As the leaves change color and the air takes on a chill, harvest season in the Midwest kicks into gear. This bustling time of year isn’t just a big deal for farmers — its impact ripples across industries, especially transportation and logistics.
With truck drivers trading over-the-road (OTR) routes for shorter stints with local farmers, capacity tightens, rates rise, and delays become all too common. Understanding these nuances is crucial to keeping your supply chain moving smoothly.
We know the Midwest harvest season firsthand at Anderson Trucking Service (ATS) — not only do we help shippers across industries navigate its challenges, you can often catch our president, Brent Anderson, working on his family farm!
(Seriously, we filmed this video about harvest season in Brent’s corn field.)
In this article, we’ll break down the timing of the season, which states are most impacted, how it affects truck capacity, and share practical tips to help you stay ahead of any challenges.
No matter what you're shipping in and around the Midwest, knowing how to plan and partner with your transportation providers during these critical months can make all the difference.
Let’s dive in and explore how you can keep your freight moving this harvest season!
- When and where is harvest season in the Midwest?
- How is truck capacity affected by harvest season?
- How can I reliably find a truck during harvest season in the Midwest?
When and Where is Harvest Season in the Midwest?
Generally speaking, harvest season begins in mid-September and ends sometime around Thanksgiving.
The states most affected (which, for the purposes of this article, we’re lumping together as “the Midwest,”) are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska.
(Is it a coincidence that the Midwestern states are also in the middle of the alphabet?)
These are the states responsible for the lion’s share of the corn, soybeans, wheat, and cereal grains grown in the United States — all of which are harvested in the fall.
Other commodities harvested at this time include starchy vegetables like potatoes, yams, and beets, as well as produce that can be consumed with little to no processing, such as apples, asparagus, carrots, and cucumbers.
The Dakotas, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin are also considered part of the Midwest by the U.S. Census Bureau. While these states do experience a bustling autumn harvest season, it’s to a lesser degree than those listed above.
These states add commodities like canola, cranberries, dry edible beans, grapes, pumpkins, snap peas, squash, sunflowers, and tart cherries to the roster of produce harvested during this time.
However, it should be noted that the precise timing of harvest season is not set in stone.
Due to the unpredictable nature of weather year-over-year, the Midwestern harvest season’s start, end, and duration are likewise unpredictable.
The length of the previous winter, levels of precipitation throughout the spring and summer, and temperature trends all impact how harvest season shapes up each year.
How is Truck Capacity Affected by Harvest Season?
When talking about truck capacity during this time, it’s important to note that only a handful of the Midwestern states are significantly affected. Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska will see the greatest impact on truck capacity during harvest season.
Illinois, for example, has a great deal of agricultural activity, but thanks to the high volume of trucks based out of Chicago, the season’s effect on capacity is mitigated.
And therein lies the key to understanding harvest season’s impact on truck capacity: Where are the drivers and how are they behaving?
The biggest driver of capacity shifts during harvest season is not an increase in loads in the harvesting states, but the volume of drivers choosing to park their trucks and work directly with the farmers.
For drivers based in harvesting states, this strategy makes perfect sense: They get paid the same or more as they would driving OTR for a carrier or brokerage and are home each night with their families.
Understandably, it’s difficult for transportation providers to compete with that opportunity.
As a shipper, you’re most likely to see the ripple effect of this seasonal driver behavior in dry van and reefer trailer capacity.
This is due to two factors:
- Being perishable, produce requires enclosed trailers, with some calling for refrigeration.
- Driver experience in dry vans translates more seamlessly to farmers’ harvest season needs than open-deck or other trailer types.
Knowing that dry van and reefer drivers may be hard to come by in the affected regions from September through November, you’ll want to be proactive in working with your transportation provider to adjust your plans.
Let’s take a look at some ways you can continue to find reliable coverage during harvest season in the Midwest.
How Can I Reliably Find a Truck During Harvest Season in the Midwest?
Advanced planning is extremely important during harvest season. The earlier you plan, the less impact you’ll see across your supply chain.
The first and most important step in planning for the harvest season capacity crunch is to communicate with your transportation provider. Touch base with them in the summer and ask questions like:
- In your experience, what effect has the season historically had on comparable lanes/loads?
- How do you typically manage or mitigate these effects?
- Is there anything I can do to help facilitate these solutions or make their implementation easier?
- How much advance notice do you need to reliably cover loads during harvest season?
Having these conversations early will help your provider understand your concerns and collaborate with you to address them, ensuring you feel confident in your shipping plans when harvest season arrives.
Of course, there are other steps you can take to prepare your company and your supply chain for the repercussions of harvest season. With a smidgen of extra effort and a little flexibility, you can stay ahead of any capacity woes or budget strain.
Give Advanced Notice
During harvest season, the best gift you can give your drivers is grace — and the best gift you can give your carrier or broker is time.
As we alluded to in our list of questions above, your transportation provider will appreciate your consideration of their preferred lead time.
In general, though, strive to give them as much advance notice as possible (preferably as soon as you know you’ll have a load to move), particularly if you’ll need an enclosed trailer.
This will put your provider in the best position to reliably secure coverage for your loads.
Monitor the Weather
Weather in the Midwest is always unpredictable, but for the three-ish months that encompass harvest season, all bets are off.
Any weather could happen at any time: from 80-degree days to below-zero nights, tornadoes to hailstorms to snow. (Yes, snow in October. We know. We don’t know why we live here, either.)
Suffice it to say, monitoring the weather will be key to anticipating changes to your freight schedule.
Watch for adverse conditions in your freight’s origin and destination locations as well as along its route. Use this information to adjust your game plan (and your timeline expectations) accordingly with the help of your transportation provider.
You may need to route your freight around a storm, hold off on shipping until things have blown over, or offer a higher rate to attract a driver willing to haul your shipment during a weather event.
Anticipate Price Increases
Spot market pricing — and pricing in general — will increase in the affected states during harvest season.
It’s a simple, predictable matter of supply and demand; as capacity tightens, the cost to secure what capacity remains available will rise.
But “predictable” is the operative word here. Now that you know rates will rise in the Midwest during this time, you can build those expectations into your planning and, most importantly, your budget.
To reliably find trucks (and their drivers) in harvest season, shippers must be willing to be flexible with their rates.
You may need to pay a bit more to turn drivers’ heads away from those enticing opportunities on the farm. Couple this with offering attractive or flexible pick-up windows and you should have little issue securing coverage.
We know, we know — no one likes to hear “expect to pay more.” But if you adjust your budget to accommodate these temporary changes well in advance, you can more than likely minimize the overall impact to your bottom line.
Expect Delays
Just as price increases are inevitable, delays are all but promised when moving freight in the Midwest during harvest season.
Anticipate delays with your pickups and deliveries during this time.
Part of this also comes down to the lower-than-average volume of available drivers during this period in the Midwest. It may take your provider longer than normal to find a driver, which can slow down the flow of your supply chain.
Drivers are also not moving in the same regions as they usually do, so they may be coming from further away or dealing with facilities that are unfamiliar to them.
The best thing you can do to protect your supply chain from harvest season sluggishness is to budget some “wiggle room” into your timelines. This will help ensure any delays don’t completely derail your flow of goods.
Beyond letting your timelines breathe a bit, you should also:
- Stay in communication with your carrier or broker
- Express any concerns promptly
- Alert your provider to any missed appointments or delays right away
And remember when we said the best gift you can give truck drivers is grace? Now is the time to take a deep breath and remember that everyone is doing their best to stay active and profitable during harvest season.
By factoring in a little extra time, giving your drivers the benefit of the doubt, and staying in touch with your provider, you can mitigate the negative impact of delays on your supply chain during harvest season.
Plan Ahead for Harvest Season Success
Harvest season in the Midwest may bring a host of challenges — like tight enclosed trailer capacity, rising rates, and unpredictable delays — but with the right strategy, you can navigate it smoothly.
The key to success is preparation: Start your conversations with your transportation provider early, build flexibility into your schedule and budget, and keep a close eye on weather patterns. These tactics will help you minimize the impact of the harvest season on your supply chain.
While it’s an undeniably busy time in the Midwest, it doesn’t have to disrupt your shipping plans. A little extra effort and communication go a long way in ensuring your freight stays on track during this critical time of year.
In the end, it’s about being adaptable and working constructively with your transportation partners. With a little proactivity, your shipments can continue to move as smoothly as wind through a freshly harvested field.
Looking for even more tips on how to secure capacity readily and reliably, no matter the market? Check out our Find a Truck Faster Guide.
This free downloadable resource provides 12 tactics to help you make your freight more attractive to carriers and keep your supply chain efficient. Happy downloading!
