Published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the research analysed 1.4 million truckloads of tomatoes transported from fields to processing plants between 2011 and 2020. The study was led by Dr Sarah Whitnall (University of Western Australia) as part of her postdoctoral work at the University of California, Davis.

Logistics coordination is the key factor limiting losses

According to the authors, the high level of coordination in California’s processing-tomato industry has helped contain losses linked to heat and traffic. While higher temperatures do increase the share of damaged tomatoes, the rise remains limited.

Losses are lowest when cooler temperatures coincide with smoother traffic conditions. Even under more challenging circumstances—heat and congestion—the proportion of damaged tomatoes increases by only around 1% to 2%.

Lessons for Australia

Dr Whitnall argues these findings are relevant for Australia, where long transport distances combined with rising temperatures are a recurring challenge across many value chains. She suggests that strengthening coordination, transport efficiency, and logistics could help reduce food loss and improve supply-chain resilience.

She also notes that similar research could help sectors such as horticulture and viticulture better understand climate pressures across their logistics networks.

The research was supported by the USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

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