Many people complain that the Christmas holiday season comes too prematurely. After all, the day after Thanksgiving, it seems like all storefronts and front yards hang up lights and décor, while simultaneously, blasting Christmas music. Seriously, if you were to step in the nearest mall and walk around for an hour, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” will play for a total of two hours somehow.
Of all major U.S. holidays, Christmas easily has the longest runtime. For all of December, the holiday will dominate everyday life. As far as commercial activity is concerned, no other holiday comes close to Christmas.
The December 25 holiday is what supply chains are made for. While retailers garner the most attention when it comes chronicling the behind-the-scenes preparation for meeting consumer demand, another beneficiary of America’s holiday spirit are tree producers—more specifically, of Christmas tree variety.
Just like retailers in late August through October having their peak shipping season, tree producers have theirs. The following is a closer look at the peak season for shipping Christmas trees.
Christmas tree season starts November
Peak shipping of trees usually begins in November, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, and continues through December.
However, the official, symbolic, start of Christmas tree season is early November when the annual U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is hauled from its origin to the Capitol’s West Lawn. This year, that happened to be a 63-foot Norway Spruce from the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. On Nov. 4, the tree began its 250-mile journey to the nation’s capital, eventually arriving safely on Nov. 17.
Around the same time, the high-volume shipping season kicks off in the Pacific Northwest, America’s top producing region. These trees aren’t as tall as five story buildings, like the Capitol tree, but rather perfect sizes for the everyday consumer, like those getting one for their home or office.
The majority of trees grown in the region are destined for more drier, tree import dependent, markets like California, Mexico, and Hawaii.
Typically, Pacific Northwest producers will start their season by shipping trees bound for use in holiday decoration manufacturing. From there, in the first week of November, producers will load trees bound for Hawaii onto containers.
Although, the busiest time for them is one week from Thanksgiving when most of their loads move to Texas, California, and other West and South states.
While the Pacific Northwest is the production powerhouse, North Carolina is also a top grower. Together with Oregon, the Tar Heel State accounts for just over half of the 30 million trees harvested nationwide.
Unlike snow globes or nutcrackers, Christmas trees are living breathing commodities. Their perishable nature likens them to fall agriculture produce, like potatoes, onions, pears, and apples. This dynamic often results in tight capacity and rate increases out of production markets like Oregon and North Carolina.
Transporting trees
With peak shipping season for Christmas trees established, the next appropriate question has to be: how are they transported?
Christmas tree season can best be described as bizarre by carriers and brokers. The relatively short season and remote pick-up locations can make these trees particularly challenging to haul. There are even instances where helicopters have had to been used.
On top of that, trees are again perishable. Producers stress that the same day a tree is cut, it should be in transit to customers within hours of harvest.
Trees coming from the Pacific Northwest to California will usually hitch a ride in dry vans, but for long-haul trips to the Midwest and East Coast, refrigeration (reefer) is required to protect the trees from deterioration.
In the eyes of professional truck drivers, hauling Christmas trees is not exactly a jolly time. Rather, unloading high volumes of trees can be an incredibly time-consuming affair without the proper manpower.
If a single driver had to unload 400 trees, the process of doing so could take four hours. However, if there’s several or so people involved, it could only take less than one.
Multiple drops per load can also extend business hours for drivers. From small retail outlets to car parks, customer demand will lead drivers to all sorts of odd places around town. In most cases, a multi-drop load can take six days.
Final Thoughts
Contact one of our team members if you have any questions regarding this topic or any others in domestic logistics.
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