Why Seasons Matter More Than You Think
One of the first lessons small carriers learn the hard way is that freight doesn’t move the same every week of the year. You might be booked solid in April and struggling for a load in September. That’s not bad markets — that’s seasonality.
In trucking, freight follows people’s habits. When consumers spend more, freight spikes. When farmers harvest, reefer demand jumps. When construction season kicks in, flatbeds get busy. And when it slows, you either planned for it or you get stuck hauling whatever you can find.
Owner-operators who survive don’t fight the seasons. They ride them.
The Big Three Seasons Every Carrier Should Know
While there are dozens of micro-seasons, three dominate the calendar for small carriers: produce, retail, and construction. Let’s break them down.
1. Produce Season – Reefer and Van Time
Timeline: April – July (peaks vary by region)
Who Benefits: Reefer carriers, some dry vans
Produce is the most obvious freight season in America. When fruit and vegetables come out of the ground, they have to move fast. Shippers aren’t negotiating over pennies when lettuce is wilting.
- Florida starts the wave with citrus, melons, and vegetables.
- California kicks in with strawberries, lettuce, and leafy greens.
- The Southeast (Georgia, Carolinas) brings peaches and tomatoes to name a few.
- Later, the Midwest rolls with corn and soybeans.
Rates Jump:
Reefer spot rates can swing 30–50¢ higher per mile in peak season. Vans also benefit, since capacity gets pulled into reefers, leaving more dry freight to cover.
The Catch:
Produce season is tough on equipment and drivers. High stop counts, tight schedules, and heavy pallets of perishable freight mean breakdowns cost more.
2. Retail Season – Back to School and Holidays
Timeline: July – Late October (and sometimes further)
Who Benefits: Dry van carriers
Retail runs on calendars too — just not weather, but shopping. The biggest surges happen before back-to-school and the holidays.
- Late Summer: Retailers stock shelves for school supplies, clothing, electronics.
- September – October: Pre-holiday imports flood ports and warehouses.
- November – December: Final mile surges into distribution centers for last minute holiday and Christmas.
Rates Jump:
Dry vans see an uptick here, especially out of port cities and warehouse hubs like Los Angeles, Savannah, Chicago, and Dallas.
This freight is competitive. Big box carriers and mega fleets have contracts sewn up. Small carriers live in the spot market overflow.
3. Construction Season – Flatbed and Specialized Surge
Timeline: March – October (longer in the South, shorter up North)
Who Benefits: Flatbed, stepdeck, heavy haul
When the ground thaws, the cranes rise. Construction projects kick in across the country — roads, bridges, housing, commercial builds. That means steel, lumber, pipe, rebar, roofing, equipment, and aggregates all start moving heavy.
Rates Jump:
Flatbed capacity gets tight. In the South, where building is almost year-round, it’s less dramatic but steady. In the Midwest and Northeast, the rush is shorter but intense.
How Seasonality Hits Your Bottom Line
Let’s look at the math for a small 5-truck fleet.
- In April–June, your reefers run 2,500 miles/week each at $3.00/mile = $37,500 gross per week.
- By August, rates fall back to $2.40/mile on the same miles = $30,000 gross.
That’s a $7,500 weekly swing. Over a month, that’s $30,000 lost revenue if you don’t adjust lanes, equipment mix, or expenses.
This is why planning matters. Small carriers without season strategies burn cash chasing spot market loads while bigger players position ahead of it.
How to Plan for Freight Seasons
- Know the Calendar
Don’t wait until July to “discover” harvest season. Keep a seasonal calendar for produce, retail, and construction cycles in your respective market. - Watch the Ports and Crops
Port volumes, USDA crop reports, and retail inventory indexes are free tools. They tell you weeks in advance where capacity will tighten. - Reposition Early
Don’t wait until the board is hot. Deadhead or book in advance into strong markets before the surge. By the time everyone sees it, rates are already dropping. - Diversify Equipment or Partners
If you’re van-only, maybe partner with reefer carriers during produce to get overflow freight. Be creative. If you’re flatbed, lock in recurring construction contracts before the season starts. - Stack Cash During Peaks
High season profits aren’t for new chrome. They’re to cover you when the troughs come. Build reserves.
FAQs
Q: Can I run year-round without worrying about seasons?
Yes — if you’re on contracted freight. But for spot-market carriers, ignoring seasons means you’ll always chase leftovers while others grab the cream.
Q: Which season is most reliable for small carriers?
Retail is the most consistent if you’re van-only. Produce is lucrative but volatile. Construction pays well but requires labor and flatbed experience.
Q: What about January–February?
That’s usually the dead zone. Retail is over, produce hasn’t started, construction is frozen up north. Best play is to cut costs, run regional freight, and wait for March.
Q: Do seasons overlap?
Yes. Late summer often has produce and retail spikes happening together. That’s when vans and reefers both tighten, and rates bump across the board.
Q: How do I predict regional shifts?
Follow weather, crops, and imports. If California droughts hit lettuce, that shifts reefer demand east. If imports jam East Coast ports, Atlanta and Charlotte become hot spots.
Final Word
Seasonality isn’t a problem. It’s an opportunity — if you plan for it.
The carriers who struggle are the ones who treat every week the same. They get blindsided when produce dies, when retail slows, or when snow shuts down construction. The ones who win are the ones who study the calendar, move their assets ahead of time, and ride the cycles instead of fighting them.
At the end of the day, trucking is like farming. You plant, you harvest, and you endure the winters. If you know when the harvests come — whether it’s peaches in Georgia, back-to-school laptops, or steel beams in Pittsburgh — you don’t just survive the year. You profit from it.
So don’t just haul freight. Haul seasons. That’s where the money is.