How Many Cherries Are In 1.5 Million Shipping Boxes?

Source: Good Fruit Grower

Shipping fruit around the world is a major business.  Much larger than one can comprehend.  Why do countries ship fruit along with other 'edible commodities' around the world?  As a first approximation, demand meets supply.  Second, certain countries do not have the correct environment to grow such plants in their respective regions.  Consequently, there is a large amount of importing/exporting of goods moving around the world at a given instant.  How large is such an amount?  Take cherries for example.  Recently, I wrote a post about the trade tariffs -- which are causing significant disruptions various ports - such as the one described in the excerpt below:

Warnings about economic harm: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) cited complaints from Oregon potato growers and Pacific Northwest cherry growers "who have got nearly 1.5 million boxes of cherries ready to ship to China. They're worried those cherries are going to end up stuck on the dock or rotting in a warehouse due to China's retaliation,"

After writing that post, the thought of 1.5 million boxes of cherries sitting on the docks at the port waiting to be shipped would not leave my mind.  I was having difficulty wrapping my head around that number.  Especially, since the cherries would require refrigeration while waiting to be shipped.  In the paragraphs below, the method of dimensional analysis is used to shed light (or make sense) of this staggering amount of cherries 'in limbo'.

How Many Cherries Fit On A Pallet?

To begin the analysis, the first picture below is where I choose to start.  I wanted to visualize the cherries which will be shipped as packed on a pallet -- which is a common 'unit' of measurement in the shipping industry.  In order to find out how many cherries fit on a pallet, I started by typing into Google the following question: "Pallet of Cherries".  Next, I chose the option of 'Image' from the heading underneath the search engine entry.  After searching for a picture of cherry boxes stacked on a pallet, I settled with the picture below.



In the picture below a few pallets are shown which are stored in a refrigerated warehouse waiting to be shipped.

Source: Global Fruit

For this analysis, the number of shipping boxes per pallet is not important.  What is important is to determine the number of cherries which fit into a shipping box.  To determine the quantity of cherries in a shipping box, Google was consulted again by typing into the search engine space: "how many cherries in a shipping box?"  The box (answer) is shown below -- a shipping box used ship cherries:

Source: Super Fresh Growers

Each box can hold around 18 pounds of cherries as shown in the picture above.  With the answers above to the two queries into Google, the amount of cherries are known for a single shipping box -- which turns out to be 18 pounds of cherries.  In order to move forward, the amount of cherries in a single pound needs to be determined.

How Many Cherries In A Pound?

With the information obtained from Google, the analysis can be completed by using a few basic calculations.  First, a conversion factor needs to be determined.  The amount of cherries for a given weight.  How is that determined?  The easiest method is to ask Google the following question: "How Many Cherries Are In a Pound?"  To which the answer is shown below:

According to the results above, there are 2.5 to 3 cups of cherries in a pound.  Which is equivalent to 80 cherries (without stems).  With this information, a series of calculations are necessary to arrive at the end point -- How many cherries are contained in 1.5 million shipping boxes?



To start, take the number 1.5 million shipping boxes and convert that number to scientific notation as shown below:

Which makes the number easier to show in calculations rather than writing out a large numbers of '0' after a number to express a huge number.  Next, the two answers from above are expressed as shown below for calculation purposes:



1) The number of cherries per shipping box:

2) The number of cherries in a pound:

Taking the three values from above and combining them together, the amount of cherries in 1.5 million shipping boxes can be determined as follows:

The answer is shown below after rounding up with significant numbers:

Wow!  There are 2.2 billion cherries in 1.5 million boxes.

Conclusion...

In the analysis above, the amount of cherries which are contained in 1.5 million shipping boxes were determined.  This is an approximation based on the numbers ascertained in the queries (questions) entered into Google.  Any reader may come up with different values based on different initial inputs (i.e. numbers used in the calculations).  This in of itself makes calculations fun and interesting.   The major objective in the analysis above is two-fold.  First, to highlight the enormity of the number reported.  That is, 1.5 million shipping boxes is no small amount of cherries - which are being held at port waiting to be shipped.  If lost, that is a fair amount of revenue to cherry growers.  Not to mention, the amount of energy needed (used in refrigeration) to keep the cherries at a safe temperature to avoid spoiling.



Second, the analysis above shows the utility of math in highlighting various numbers which are popularly reported in the news and often overlooked by the public.  By understanding the magnitude of the numbers, we as the public are given the potential fall-out (consequences) of having such a large number of cherries sitting at port.  Cherries are just one product waiting to be shipped at port.  With this being understood, let your mind wander to imagine the amount of money waiting to be shipped as exports overseas.  Cherries is just one item.  The amount of money stored in 'traded goods' is potentially mind blowing.




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