific Northwest by summer. Freight volumes ramp up significantly during this time, peaking in the summer and tapering off by fall. The map below visualizes the growing regions that are impacted the most, and the timeframes when freight volumes are most disruptive.
Why produce season disrupts freight markets across all shippers
The freight impact of produce season is multifaceted and far-reaching. While produce itself is highly perishable and often shipped via temperature-controlled trailers, the effects spill over into the broader truckload market, including dry van and even flatbed. Even if a shipper doesn’t move fresh food, they will still feel the ripple effects of produce season.
This disruption is due to a few key reasons:
Key reasons why:
- Supply and demand: Despite the shipment volume increases, the same amount of trucks remain in the market.
- Equipment reallocation: Temperature-controlled trailers that were previously used to haul dry goods with the refrigeration unit turned off now haul produce.
- Urgency of transport: Perishable goods must move quickly to maintain freshness.
- Carrier migration: Over the road carriers actively reposition assets into hot produce regions to capture seasonal premiums, which upsets the amount of supply in other non-produce impacted regions.
- Premium pricing: Shippers pay higher rates to secure capacity, especially in high-demand zones.
These dynamics result in tighter truck availability, increased rates, and routing guide disruption, even for shippers who don’t move produce. Although, for freight headed into these growing regions, freight prices can be advantageous as carriers flock that way and are willing to accept lower prices inbound as they reposition their equipment.
Compounding impact from other seasonal events
Produce season doesn’t exist in a vacuum, as there are several other disruptive events overlapping on the freight calendar. The largest of these events are Mother’s Day floral surge, Roadcheck Week, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.
Each May in preparation for Mother’s Day, floral imports surge. This occurs primarily through Miami, as demand in the two weeks leading up to the holiday can skyrocket over 3,000% above off-season averages. This creates intense reefer competition in affected regions.
International Roadcheck Week is a three-day event, most recently held mid-May, during which tens of thousands of trucks undergo compliance inspections across North America. The result is reduced available capacity, increased out-of-service rates, and tighter load-to-truck ratios that spike 40–60% during the event.
Memorial Day (Late May), Independence Day (July 4th), and Labor Day (early September) follow similar patterns. While contract freight generally flows as planned, spot market disruption is more common. Carrier availability dips as drivers take time off, and shippers ramp up pre-holiday shipments and/or create post-holiday backlogs, causing an uptick in the load-to-truck ratio as well as spot rates.
All modes of truckload feel the impact, though the effect is typically short but sharp. In combination with produce season, the effects of these seasonal events tend to compound and enhance the disruption of produce season.
Strategies to navigate produce season disruption
Whether you’re shipping produce or not, smart planning during this season can make the difference between smooth operations and costly disruption. Here’s how to stay ahead:
- Forecast and communicate early especially if you ship into or out of key produce regions. Begin reviewing forecasts and demand projections 4–6 weeks in advance. Identify freight that either originates from or delivers into produce-heavy states like FL, TX, CA, AZ, and GA. Early communication with logistics partners gives them the runway to secure capacity before volatility begins.
- Offer flexible pickup windows instead of fixed-day requirements. Providing a 2–3 day window greatly increases the chances to secure capacity and capture better pricing. Flexibility is a key differentiator when capacity tightens and carriers have options.
- Provide extended lead times with more proactive planning. Similar to a pickup window, this allows for brokers and carriers to properly plan and ensure service requirements are met. Last-minute requests during peak season can result in poor service and/or significantly higher rates. Even if a pickup window is not feasible, providing sufficient lead time allows providers to pick up on the specific date.
- Review your routing guide and spot strategy to anticipate market pressure. Before produce begins to ship, identify lanes most likely to be impacted by seasonal disruptions. Align with your partners to set expectations and help prevent service failures.
- Engage your broker early to position capacity ahead of demand. Don't wait for signs of disruption—give early visibility into your volume forecasts so they can pre-position trucks proactively.
- Engage with supply chain partners ahead of time to build resilience into your strategy. Communicate with distribution centers, customers, and vendors about potential disruptions and mitigation plans. Are dock hours flexible? Can some orders shift forward or backward? Strong alignment across partners can prevent avoidable delays when capacity becomes constrained.
- Monitor route guide compliance and manage underperforming lanes. Track acceptance rates and tender rejections closely. Flag underperforming carriers early and consider dual-sourcing or shifting those lanes to more reliable partners to maintain service levels and stay on budget.
Produce season is a predictable event but its impact is anything but minor. While some disruptions are unavoidable, most are manageable with the right planning, communication, and flexibility. Understanding the dynamics of produce season and how it impacts all shippers, regardless of commodity, is the first step to mitigating the impacts.
For more information, reach out to a C.H. Robinson representative who will help provide personalized solutions.
