Rolling with the flow

Photo: © M. Perfectti | Adobestock

Horticulture is demanding logistically compared to other types of freight, as hauling plants or supplies is different from moving a load of dish soap or t-shirts. Multi-stop routes and special handling requirements present unique challenges alongside broader concerns like finding qualified drivers, note industry onlookers.

“We ship live, perishable products, and the time they can spend in the box is finite,” says Catherine Blaney, operations manager for Ball Horticultural Company’s vegetative breeding partners Darwin Perennials, Ball FloraPlant and Selecta One. “A cancelled flight or failure at the FedEx Memphis hub impacts our product more than a box of Kleenex sitting there, because our product has living, breathing tissue.”

The singular nature of agricultural goods is only one challenge companies face as the new growing season kicks off. Hurdles like crop seasonality, coupled with labor shortages and an ever-changing regulatory landscape, have behind-the-scenes personnel working to ensure crops reach their destinations efficiently and in optimal condition.

For Ball Horticultural, this effort begins at the production level. Plants are harvested at peak carbohydrate load to keep them in top condition throughout transportation. Even a single flipped box can mean a scattered mess of tissue culture, plugs or liners, costing customers money and time, says Blaney.

AmericanHort’s clients encompass growers, retailers, breeders and suppliers, with greenhouse and nursery crops comprising about one-third of its specialty crop business. Green-industry businesses are pondering transportation methods including trucking, rail and waterways, says Matt Mika, AmericanHort vice president of advocacy and government affairs.

The trucking industry, in particular, has been slowed by a rash of retirements as well as evolving driver requirements. Current shipping demand calls for an immediate influx of about 60,000 drivers, a deficit expected to balloon to more than 160,000 by 2028, says Mika.

A shorthanded market prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was further harmed when shuttered training schools dried up the fragile pipeline of drivers. More drivers in the green industry will help buoy the entire supply chain, Mika adds.

“During COVID, we could not move perishable goods, but these items have a shelf life and can’t sit on a truck for months at a time,” he says. “It’s not like a box from Amazon that can be put into a corner.”

Trucking is still the best option

AmericanHort supports a pair of legislative proposals that could alleviate the commercial truck driver shortage. The DRIVE Safe Integrity Act, introduced by Representatives Rick Crawford (R-AZ) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX), would remove the regulatory burdens that prevent drivers ages 18-20 from participating in interstate trucking. (Another bill, the Truck Parking Improvement Act, would provide grants to build or improve public parking facilities for trucks and additional commercial motor vehicles.)

The bipartisan DRIVE bill aims to reenact an apprenticeship program to bring thousands of young drivers into the sector. Tabbing ex-military personnel with experience piloting tanks and heavy trucks is another way of resolving agriculture’s trucking shortfall, says Colin Jones, president of Manor View Farm, a Maryland landscape distribution center and AmericanHort member.

The abundance of trucking companies should reduce stress for ag officials looking for a driver, says Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics, an Akron-based truckload freight enterprise.

Yet, numerous fleets raised pay post-pandemic to attract talent, while adjusting job requirements so employees can focus on driving rather than handling freight. “Basic respect” is another key facet in drawing workers into a demanding industry, Adamo says.

“Make sure your work area is safe, that you have helpers on site, and that the handling equipment works,” he says. “Stick to your loading and delivery schedules, too. Most over-the-road drivers get paid by the mile yet are limited in the number of hours they can work. Delays that reduce the distance drivers can travel before their on-duty clock runs out will literally take money out of their pocket.”

While plant delivery is not limited to trucking, the sector still remains horticulture’s best option in hauling delicate cargo, says Jones of Manor View. Long stretches of hot, dry weather in 2023 left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies were forced to reduce their loads of corn and soybeans. Meanwhile, rail transport is less efficient and predictable than on-the-road transport, he adds.

“We do two loads of rail annually, but it doesn’t always work for our needs because we’ve got so much material that has to get to a landscaper or garden center,” Jones says. “If (a train) gets stuck in a Montana snowstorm, it’s not like a truck that can make its way out. Rail is cheaper, but it’s less reliable.”

International and commercial airlift into the U.S. and Canada has encountered labor challenges, resulting in offloads for certain supply routes, says Derrick Nagle, international logistics manager at Ball Horticultural.

“We want to produce the freshest possible cuttings, so we are harvesting based on the cut-off time at the airport,” Nagle says. “And we are seeing fluctuations and changes to flight schedules that have been consistent for years. That’s disrupted the time in the box and impacted our customers.”

Rolling with the changes

Fuel is a truck fleet’s biggest expense outside of labor, with surcharges protecting the marketplace against price fluctuations. The fuel surcharge increased during COVID, topping out at 62 cents per mile in 2022 before levelling off. Decreasing gas costs offer a friendlier forecast for ag businesses gearing up for spring, says Adamo, the DAT official.

“Fuel prices are now below $4 a gallon as a national average,” Adamo says. “That’s good news for everyone concerned about transportation costs.”

New and existing regulations are having an impact on product transportation in the early days of 2024, says Blaney, the Ball Horticultural affiliates manager. For instance, mandatory USDA inspection of unrooted geranium material for Ralstonia has resulted in minimum one-day delays for every shipment tested.

“Geraniums do not do well with shipment delays,” says Blaney. “This is an area our industry needs to continue to collaborate with the USDA on for the 2024-25 season.”

Ball Horticultural partners with USDA and its Canadian equivalent to safeguard shipments from pests and pathogens. The company also tracks extreme fluctuations in weather – recent subzero temperatures in the U.S. caused service failures for UPS and FedEx.

“I would not say this year is worse than others, but when you are in the heat of shipping, it certainly can feel like it,” Blaney says. “Truck deliveries for international shipments of cuttings, as well as local regional trucking programs of plugs and liners, can mitigate these circumstances.”

Pest regulatory compliance is becoming more complicated as growers specialize and buy from each other, which necessitates tracking of plant origin and health throughout the market chain. Many material transactions are handled by brokers and additional third parties, which only increases risk and complication.

Ultimately, agriculture’s unique characteristics should motivate industry officials to purchase products ahead of time, says Manor View’s Jones.

“If you have space to hold products, that’s great, but this is a just-in-time industry, so the amount of plant material we can turn over is better,” says Jones. “That’s a fresher product, and a better success rate after its planted. Less water, fertilizer and care is better for the end user.”

Buying earlier will help farms and greenhouses plan their labor and stock, although it won’t do much to offset a shipping delay, says Marcin Czaicki, a logistics manager at Ball Horticultural.

Staying nimble is more crucial in a time-intensive industry, says Czaicki. Meticulously planned back-ups and contingencies will ideally protect farmers from acts of man and God alike.

“Businesses must be flexible in terms of delivery requirements and the kind of crops they’re buying for the season,” Czaicki says. “Stick with the varieties you know, but if we can’t supply that particular color, be flexible on what you can grow.”

Douglas J. Guth is a freelance journalist based in Cleveland Heights.