Florida Freeze Disaster

A severe winter storm swept through Florida, causing widespread damage to the state's agricultural industry. The cold snap, which began on December 30th and continued into February 2026, brought temperatures as low as 35 degrees Fahrenheit in Miami, the lowest reading since 2010. This extreme weather event has left farmers reeling, with estimates suggesting crop losses of over $3 billion. The impact is being felt across the refrigerated freight market, with carriers struggling to find available loads out of Florida and grocery stores scrambling to source alternative produce from Mexico and other regions.

The damage was not uniform across all commodities. Tomatoes and squash were particularly hard hit, with some growers reporting losses of over 50%. Bell peppers also suffered significant damage, while strawberries took a hit in Central Florida. Blueberries were severely impacted, with ice accumulation causing widespread damage to bushes. Citrus crops, already struggling due to years of citrus greening disease, were also affected, with estimates suggesting the freeze may have damaged or destroyed up to 10% of the current crop.

The University of Florida is still surveying the full extent of the damage, but Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson has made it clear that the impact will be significant. The state's emergency response efforts are underway, with a formal order issued to suspend normal best management practice verification requirements across nearly every county in the state due to the impossibility of conducting proper field assessments in the aftermath.

The reefer freight market is particularly affected by the disaster, as Florida was one of the hottest reefer origins in the country immediately following the freeze events. Shippers scrambled to move salvageable inventory, grocery chains and distribution centers placed urgent orders, and trucks were in short supply across Central and South Florida. Rates to the East Coast reflected this tightness, with Baltimore jumping over 20% week-over-week out of Florida at one point.

However, once the salvageable product cleared the fields, the demand spike quickly corrected itself. Within a week, every lane out of Central and South Florida posted double-digit declines, drops of 20 to 32 percent across the board. The volume that normally flows out of Florida during peak winter produce season had simply been reduced, leaving carriers with fewer loads to find.

The bigger story here is not the rate spike that already came and went, but what happens to reefer volume out of Florida over the next few months as the supply chain absorbs these losses. With significant portions of Florida's squash, bell pepper, and tomato supply damaged or gone, imports from Mexico are expected to rise as retailers scramble to fill the gaps.

This shift in import flows will not benefit carriers operating out of Florida, but rather those working Texas border crossings. The corridor is already loosening on rates even before Florida's post-spike correction, and longer term, it could see a volume bump as Mexican supply picks up the slack.

For carriers based in Florida or positioned in the Southeast for winter produce, the practical reality is fewer loads for the remainder of the quarter. The reefer load-to-truck ratio out of Florida had already been trending down for consecutive weeks heading into March. National reefer load posts remained well above prior-year comparisons, but that strength is regional and not evenly distributed.

The ripple effects of this disaster will be felt throughout the refrigerated freight market, shaping how the market moves through the rest of Q1 and into spring. As recovery efforts get underway, carriers must navigate these changes to ensure they remain competitive in a rapidly shifting landscape.