Payment Velocity — Q3 2026 — Produce, Blue Book Listed Companies

Something shifted in August. After a summer that started at a fairly ordinary pace, Blue Book listed produce companies paid faster than at any point this year — 70.1 percent of trade experiences landed inside 28 days, up from 65.7 percent in July, while the slow-pay tail beyond 35 days dropped to 10.5 percent. Then September pulled most of it back.

*September is a partial month, three weeks in as of this writing.

August’s gain came mostly from the B band, 22 to 28 days, which swelled to 40.1 percent of all reports that month. Buyers weren’t necessarily paying dramatically faster in absolute terms; more of them clustered right at the edge of the 28-day window instead of drifting past it. September’s mix looks a lot like July’s again: B at 36.1 percent, C (29–35 days) back up to 21.9 percent, and the fast AA band down to 14.7 percent of reports.

For produce companies extending trade credit, that swing matters more than the quarter’s average. A supplier who tightened terms in August because collections looked strong could find September’s actual cash timing running two to three points slower than expected, right as fall volume typically builds.

Buyers who were current in August aren’t guaranteed to stay there. Credit and sales desks reviewing a counterparty’s pay history should weigh the most recent month over a quarter-long trend, since a single strong month can flatter the picture.

None of this points to rising delinquency. The F band, 60-plus days, held near 2.8 percent to 3 percent all quarter, so the deep slow-pay tail isn’t growing. The story here is mix, not risk: where in the 1-to-60-day window payments land, and how much that band shifts month to month.

Review listed pay performance in Blue Book before extending terms and keep watching whether September’s pullback holds into Q4 or was just a pause on the way to a faster fall.