Plastic crates and bulk bins in Florida

Why Florida growers count their bins

Plastic field bins are expensive enough to go missing, and Florida has a federal record of it. In a 2005 final rule, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service barred South Florida avocado handlers from using 20-bushel plastic field bins for fresh fruit going to destinations inside the production area. The avocado committee estimated that over 700 bins were lost in a season, costing owners more than $100,000, at about $150 per plastic bin against about $10 for a cardboard one. The rule took effect November 14, 2005.

The lesson holds for any grower with a bin fleet. Plastic pays back over many trips, but only if bins come home. Branding, hot-stamped owner marks, color codes and simple counts at each handoff do more for your bottom line than a cheaper box. When we quote a fleet, we ask how many trips each bin makes and how many usually don't return.

Strawberries, tomatoes and the winter crops

Strawberries were Florida's top crop by 2025 value of production at about $714 million, followed by tomatoes at $532 million, oranges $230 million, sweet corn $188 million, watermelon $187 million and bell peppers $137 million. The Plant City area grows about three-quarters of America's winter strawberries. Florida is also the largest US producer of sugarcane, sweet corn and green beans.

Strawberries are picked into clamshells and flats in the field, but growers still use shallow vented hand-held crates and nest-stack trays to move them to the cooler. Tomatoes and peppers ride in vented produce crates or field bins. Sweet corn and green beans need fast cooling, so the vent pattern must line up when crates are stacked for forced air or hydrocooling.

Citrus goes to processing

Most of Florida's oranges now go to juice. In 2024, about 729,000 tons went to processing against about 79,000 tons for the fresh market. Processing fruit moves in bulk trailers and large bins, while fresh fruit packers need sturdy macro bins and vented crates that keep fruit cool and unbruised. Groves that sell both streams sometimes keep two fleets, one rugged for juice fruit and one gentler for the packinghouse.

Dumpers, flumes and wash lines

Packinghouses empty field bins in one of three ways: a rotating dumper tips the bin, a water dump floats fruit out in a flume, or a crew pours by hand. Each puts different stress on the bin. Rotating dumpers grip the rim and base, so those edges need reinforcement. Water dumps submerge the bin, so it must drain fast and not float away. Hand pouring favors lighter, smaller containers with molded grips.

Tell us which method your line uses, the dumper make if there is one, and the maximum bin width your conveyor can accept. We'll quote bins whose maker lists compatibility, and flag any that would need a different clamp setting.

Florida containers by sector

Ports, I-4 and how loads move

Port Tampa Bay ranked 24th among US ports by 2023 total trade, Port Everglades 34th and the Port of Jacksonville 38th. I-95 runs the Atlantic coast from Miami to Jacksonville, I-75 runs up the Gulf side from Naples through Tampa toward Georgia, I-4 links Tampa and Orlando through the middle of the state, and I-10 crosses the Panhandle from Jacksonville to Pensacola.

Warehouses along I-4 and near the ports order totes and collapsibles a few pallets at a time, by LTL. Growers ordering a season's worth of bins or crates should price a full truck, which spreads one freight charge across many units. Nested or folded containers fit more per trailer. Heat and sun are harsh on stored plastic, so ask whether the maker adds UV stabilizer, and store empties in shade.

Selling surplus from Florida

Groves that switch to juice-only contracts, packers that change formats and warehouses that lose a client all end up with spare containers. We buy reusable bins, crates and totes in volume. Send count, size, grade, location and what they held. See sell harvest bins.