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I would like to take a bite out of this apple please. I have run Apples out of Yakima and Wenatchee. If memory serves there are many shippers of Apples. There is a company out of Little Rock that ran teams to and from the Northwest. We rely on that part of Washington State to get a back haul to at LEAST the Mississippi River. I like walmart delivery because we had a account where you simply need to "Drop off" the trailer load of apples and pick up an empty trailer and be on your way in 15 minutes. NOW THAT's GOLDEN. (Dont ask about actually unloading at walmart, that is something drivers have to deal with) Walmarts get alot of these Apples. However, My part in the Little Rock was to relieve the team of thier long haul Apples at Little Rock and finsih the delivery into say... Safeway Foods at Atlanta Ga. The Team is then free to take a McKesson load west instead of having to go to atlanta to sit and deliver the apples. By the time I finish driving the 12 hours or so to Atlanta, sleep and rise early to arrange the unloading it is near 24 hours before that load is completed. At that time, that team is already past Armarillo Texas and 2 days from LA. That is productivity. Now I have a potential to find a load west from anywhere within a day of Atlanta and drop it off for the returning team coming back to Little Rock. This way I can support several team trucks and if you can stand the hours, sleep and dealing with the sometimes crazy issues there is money all around. My problem with the Apples is that they must have the same temperature or very close to it and no issues with the refridgeration. Feed that trailer with fuel. Especially in the summer. The second issue with apples is when I arrive at Safeway Foods in Atlanta at 10 PM, the security lets me inside the property to sleep because Apples are "TOP PRIORITY" and it is a bad area. Food recievers generally recieve inbound shipments between 5-11 AM and start to ship to food stores any time late in the afternoon. The public should in best scenario have the hands on the apples next day off my truck. Or... about 4 days from leaving the Apple Shipper. Besides Meat Loads, Apples and Fruits are next in. Then you need to get the dry goods like Potato Chips, Popcorn, Cheese etc etc.. Woe to those who are hauling paper plates. They unload last. (Not always... just luck of the draw.) So when the reciever shows up for work at 6 am in the morning (Or "Mawning" as we say in the south) the first question they ask is: "IZ DAT APPLE MAN HEAH YET?? WHERE HE BE AT?! GO FIND HIM Y'ALL" You definately dont want to be late, asleep or indisposed or eating when those words come thru the door. I am the one that stands next to the pay phone in line and if I do it right let the yard boys run about outside while I present the papers to the happy reciever. **Edited to note that I would be checking messages on my cell phone while leaning on the rusting and vandalized payphone. If you are wondering why Apples are 1.00 a pound, it is because of the Columbia and other rivers irrigation problems. Apple Growers fight Aluminum interests and Salmon as well as other pressures to keep thier trees watered. Last time I came thru there tens of acres of old trees were destroyed and new ones planted. I think by now they should be bursting with apples. I think it has potential for Rail transport out of there, but the railroad that undertakes this task should be totally focused on these three things: 1- Reliable refridgeration... Transicold or Carrier. Anything else is wussy and weak. 2- Personel You need people to tend, fuel and monitor those loads all the way to the customer 3- You are not finished with the Apple run until you can get reloaded and back to Washington State.
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