Produce season is ending. Here's where the freight goes next.

Southeast produce is winding down. Georgia and the Carolinas carried reefer demand through early summer, but by mid-August the volume rotates — and the carriers who reposition before the rotation finishes are the ones who catch the first wave of the next market instead of the last wave of the old one.

Where the demand goes

Three corridors to watch over the next four to six weeks:

• Midwest retail restock. Q3 restocking builds into Chicago, Columbus, and Kansas City distribution networks. Dry van demand firms up first; reefer follows with beverage and frozen.
• Poultry belt steadiness. Springdale AR, Gainesville GA, and eastern NC ship year-round. When produce fades, these plants become the most consistent reefer reload in the region — less glamorous, more dependable.
• Early apple watch. Washington apples start moving in September. If you run west, the PNW backhaul math changes in your favor for about ten weeks — but only with a booked outbound. Don't deadhead into Seattle on hope.

The play

Don't ride the Southeast down. Take fair money toward the Midwest triangle (Indianapolis / Chicago / Columbus) where reload optionality is deepest, and let the market rotation come to you.

Two-load math beats one-load math — especially at a seasonal turn.