What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Fresh Fruit
42%Diversified Fresh Produce — EMEA
30%Diversified Fresh Produce — Americas & ROW
22%Ocean Cargo Express (Maritime Logistics)
6%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Did you know2023
Dole operates Dole Ocean Cargo Express, a commercial third-party maritime freight business distinct from its internal produce logistics. Dole's 22-vessel refrigerated fleet — the world's largest reefer container fleet — generates independent revenue by carrying competitor produce and general cargo on return voyages to Latin America. During the 2021–2023 post-pandemic shipping surge, this business became a material profit contributor. A banana company thus operates one of the world's most strategically positioned cold-chain shipping lines, competing with Maersk and MSC for temperature-sensitive cargo contracts.
Supply Chain Dive ↗Chokepoint2013
Dole holds a 15-year lease on the Port of Wilmington, Delaware — the largest banana import port on the East Coast — with two optional 10-year extensions running through 2048. This gives a produce company long-term operational control of critical mid-Atlantic port infrastructure. The lease includes commitments to expand crane and terminal capacity. Disruption to Dole's Wilmington operations would affect the majority of US East Coast banana supply, which flows through no comparable alternative East Coast hub.
State of Delaware Official News ↗Capacity2023
Dole plc controls approximately 109,000 acres of owned and leased farmland across Costa Rica (52,000 acres), Honduras (23,000 acres), Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Philippines, and Hawaii. Its Philippines pineapple operation alone processes 700,000 tons/year from a 23,000-hectare plantation. The company also owns ~19,000 refrigerated containers and operates 160+ distribution centers globally — a cold-chain infrastructure footprint comparable in scale to major parcel logistics operators.
Wikipedia ↗Origin2024
Dole's roots trace to James Dole's 1901 Hawaiian pineapple cannery. The modern company was assembled through a 1964 merger with Castle & Cooke, a 2003 leveraged buyout by David Murdock (taken private), and a 2021 merger with Total Produce (an Irish fresh produce distributor) to re-list as Dole plc on the NYSE. Each phase concentrated more of the global tropical fruit supply chain under one roof, culminating in a company that handles roughly 3 billion bananas per year across 90+ countries.
Wikipedia ↗