Thanksgiving Logistics from Turkey to Pumpkin Pie
November 14, 2024
And everything in between… how the logistics industry helps make Thanksgiving happen each year.
The Thanksgiving holiday makes for intricate and complex supply chain planning that lasts anywhere from six months to a year in advance and begins all over again once the feast is complete. Grocery suppliers and retailers establish their contracts, transportation, and deliveries up to six months in advance to ensure they have enough stock for the Thanksgiving shopping week[1]. Turkey producers, farmers, and processed food companies begin to stockpile products and foods throughout the year to prepare for distribution in November[2]. But they all depend on the truckers and logistics workers to get these products to the stores and ultimately on your table for Thanksgiving dinner.
Turkey
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans eat about 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving Day each year[3], and for Turkey producers, that makes Thanksgiving a year-round job! With an average turkey weighing 15.5 pounds[4], and given the average truckload can hold 40,000 lbs, that’s 17,823 truckloads of turkeys that our trusty logistics industry is busy moving for us in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
The United States is the top producer of turkey in the world, raising about 210 million turkeys in 2022, most from farms in only 8 states: Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, Iowa, and California[5]. A fresh, unfrozen turkey’s shelf life is only 21 days, which doesn’t allow for a lot of time to transport those birds from farm to table! While turkeys that are destined to be frozen can be part of the year-long production process, fresh birds require a carefully planned process of eggs laid in the spring, incubated properly, and turkeys given 10-18 weeks on the farm before being sent to be processed– all so that they can make it to stores for Thanksgiving shoppers[6]
Fun fact: Americans ate approximately 15 pounds of turkey per person in 2021[7].
And it’s not just the turkey on our Thanksgiving plates that requires dedicated planning and logistics, but many of the seasonal products we enjoy for the holiday are stockpiled throughout the year for distribution in November such as cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie filling, stuffing mixes, and more! Even produce like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green beans see a spike in demand during the November holiday.
Potatoes
In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, U.S. shoppers purchase nearly 214 million pounds of potatoes and 50 million pounds of sweet potatoes from grocery stores, and that doesn’t include the 3 million pounds of prepared mashed potatoes people will buy[8].
Cranberries
During Thanksgiving week alone, we’ll eat about 80 million pounds of cranberries, including 5,062,500 gallons of canned, jellied cranberry sauce, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center[9]. Most cranberries produced in the US are sold processed, including canned and frozen.
Pumpkin Pie
Shoppers will purchase 18.9 million ready-made pies, mostly pumpkin, during their Thanksgiving shopping and spend $50.6 million on pie filling[10]!
The key to success in our Thanksgiving meals has a lot to do with the production, planning, and logistics of bringing these products to grocery stores near you! You can count on your favorite 3PL team at Simple Logistics this holiday season! We specialize in transporting the delicate produce and refrigerated goods with our specific expertise at optimal conditions to maintain their quality and taste. This Thanksgiving, we will be saying an extra “thanks” to the amazing men and women who ensure these processes run smoothly.
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Work with a team who will streamline and simplify your logistics, we do the complicated stuff for you. Experience the benefits of shipping with Simple! Call us today at 630-385-7400.
