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On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm. Maximum sustained winds were around 150 mph as it hit the Southwest coast. Bringing in close to 20 inches of rain to the state with tons of flooding which ruined many homes, infrastructure, and farm fields. The Orlando office deals with many produce customers shipping out of Florida. The impact of Hurricane Ian has caused many customers to either lose crops and deal with flooded fields or have to replant for the next season. Missing a season in the farming industry can be devastating, detrimental to the farmer, and takes a hit on the transportation industry, therefore affecting consumers.
Ian mainly hit farms across Southwest Florida, and the trickle-down may be felt in grocery stores across the nation, as Florida is a critical spot for farming in the winter when other places are too cold for operations. Florida is one of the world’s largest producers of citrus. The issue most farmers are having down south when it comes to these fruits, is that the trees were badly damaged during the hurricane. This creates a time frame issue that can affect Florida’s economy as the industry already faces increased labor costs and competition from foreign imports. These crops will take a minimum of two seasons for the groves to recover to pre-hurricane production levels.
The question that follows: Is Florida’s citrus industry on a ticking clock? We will soon start to see a rise in citrus prices and lower production numbers. This is something in transportation we must follow as it could negatively affect the capacity in Florida, and as discussed before, the trickle-down to the customer would be inevitable.
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