Drought Hits Ag Haulers Hard

East Coast farmers and the truckers they rely on to transport their goods have been hit hard by this season’s blistering heat and record-setting dry spell. After months of endless sunny days, however, desperately needed rains are starting to revitalize parched hopes.

Many agricultural haulers have seen freight volumes drop because of the drought, and while most can make up the lost business with other freight, some cannot.

“We’ve been greatly affected,” said Janice Langley, owner of Langley Trucking in Machipongo, Va. “There’s just no produce to haul at this point.”

Floyd Baker of Floyd Baker Trucking, Mount Jackson, Va., has seen a 20% drop in the normal volume of produce that he hauls. Louis Chiarelli, president of Chiarelli Transport in Bridgeton, N.J., has measured a 40% fall in volume.

“Crops in New Jersey have suffered, and we usually haul a lot of stuff out of Florida, too, but the last several months it’s been terrible,” Chiarelli said. “There’s just nothing coming out of there. The last load of produce we had was a month ago and that was only half a load.”

Chiarelli said his company has had to move into other lines of business, such as moving tropical plants.

Other truckers said they’ve managed to do just fine without the rain.

For the full story, see the August 30 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.