C.H. Robinson says it is helping customers navigate a busier kickoff to the floral season, including leveraging a new farm-to-store floral program in Latin America to enhance its end-to-end temperature-controlled supply chain solutions for retailers.
The logistics provider says nearly 70% of florals annually move during the three-month period from Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day, a surge posing challenges for shippers due to the globally sourced, perishable nature of the product and limited temperature-controlled transportation and storage.
And the floral industry continues to expand — reaching $9.5 billion in retail sales last year, a 47% increase over five years, according to Circana.
With 7 million to 10 million boxes of flowers moved annually, C.H. Robinson says it already has the largest temperature-controlled capacity network in North America and the expertise to enable fast, seamless handoffs across multiple transportation modes, quick pivots in times of disruption and efficiencies that drive down costs. The company says its newly enhanced consolidation program locally in Colombia and Ecuador, where 95% of all flowers are sourced, further strengthens its reach across these key origin markets, offering an additional competitive advantage for shippers.
“With Valentine’s Day on a Friday, strong early demand and favorable weather, we anticipate one of the busiest floral seasons in recent years,” Robinson Fresh President Jose Rossignoli said in a news release. “Today, C.H. Robinson provides a multitude of services for retail, grocery and growers alike to support the 2,500% surge in floral volumes ahead of Valentine’s Day. We are in a great position to help our customers navigate the uptick and any changes or disruptions they may face along the way.”
C.H. Robinson’s specialized temperature-controlled services incorporate air freight, including from Ecuador and Colombia, directly into a temperature-controlled warehouse on the Miami International Airport tarmac, refrigerated trucking capacity and direct-to-store deliveries to over 7,500 U.S. retail locations. Supported by 24/7 operations and real-time shipment visibility, these capabilities are critical for the rapid transport of a product that begins to perish the moment it leaves the farm, the release said.
“Our full suite of end-to-end transportation services really sets C.H. Robinson apart, especially in projects like this that are incredibly sensitive to time — not only in the perishable sense but also working with a very short window when consumer demand is highest,” said Michael Castagnetto, president of North American surface transportation for C.H. Robinson. “Operating in the world’s largest flower-exporting countries, we combine air operations, cold-chain warehousing in the U.S. and unmatched truckload expertise across North America. This seamless integration ensures our customers’ freight is covered from origin to final destination with confidence and ease.”
