Do Freight Rates for Produce and Ornamentals Cover Costs?
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Summary
This report examines whether freight rates paid for transporting produce and ornamentals to and from Florida are sufficient to cover the operating costs of motor carriers. The study addresses a critical tension in Florida’s agricultural supply chain: while shippers seek to minimize haulage costs, carriers must earn enough revenue to remain financially viable and provide reliable service. The analysis focuses on trucking, which accounts for over 99% of interstate shipments for these commodities. The research utilizes data from a survey of 1,642 drivers of refrigerated tractor-trailers conducted during the 2001/2002 shipping season. Drivers were interviewed at Florida Agricultural Inspection Stations on Interstate Highways I-10, I-75, and I-95 as they exited the Florida Peninsula. The sample included drivers from all 48 contiguous U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces, with trip distances ranging from 100 to 3,347 miles and averaging 1,222 miles. To assess revenue adequacy, the author compared reported freight rates against updated operating cost estimates derived from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) methodologies. These cost estimates were adjusted to 2002 U.S. dollars using the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index for Trucking and Courier Services. The findings indicate that average round-trip revenues were $3,558, comprising $1,909 for outbound loads and $1,649 for inbound loads. On a per-mile basis, freight rates averaged $1.63 for outbound movements, $1.96 for inbound movements, and $1.72 for round-trips. The USDA-derived cost estimate, adjusted for inflation and accounting for empty mileage (assuming carriers travel empty 25% of the time), placed the actual cost per mile at $1.26. Even under a conservative scenario that assumes all shorter inbound distances resulted from carriers traveling empty to Florida to pick up loads, the estimated per-mile revenue remained above the cost threshold ($1.32 inbound, $1.63 outbound, and $1.43 round-trip). Consequently, the data demonstrate that revenues exceeded costs for all movement types. The study concludes that freight rates for produce and ornamentals carriers serving Florida were adequate to cover operating costs during the 2001/2002 season. This financial viability supports the reliability of the trucking industry essential to Florida’s agriculture. However, the author notes that these findings reflect a single shipping season and that net returns may fluctuate in response to changes in input costs, particularly labor and fuel.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-25 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 5 | 2026-06-26 |
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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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