Last week Florida’s agricultural industry avoided catastrophic freezing temperatures.  Regardless of the near miss there will be less truck loads available this year. Even though last weekend Florida had low temperature the citrus crops were not damaged. Florida is the leading supplier of oranges to the world. The forecast for this produce season will see a 1% drop in available shipments out of Florida in 2013. Valencia oranges will see the biggest drop of all available citrus in Florida with only 75 million boxes to ship. Tangerines are the next in line to be affected with shortages expected in the market. Grapefruit production is alive and well this year. As is customary in Florida during this time rates for truckload shipments will be affected and available trucks for dry cargo will also be on the decline. This year’s produce season seems like it will not be as bad as others but with the shortfall of available trucks in an already tight market this will create a challenge for shippers in every industry.