Commodity opportunity
Planted once, picked once. Ships out of storage into May.
The US onion supply rotates from the Southwest to the Northwest every August, and this year's switch is happening right now. In USDA movement reports for the two weeks ending August 15, southern New Mexico fell from about 990 loads a week to 340, down roughly 65%, while the two Northwest storage regions climbed from under 500 loads a week to over 900, about 40% of national movement and rising.
Those two regions sit within a 200 mile radius: the Columbia Basin in Washington and Oregon, and the Treasure Valley in Oregon and Idaho. Together they moved 64,420 truckloads last season, 35,805 from the Basin and 28,615 from the valley, roughly 42% of US domestic onion truck freight and the clear majority of it in winter, once the summer regions finish. At full pace that is roughly 300 loads a day.
Why it matters: every distributor and grocery DC that bought New Mexico onions all summer is switching origin over the next few weeks. Onions are planted once, picked once, and ship out of storage into May, so the lane being re-sourced right now repeats all winter. Repeat business accrues to whoever runs clean early. Get set up in the next six weeks and you are positioned to haul it until spring.
Commodity playbook
Who ships onions
| Shipper | Town | County |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle Eye Produce | Ontario, OR | Malheur |
| Owyhee Produce | Nyssa, OR | Malheur |
| Fort Boise Produce | Parma, ID | Canyon |
| J.C. Watson | Wilder, ID | Canyon |
| Partners Produce | Payette, ID | Payette |
| River Point Farms | Hermiston, OR | Umatilla |
| Madison-Cox Onions | Echo, OR | Umatilla |
| Get the full list with contacts in your inbox → breadd.ai | ||
Partial map: the largest sheds by shipping presence.
Shipping side, the sheds. Ask for sales or shipping. Some sheds arrange their own transport and some work with the receiver's carrier, so ask who tenders the truck. Receiving side is food distribution: the produce houses and grocery DCs that just lost their New Mexico origin.
Where it hauls
Two valleys. The Treasure Valley: Ontario and Nyssa on the Oregon side, then Parma, Payette, Fruitland, Wilder, and Weiser in Idaho. The Columbia Basin: Hermiston, Boardman, and Umatilla in Oregon, with Moses Lake, Othello, and Pasco in Washington. The Basin is the bigger of the two. The sheds to know:
How to open
"Are you still shipping field-run, or into storage packs yet? I'd rather get set up before things get busy next month."
To the sheds, this monthReceivers get the other side of it: "Your onion supply moves Northwest this month. Who's covering that lane?" Either way it shows you know the season and the produce, not just the lane.
Qualifying questions
- Vented van, reefer, or flatbed? All three haul onions. Most Northwest loads ride vented dry van or single-temp reefer; under 20% move on open flatbed in early fall, though some sheds run well above that. Ask what the shed specs.
- When does protect from freeze start? Around November. Onions handle cold but not a hard freeze, so cold-weather loads move on reefer on heat or heated van, and the service prices accordingly. Confirm each shed's switch date.
- Sacks, cartons, or bins? Ask before you quote. The pack changes the count and the unload, and storage packs replace field-run as the season settles in.
- What is the gross weight against the scale? USDA counts an onion truckload at 40,000 lb of product. Confirm the real gross and the pack before you book so the truck scales legal.
- When do you want trucks booked by? Day-before booking is common: one Treasure Valley shed has drivers call before 3 PM the day prior to loading. Get each shed's cutoff and hit it.
When to call
This week, while the new lanes are still getting covered fresh. Once storage packs are moving, each shed has picked its regulars and a new call is quoting overflow. From about November, cold snaps add protect-from-freeze service, and carriers who run it cleanly tend to keep the winter loads.
Sources
- USDA National Potato and Onion Report and National Shipping Point Trends, August 2026: weekly movement by region, the New Mexico drop, last season's truckload totals, and the early-fall equipment mix. ams.usda.gov
- The Packer: Eagle Eye Produce's second season running the Ontario super shed, and the 2026 crop and pack-size picture. thepacker.com
- DAT reefer market reporting on Northwest onion lanes and the flatbed share some sheds run into November. dat.com
- The six-week window and repeat-lane read: how produce storage seasons cover in practice, from shed booking pages and broker interviews rather than a published statistic.