Feb 11, 2026

U.S. apple holdings down 2% from year ago, processing inventories rise

U.S. apple holdings on Feb. 1 totaled 127.6 million bushels, down 2% from the 130.2 million bushels reported on the same date last year but 7% above the five-year average of 118.8 million bushels, according to the February 2026 USAppleTracker report.

Fresh-market holdings accounted for 86.3 million bushels, a 7% decrease from the 92.7 million bushels in storage on Feb. 1, 2025. Fresh holdings were 3% higher than the five-year average of 83.6 million bushels.

Processing apple holdings reached 41.3 million bushels, up 10% from 37.5 million bushels a year ago and 17% above the five-year average of 35.2 million bushels.

Controlled atmosphere storage continued to account for the majority of apples in storage. Of the total 127.6 million bushels on hand, 97 million bushels were in controlled atmosphere storage, compared with 30.5 million bushels in regular storage.

Washington maintains dominant share of U.S. holdings

Washington remained the largest contributor to total U.S. holdings, with 105.2 million bushels in storage as of Feb. 1, compared with 107.4 million bushels a year earlier. Of that total, 76.1 million bushels were in fresh-market holdings and 29.1 million bushels were designated for processing.

New York reported 10.7 million bushels in total holdings, up from 10.3 million bushels last year. Michigan stored 5.8 million bushels, down from 6.1 million bushels a year ago.

Honeycrisp, Gala and Granny Smith lead by volume

By variety, Honeycrisp led all apples in total holdings at 18.2 million bushels, up from 12.7 million bushels a year earlier and above the five-year average of 14.6 million bushels. Gala followed at 15.9 million bushels, down from 19.4 million bushels last year. Granny Smith holdings totaled 16.7 million bushels, compared with 15.3 million bushels a year ago.

Cosmic Crisp holdings reached 14.5 million bushels, an increase from 12.4 million bushels last February and well above the five-year average of 6.3 million bushels, reflecting continued growth of the variety in commercial production.

Total movement during January 2026 was 19.4 million bushels, compared with 21.5 million bushels in January 2025 and a five-year average of 18.6 million bushels. Fresh movement during the month totaled 14 million bushels, while processing movement reached 5.5 million bushels.

The USAppleTracker report is compiled by the U.S. Apple Association and provides monthly insight into fresh and processing apple inventories by state, variety and storage type. You can view the entire February USAppleTracker report online.