National refrigerated produce volume rose 3% last week and fell 6% from a year earlier, led by a 16% gain in Mexico crossings through Texas and a 62% jump in the Imperial and Coachella section. California volume fell 8%, while Washington rose 3%. The rates in this report are USDA open-market (spot) rates that shippers or receivers pay per load, including brokers’ fees, and they ran 27% to 51% above last year.
Rate and volume figures come from USDA and cover produce-only refrigerated freight near 34 degrees. Rates are per load and exclude extra charges for terminal-market delivery, multi-pickup, and multi-drop shipments unless otherwise noted.
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Rates and volume
Produce truck rates are still climbing against last year while California volume pulls back. Across the three states with USDA rate lanes, average rates sit 27% to 51% above last year: Washington leads at 51%, California is up 39%, and Texas is up 27%. Week over week, Salinas-Watsonville into Baltimore leads at 12%, while Imperial and Coachella into Boston and Seattle, Kern into Chicago, South and Central California citrus into Chicago, and Santa Maria into Philadelphia each rose 6%. National volume, summed across every origin in the export, rose 3% from the week before and is down 6% from a year earlier. California volume fell 8% and 14% from a year earlier, Texas rose 16% on avocados and limes, and Washington rose 3% as apples and pears ramped. Inside California, in-state district volume fell 23%, and growers report some farmworkers staying home amid immigration enforcement. The data does not show enforcement as the cause.
Rates edging higher on average in California while its volume slips is consistent with a tighter market, though lane moves were uneven: Santa Maria into New York fell 10% and Yakima into Chicago fell 9%. USDA’s produce data covers refrigerated freight near 34 degrees, while DAT RateView spans every temperature zone from frozen to fresh, so the two are independent reads. They point the same way: RateView shows spot rates across all temperature zones and commodity types running about 32% higher than a year earlier.
State scorecard
States are ranked by total weekly volume. Rate figures are simple averages of each state’s lane movements. The n/a entries mean no rate lanes were reported.
California
California volume fell 8% and 14% from a year earlier. The state total includes the California region, the Mexico-California crossings at Calexico and Otay Mesa, the Mexico-Arizona crossings, and the Arizona region. Otay Mesa rose 5% and fell 6% from a year earlier.
Kern. Volume fell 7% and rose 11% from a year earlier. Grapes make up 92% of the section and fell 8%, while potatoes fell 1% and rose 56% from a year earlier. USDA now reports Kern grapes under the combined “San Joaquin Valley and Kern District” label, so this section combines the two labels to keep year-over-year comparisons consistent. Rates out of Kern rose 1% on average and are 45% above last year, led by Chicago at 6%. Last year’s Kern lanes carried a different basket, so the year-over-year comparisons match on origin district and destination city only.
Oxnard. Volume fell 49% and 60% from a year earlier. Strawberries, nearly half the section, fell 66% and 77% from a year earlier, and romaine fell 37%. Iceberg lettuce had no volume last week. Artichokes (up 34%) and cilantro (up 11%) moved higher. Inference: the strawberry drop looks like the tail of the Oxnard season, though the data does not say so directly. Rates slipped 1% on average and sit 37% above last year. Baltimore eased 2%, and Philadelphia held flat. The basket now includes strawberries, which last year’s did not.
Salinas-Watsonville. Volume fell 21% and 18% from a year earlier. Celery, the largest item at 32% of the section, rose 2%, while romaine fell 31%, iceberg fell 41%, strawberries fell 64%, and Brussels sprouts fell 24%. Inference: the strawberry and lettuce declines fit the usual fall tapering in the district, but the export does not label the cause. Rates rose 2% on average and sit 40% above last year. Baltimore jumped 12% and is 32% above last year, while New York fell 6% and remains 53% above.
Santa Maria. Volume fell 23% and rose 41% from a year earlier. Iceberg lettuce (18% of the section) fell 14% and is up 322% from a year earlier, broccoli rose 16% and 479% from a year earlier, and celery rose 5%. Strawberries fell 62% and cauliflower fell 37%. Rates slipped 1% on average and sit 40% above last year. Philadelphia gained 6%, while New York fell 10% and Miami fell 4%, the biggest drops in the section.
South and Central California. Volume fell 35% and 27% from a year earlier. Iceberg lettuce (34% of the section) rose 35% and romaine rose 164%, but cantaloupes fell 85%, watermelons fell 93%, and honeydews fell 84%. Bell peppers fell 29%, tomatoes fell 13%, and peaches fell 24%. Leeks, Hami melons, and pears had no volume last week. Inference: the melon drops fit the end of the summer melon season. Rates rose 1% on average and sit 40% above last year, with Chicago, Baltimore, and Philadelphia citrus lanes up 4% to 6% and Atlanta down 5%. Vegetable lanes compare with last year’s citrus-basket lanes from the same origin to the same city.
Farm labor context. Reporting through October 21 describes localized farm labor disruption in parts of the Central Valley and other California growing regions. A Madera fig grower said about half of roughly 100 harvest workers had been absent for more than a week, leaving some retailer orders partly unfilled. A Fresno County melon grower described crew absences after agents were seen in the area, though that harvest had already ended the previous week. A labor contractor employing about 3,000 workers across the Central Valley and Central Coast described a sharp fall in turnout in some crews, citing fear following arrests and online reports of agents, though the reporting did not establish that agents entered the farms involved. Other reporting from October 22 found Kern County agriculture largely avoided disruption, with the California Fresh Fruit Association saying it was not seeing widespread impacts and one large Kern employer saying job attendance was unaffected.
These are farm-level accounts, not statewide estimates. The AgTransport data shows in-state California district volume down 23% from the week before and 15% from a year earlier, led by strawberries (down 64% across the state’s districts), cantaloupes, watermelons, and honeydews. Inference: the melon drops are consistent with the end of that harvest, and the strawberry drop is consistent with a seasonal taper, so the data does not isolate any labor effect. Inference: production may be down in some California districts, since volume fell 49% in Oxnard, 35% in South and Central California, 23% in Santa Maria, and 21% in Salinas-Watsonville, but the export measures shipments and cannot separate lower production from seasonality, timing, or labor.
Imperial and Coachella Valleys, Arizona, and Mexico crossings
Volume through the section rose 62% and fell 22% from a year earlier. The Arizona crossings (Nogales, Douglas, and Lukeville) rose 62% and slipped 10% from a year earlier. The Calexico and San Luis crossings rose 17% and fell 11%. The Imperial, Coachella, and Palo Verde districts jumped 261% but remain 78% below last year, and the Arizona region rose 167% and fell 46% from a year earlier. Watermelons (up 166%), cucumbers (up 77%), cantaloupes (up 206%), and honeydews (up 93%) led the gains. Beets, acorn squash, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, raspberries, blackberries, collard greens, and choy sum had no volume the week before last. Inference: the new leafy and berry items point to the winter vegetable season starting up in the desert districts.
Rates on the Imperial and Coachella lanes rose 4% on average, with eight of nine lanes up and Atlanta flat. Nogales crossings published a first report last week, so those lanes carry no week-over-week change. Against last year’s Nogales lanes they run 6% to 53% higher, though last year’s basket included cantaloupes and this year’s does not.
Mexico crossings through Texas
Volume rose 16% and 1% from a year earlier. Avocados (24% of the section) rose 30% and limes rose 46%. Plum tomatoes rose 12% and bell peppers rose 19%, while cucumbers slipped 5% and broccoli fell 10%. Tejocote, pea tips, kale greens, and tarragon had no volume the week before last. Rates were flat on every lane USDA printed and average 27% above last year. Miami (51% above) and Atlanta (47% above) show the biggest gaps to last year. Boston and New York had no lanes a year ago.
Washington
Volume in the Yakima Valley, Wenatchee, and Columbia Basin rose 3% and 3% from a year earlier. Apples, 58% of the section, rose 5% and fell 5% from a year earlier. Pears rose 11% and 5% from a year earlier, dry onions slipped 2% and rose 20%, and potatoes slipped 1% and rose 20%. Inference: the apple and pear gains fit the fall harvest ramp. Rates slipped 3% on average and sit 51% above last year. Seattle rose 2%, three lanes were flat, and Boston and Philadelphia fell 3% and 4%. Baltimore fell 5%, Dallas fell 6%, Miami fell 8%, and Chicago fell 9%. Dallas and Chicago are each 68% above last year.
North Carolina and Delmarva
North Carolina volume fell 12% and rose 39% from a year earlier. Sweet potatoes make up essentially the whole section and fell 12%. Delmarva volume fell 16% and rose 246% from a year earlier. Tomatoes are 73% of the section and fell 14%, and watermelons are 27% and fell 14%. Cherry and grape tomatoes had no volume last week. USDA published no rate lanes for either state last week or a year ago, so the scorecard shows n/a.
New developments
Mexico crossings through Nogales, Arizona, published a first report last week. We placed the lanes in the Imperial and Coachella section, with year-over-year comparisons against last year’s Nogales lanes, and include them with California’s Arizona crossings. The Kern basket now runs carrots only, where last year’s lanes carried broccoli, lettuce, and onion baskets and a separate carrots and grapes basket. Oxnard, Salinas-Watsonville, and Santa Maria baskets now include strawberries, which were not in last year’s baskets, while the Nogales basket drops cantaloupes. The South and Central district again reports two baskets, vegetables and citrus, and year-over-year comparisons for the vegetable lanes use last year’s citrus-basket lanes.
What this means for carriers, shippers, and brokers
Carriers: Be selective in California. Imperial and Coachella lanes into Boston and Seattle rose 6%, and Kern into Chicago rose 6%, but Santa Maria into New York fell 10% while Santa Maria into Philadelphia rose 6%. New York pays about 14% more than Philadelphia from Santa Maria at the midpoints, and the spread is closing, so do not assume the longer haul wins. Texas lanes were flat everywhere while volume rose 16%, so there is no rate momentum to chase there. Inference: more loads at flat rates points to adequate trucks at the border, not a squeeze. Yakima and Wenatchee into Chicago fell 9% and Miami fell 8%, so look to the Seattle lane (up 2%) and eastern lanes that held flat. Takeaway: favor lanes with gains and rising local volume, such as Imperial and Coachella, and be careful on Santa Maria into New York and Yakima into Chicago.
Shippers: Budget for rates well above last year. Average lane rates are 39% above last year in California, 27% above in Texas, and 51% above in Washington, and that is before any further weekly moves. Softening is limited: Santa Maria into New York (down 10%), Santa Maria into Miami (down 4%), South and Central citrus into Atlanta (down 5%), and Yakima into Chicago, Miami, and Dallas (down 9%, 8%, and 6%). Flexibility on the receiving point pays: from Kern, Philadelphia runs about 17% below New York at the midpoints, from Santa Maria about 12% below, and from South and Central vegetables about 18% below. Salinas-Watsonville into Baltimore jumped 12% and sits 32% above last year, and California volume is down 8%, so cover Imperial and Coachella lanes into Boston and Seattle (up 6%) and Baltimore lanes early. Inference: with California volume shrinking and farm labor under pressure, tightness could persist. Takeaway: lock in California lanes early, shift receivers to Philadelphia where you can, and take Washington apple and pear loads while rates are softening.
Brokers: Margin pressure is uneven, so price lane by lane. Salinas-Watsonville into Baltimore (up 12%), Imperial and Coachella into Boston and Seattle (up 6%), and Kern into Chicago (up 6%) are costing more to cover, while Yakima into Chicago (down 9%), Miami (down 8%), and Dallas (down 6%) are costing less, which creates room to hold the customer rate. California volume fell 8%, so expect shippers to push for coverage on rising lanes. Texas rates were flat across all lanes, and volume is up 16%, so those loads should cover without a premium. Inference: the Nogales first report adds Arizona crossing lanes at 6% to 53% above last year, so quote those cautiously against last year’s reference rates. Takeaway: lock capacity on the lanes that rose, and keep your customer rate steady where the carrier rate fell.
About these rates
Rates are for Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Week-over-week changes are USDA’s printed changes from Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Year-over-year changes compare the midpoint of each lane’s mostly range with the same origin district and destination city in the USDA report for Tuesday, October 28, 2025. Rates are open (spot) market sales that shippers or receivers pay, depending on the basis of sale, per load, including brokers’ fees, for truckload shipments to a single destination in 48-53 foot refrigerated trailers. Volumes are USDA AMS AgTransport reported refrigerated truck movement of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the report shows only percentage changes.
