Produce Loads

I'm with a 100% produce hauling company. We haul whatever we can south from Canada but allways produce back north. It's definatly a love it or hate it game. It has it's moments of frustration but for the most part it's allways kept me busy.

 

Wait until you get 7 picks up and down the California coastline...finish loading Thursday night ... arrive at Hunts Point Sunday night ... Those were the days ...Picking up never bothered me because you can rest and get ready for the ride...deliveries drove me away from refer hauling...and if you don't like that, if you are offered a load of meat, turn it down, sometimes its been a 3 day wait, maybe it got better now a days

 

Hauling produce can be a lucrative, good load, or it can be a terrible headache that costs you money. Most of it depends on who you are working with for shippers and receivers. If possible , get in with a buyer-receiver who procure their own trucks. Be willing to work as they want you to,and quick to go along with changes as needed. Or locate a produce truck broker who follows the different crops, but remember to be able to change your plans if the load changes, and do it with a smile.Don't be afraid to ask for a good freight rate, they all need good truckers.
Find a Blue Book, the bible of the produce industry, and look up produce businesses [ or brokers ] close to the area you want to be in. Call them, and see what they need hauled.

 

I would love to work at a California produce cooler but never drive it again!

 

It sounds plausible but not my experience, Kroger in the last 3 years has transitioned to rpcs, this is a special pack, so you can only pack Kroger. Walmart, Stater and HEB all also take rpcs, but a standard pack out. Kroger is a special pack. More uniquely about kroger is they don't contract, they are big on planning, so they often shift things around last moment, this combined with special pack makes them problematic to load. Kroger has recently shifted buying management and is doing more pre-planning. Certain Kroger DCs are pickier than others.
Though fthis summer you will probably see the most rejections at Walmart, they have changed lots of stuff and are really focused...

 

I do produce loads and boxed meat loads quite a bit. 1 thing that I have learned is that they both can be frustrating, irritating, and down right bad......if you allow them to be. Easier said than done, but keep your cool; DO NOT go to the dock office and start ranting & raving over the loading issue even though it is your clock that they are burning up; you may find yourself the 1st 1 at the dock and the last 1 to get loaded. Remember... THAT IS THIER HOUSE. YOU AND YOUR OUTFIT ARE ONLY VISITORS. Your outfit should have people in place to handle such affairs. Hit your dispatcher up about the proceedings in these cases, and make a note of when you got there, checked in, bumped the dock and which door, when they actually started loading you, when they finished, left the dock, got the bills, and departure time. This is done to protect YOU THE DRIVER since YOU THE DRIVER catches the 1st part of the blame if the load delivers late. If your diesel mobile has a qual-comm, put all of your times mentioned above on the qual-comm and send it. Again this protects YOU THE DRIVER and nobody will be able to say to you "you didn't tell us.....". Bottomline is there isnt alot you can do to speed things up, other than keep your cool, arrive before your load time, check in, and wait on the warehouse.

 

There is money to be made hauling produce loads,i know people charging almost $3.60 mile for produce runs,not much sleep,3 or 4 pickups,but money is good,i prefer to stay on the dry side,less money but more relaxing.

 

Well the ELOGS is for sure some crap when picking this type of loads. I guess I haul to higher end buyers because I don't never wait as long as some are saying they do. Take the good with the bad I guess.

 

Less money more relaxing??? does that not defeat the purpose of a job in all??

 

its jus one of them things u have to deal with hurry up and wait hauling chickens is even worst but sumboby got to do it