Northwest Cherries forecast the 2025 5-state PNW sweet cherry crop at 213,800 tons — 23.6 million 20-pound cartons. The Pacific Northwest produces roughly 70% of the US fresh sweet cherry crop (USDA NASS), with Washington leading by a wide margin and Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Utah rounding out the regional total. About 30% of the crop exports, mostly to China, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Japan via air cargo from Sea-Tac.
Cherries are not apples and not potatoes. The freight rhythm is governed by two clocks running simultaneously: a 4 to 6 hour field-to-cooler window at the orchard, and a 72-hour tree-to-Asia-shelf goal for premium varietal exports. The reefer set point is 30 to 32°F — colder than apples. The harvest window is a compressed three months from May through August, not year-round storage release. Cargo value per truck runs $80,000 to $150,000 for premium varietals.
Evergreen Shippers (FMCSA MC#896325) is the Spokane-anchored transportation broker that dispatches the reefers. Pre-cooled trailer at packer dock-ready. Sea-Tac air cargo apron drayage in 2 to 3 hours when the load is going to a freighter. Multi-temp reefer when cherries ride consolidated with apples on the same outbound truck. Continuous-run reefer at verified 30-32°F. Pre-cool verified at trailer side before loading.
We do not hold a PACA license, do not take title to cherries, and do not negotiate produce sales. The cherry shipper retains the PACA-licensed sales relationship, holds the USDA APHIS phytosanitary certificate, and manages the relationship with the Asian importer or US retail buyer. Evergreen's role begins at the packing-house dock and ends at the air-cargo apron, the retail DC, or the border crossing.
Cherry setpoint is 30 to 32°F — just above freezing. Apples damage below 32°F. The 2°F difference looks small but it matters: a flat 32°F default setpoint on a multi-temp consolidation freezes the apples, while a flat 34°F default loses cherry shelf life. Setpoint, continuous-run requirement, and humidity are written into every rate confirmation.
Sweet cherries pick at field temperatures often running 80 to 95°F in late-June Yakima Valley heat. Internal pulp temperature has to drop to 30-32°F within 4-6 hours of pick or shelf life and fruit quality degrade meaningfully (Washington State University Tree Fruit Research). This is the operational governing constraint that distinguishes cherry freight from every other PNW commodity.
Cooling methods at the packing house:
The freight implication: bin tractors and tote trailers stage at the orchard with rapid shuttle to the packing-house cooler. 53-foot reefer dispatch is timed against packing-line throughput, not orchard pick rate — the cooler is the bottleneck. Trailers must be pre-cooled to set point BEFORE loading; warm-trailer loading gets rejected. For Evergreen, this means staging the pre-cooled reefer at the packer cooler dock against the line's outbound timing, not at the orchard.
Industry standard for premium varietal exports. Achievable only via dedicated air-cargo lift — ocean reefer is too slow for Rainier and gift-pack-grade fruit.
Flow assembled from Northwest Cherries promotional material, Cathay Cargo "Cherry Express" case study, Port of Seattle Sea-Tac air cargo statistics, and Washington State University Tree Fruit Research cooling-protocol guidance.
Five-state harvest, three-month compressed window. South starts late May; high-elevation and Montana finish in August.
The single largest cherry packing footprint in the Northwest. Yakima, Selah, Naches, Zillah, Grandview, and Sunnyside anchor the freight tendering. Harvest peak runs mid-June through mid-July for Bing and Lambert, with Rainier overlapping. Yakima Air Terminal also serves as a secondary air-cargo feeder during peak.
Wenatchee, Cashmere, Peshastin, East Wenatchee, Orondo, and Chelan. Cherry harvest follows apple's geographic logic but on a tighter June-July window. Stemilt Growers headquarters anchors the region; McDougall & Sons ships approximately 12,000 tons of cherries annually from the Wenatchee area.
Hood River OR and The Dalles OR sit at the eastern edge of the Cascade rain shadow on the Columbia River. Early Chelan and Bing variety harvest starts in late May here — the first PNW cherries to retail each year. Diamond Fruit Growers (Hood River cooperative) covers both cherries and pears. Underwood Fruit on the Washington side at Bingen rounds out the regional footprint.
Emmett ID, Sugar City ID, and Twin Falls ID corridor ship June-July cherries. Flathead Lake region in Montana is the late-season tail — Flathead Cherries are picked in late July and through August, which lets retail DCs maintain supply after Yakima and Wenatchee wind down. High-elevation Washington blocks (Cashmere, Peshastin upper) also extend the tail.
The southernmost commercial PNW cherry zone, with Medford and surrounding Jackson County orchards. Mid-season harvest with a varietal mix similar to Hood River. Naumes Inc. is the named packer here for both cherries and pears.
The packers below originate the bulk of PNW cherry freight. Most also pack apples and/or pears, sharing facilities and tender desks across the year.
Sea-Tac (SEA) handles 150+ dedicated freighter flights per month during the cherry peak — one of the densest air cargo concentrations of any agricultural commodity in North America (Port of Seattle Sea-Tac air cargo statistics). Yakima Air Terminal serves as a secondary feeder for direct routes when volume warrants.
A B747F or B777F cubes out at approximately 100-110 tons of cherry payload depending on cartoning and density. Air cargo per-kg pricing during cherry peak runs $2 to $5 per kg from SEA to Asia (DAT air-cargo benchmarking; Cathay Cargo public commentary).
Major air carriers active in PNW cherry season: Cathay Cargo (HKG hub for China and SE Asia distribution), Korean Air Cargo (ICN hub, KPQS-compliant Korea protocols), Japan Airlines Cargo (NRT and HND), Atlas Air, Polar Air Cargo, Kalitta Air, AeroLogic (DHL joint), FedEx, UPS, and Amerijet for overflow. Ground handling at SEA cargo aprons is performed by Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), Swissport, and Menzies.
Evergreen's role: reefer drayage from packer cooler to air-cargo apron. We do not book the lift — the cherry shipper or their air-cargo forwarder handles freighter capacity, ULD build, and customs filing. We deliver pre-cooled, continuous-run, on the apron drayage cut-off so the cargo can load by midnight for next-morning departure.
Drayage destination depends on the shipper's air-cargo forwarder booking.
Pre-cooled to set point before loading. Continuous-run (not cycle-sentry / start-stop). Verified temperature logging on download at destination DC. 90-95% relative humidity. The standard for domestic OTR cherry freight.
Independent set points per zone via moveable bulkhead. Cherries at 30-32°F, apples at 32-34°F on the same trailer. Critical for cross-country consolidations to East Coast retail DCs.
Pre-cooled reefer dispatched from packer cooler to Sea-Tac cargo apron for ULD build and freighter loading. 2-3 hour transit. Drayage cut-off times tied to next-morning Asia departure schedule.
For shoulder-season Bing to Mexico/Canada via USMCA, or to less-time-sensitive Asia destinations. Ocean transit is too slow for premium varieties — air dominates for Rainier and gift-pack-grade fruit.
22-24 pallets of 20-lb cartons, approximately 22,000-26,000 lbs cargo weight. Lower payload than apples (which run 40,000-44,000 lbs) because cherry cartons cube out before weight-out. More trucks per ton than apples.
Some shippers use modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) bulk boxes to extend shelf life on long-haul ocean or extended-DC sit times. Doesn't change reefer set point but does affect handling and cube.
A 53-foot reefer of premium PNW cherries (Rainier, organic, large-size, gift-pack-grade) runs $80,000 to $150,000 in cargo value. Per-pallet Rainier cherries can exceed $10,000 retail. Standard $100,000 reefer cargo insurance limits are often inadequate — we verify carrier cargo coverage before every dispatch and supply additional cargo limit endorsements ($250K, $500K) for premium varietal moves. Single Rainier cherries retail in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore at the equivalent of $1 to $10 USD each in gift-pack presentations. The freight has to arrive cold, on time, and in perfect condition.
Domestic reefer OTR plus the Sea-Tac air-cargo drayage that defines the cherry export market.
| Lane (Origin → Destination) | Mode | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Yakima / Wenatchee → Sea-Tac cargo apron (air export) | Pre-cooled reefer drayage | 2–3 hours |
| Yakima / Wenatchee → Hunts Point NY + East Coast retail | 53' reefer OTR (30-32°F) | 5–7 days |
| Yakima / Wenatchee → Southern California (Mira Loma, Compton) | 53' reefer OTR | 2 days |
| Yakima / Wenatchee → Texas (H-E-B SA, Walmart Dallas, Kroger Houston) | 53' reefer OTR | 3 days |
| Yakima / Wenatchee → Lakeland FL (Publix produce hub) | 53' reefer OTR | 5–6 days |
| Yakima / Wenatchee → Mexico cross-border (Pharr / Laredo) | 53' reefer + USDA APHIS | 3–4 days |
| Hood River OR → National retail DCs | 53' reefer OTR | 2–7 days by destination |
| Flathead MT → West Coast retail (late-season finish) | 53' reefer OTR | 2–3 days |
Air cargo lane to Asia is the cherry industry's defining freight characteristic — Sea-Tac handles 150+ dedicated freighter flights per month during cherry peak (Port of Seattle).
Approximately 30% of the PNW cherry crop exports. Air cargo dominates premium varietals; ocean reefer handles secondary markets.
China and Korea cherry exports have faced tariff and protocol volatility in recent seasons. Demand can shift mid-season, requiring lane re-routing. Brokers who can flex between Asia air cargo, East Coast OTR retail, and Mexico cross-border on short notice protect carrier capacity through tariff churn.
Cherries pick at 80-95°F and must reach 30-32°F pulp temp within 4-6 hours. Packing-house cooler is the bottleneck. Capacity surge for staging during the compressed three-month window.
Reefer staged with verified pre-cool to set point before loading. Continuous-run only. Dispatch timed against packing-line throughput, not orchard pick rate.
Premium varietal exports require packer-trucking-air cargo coordination on a 72-hour clock. Missing the Sea-Tac drayage cut-off cascades into a missed freighter departure and lost shelf life.
Drayage dispatch coordinated with the cherry shipper's air-cargo forwarder. 2-3 hour transit Yakima/Wenatchee to SEA. Pre-cleared cargo loads by midnight for next-morning Asia departure.
June-July Yakima Valley heat (80-95°F) makes set-point hold harder. Reefer fuel consumption climbs. Trailers running cycle-sentry struggle to maintain 30-32°F under sustained thermal load.
Cycle-sentry / start-stop reefers are not dispatched on cherry loads. Continuous-run requirement written into every rate confirmation.
Cherries (30-32°F) and apples (32-34°F) on the same trailer require zone-separated set points. A flat default freezes the apples or loses cherry shelf life.
Multi-temp reefer with independent zone setpoints written into the dispatch. Pre-cool verified per zone before loading.
Premium varietal reefers (Rainier, organic, gift-pack-grade) exceed standard $100K carrier cargo insurance. Single Rainier cherries retail $1-$10 each in Asian markets — the freight has to arrive perfect.
Carrier cargo coverage verified before every dispatch. Additional cargo limit endorsements ($250K, $500K) supplied for premium varietal loads.
China, Korea, Vietnam markets face tariff and protocol shifts that can re-route demand mid-season. Brokers locked into one lane lose carriers.
Carrier base capable of pivoting between Asia air cargo, East Coast OTR retail, and Mexico cross-border on short notice when tariff dynamics shift.
Call (509) 321-4380 — packer, varietal, destination, air or OTR. We'll dispatch pre-cooled and continuous-run.