Briefly: What it takes to get floral bouquet to Mom for Mother's Day -

Global logistics provider C.H. Robinson today announced it is helping shippers navigate a surge in temperature-controlled freight leading up to Mother’s Day.

Nearly 70% of all florals move during a three-month period between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, including 56 million pounds of fresh flowers delivered for Mother’s Day alone. This causes a jump in truckload demand as high as 3,000% when compared to the rest of the year, according to a statement from C.H./ Robinson.

The journey of a Mother’s Day bouquet includes:

Temperature-Controlled Air: Direct from the field, flowers are delivered to one of C.H. Robinson’s Latin America facilities for transport to Miami. Once picked, the flowers are immediately cooled to 34 degrees to prevent them from blooming and will remain at that temperature throughout the full journey.

Refrigerated-Warehouse Processing: Once the florals depart Latin America, they are transported to a 50,000 sq ft. temp-controlled warehouse at the Miami International Airport. At the inbound processing facilities, the stems go through customs, agricultural inspection and are quickly moved to C.H. Robinson’s floral facility where they undergo labeling, air-cooling and consolidation before shipping to their final destination.

Temperature-Controlled Surface Transportation: After packaging, the florals are loaded from tarmac to truck where C.H. Robinson leverages its relationships with over 7,500 retail customers combined with its temperature-controlled network to distribute the flowers to locations across the nation.

With approximately 23 million flowers sold on Mother’s Day, C.H. Robinson’ said its end-to-end floral logistics solution ensures retailers’ shelves are stocked, helping to celebrate mothers around the world.

Jose Rossignoli, president of Robinson Fresh, a division of C.H. Robinson, said, “Last year floral sales surged to $8 billion dollars in the U.S., up 48% since 2018. As the sector continues to expand, C.H. Robinson is excited to leverage our temp-controlled air, consolidation, and surface transportation expertise and scale to support that growth and our customers’ growth.”

NY college offers new CDL program

A new commercial driver’s license program gets under way at a New York community college next week.

Ancora Training will offer the program at Orange County Community College in Middletown, New York starting April 29.

The class is open to the residents and businesses in and around Orange County.

Ancora said the160-hour program is fully compliant with federal entry level driver training requirements, and prepares learners to sit for the official CDL exam at their local DMV office.

Ancora Training manages CDL programs for more than 40 community colleges across the United States.

For more information,cContact Ancora Training at 866-693-4661 ext 0871, or reach out to Michelle Castaneda at SUNY Orange at 845-341-4309.

Love’s offers inspection deal ahead of Roadcheck

Love’s Travel Stops is helping professional drivers get ready for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) International Roadcheck next month by offering discounts on select services.

During the month of May, more than 430 Love’s Truck Care and Speedco locations will offer half-off Department of Transportation inspections (up to a $45 value) and $80 off per tire when purchasing Yokohama tires. These locations also offer free visual inspections year-round with any service. This offer is not valid for fleet service agreements.

“Getting pulled over during a time of heavy DOT enforcement can be costly and time consuming, and we want to help prevent that while keeping drivers safe,” said Eric Daniels, Love’s vice president of total truck care. “Our DOT inspection and tire deals are just another way we’re providing more value for customers while they’re keeping a close eye on their expenses.”

The CVSA International Roadcheck takes place May 14-16, as CVSA-certified officials prepare to inspect commercial motor vehicles and drivers across North America.

This year’s Roadcheck enforcement will focus on tractor protections systems and alcohol and controlled substance possession.