Spring produce season: a reefer carrier's playbook

Where produce loads come from

Rules below were checked against the official sources at the bottom of this page on October 30, 2026. USDA's Specialty Crops Market News tracks reefer trucks leaving the big shipping regions. The origins in its truck rate report include the California districts (Kern, Oxnard, Salinas-Watsonville, Santa Maria, South and Central California), the Imperial and Coachella valleys, central and western Arizona, Nogales, Florida, Georgia, South Texas, Washington's Yakima Valley and Wenatchee district, and Mexico border crossings.

Mexico matters most in winter and early spring: the General Services Administration, which runs the Mariposa port, calls Nogales the primary port of entry for winter produce coming from Mexico. Which regions are shipping shifts week to week with the weather, so check the report rather than a fixed calendar. Our freight market calendar shows how produce fits the rest of the year, and the Canada and Mexico crossing guide covers border loads.

Read USDA's truck rate report

The National Truck Rate Report (Specialty Crops Market News) is free. For each origin it shows:

• Truck availability on a five-step scale: surplus, slight surplus, adequate, slight shortage, shortage. A region marked short on trucks is where shippers are waiting and you have room to negotiate.
• Rates per load for 48 to 53 ft reefers to major destination cities, as a "mostly" range that includes broker fees, with the change from the week before. Extra picks, extra drops and terminal market delivery are not included unless noted.

Use it as a market read, not a quote: your rate depends on the lane, the appointment times and the shipper. See how to negotiate rates and load-to-truck ratios.

Temperature rules: FDA sanitary transportation

FDA's sanitary transportation rule (21 CFR 1.908(e)) puts duties on the carrier when the carrier and shipper have a written agreement that the carrier is responsible for sanitary conditions, and only for the duties in that agreement. Then the carrier must:

• Provide a trailer and equipment that meet the shipper's specifications.
• Pre-cool each refrigerated compartment as the shipper specifies before offering the trailer for loading.
• After the trip, give the receiver the shipper's operating temperature if asked, and show that temperature was held if the shipper or receiver asks, for example with loading and unloading temperatures or time and temperature data.
• Keep written procedures for cleaning, sanitizing and inspecting the trailer and for temperature control, and train staff when the contract calls for it (21 CFR 1.910).

FDA exempts businesses with under $500,000 in average annual revenue and transport done by a farm. Even if you're exempt, set the reefer to the temperature on the bill of lading and rate confirmation, run it continuous if the shipper asks, and keep the download. See reefer basics.

When a produce load is rejected

USDA tells receivers who think a load won't make good delivery to call for an inspection right away. A USDA inspection is available to anyone with a financial interest in the load, and the certificate records the condition along with the bill of lading and transit temperatures. That is why your reefer download and pulp temperatures at pickup matter.

Know what USDA does not do: its PACA program protects unpaid produce sellers, and USDA says no government office handles freight issues. Freight disputes run through your contract, your broker and your cargo insurance. See cargo claims and getting detention paid for the long waits at produce sheds.

The agricultural hours of service exemption

Fresh produce can fall under the agricultural commodity exemption: during the planting and harvesting periods each state sets, hours of service don't apply within 150 air-miles of the source (49 CFR 395.1(k)). FMCSA measures from the first loading point, and the rules apply again once you pass 150 air-miles. Our agricultural exemption guide explains it step by step.

Running produce this spring? Reefer dispatch is a simple percentage of each load, quoted for your truck, and your first load is free if you have your own active MC. Call (747) 210-0227.

Questions carriers ask