Higher pay and expanded training won't be enough. What we need is a comprehensive strategy and the committed engagement of industry and governmental players ... and maybe another look at immigration.
Art van Bodegraven was, among other roles, chief design officer for the DES Leadership Academy. He passed away on June 18, 2017. He will be greatly missed.
Yeah, yeah—we've heard this song before. It hasn't been all that long since the Chicken Littles of the industry were running in circles, squawking about impending doom—specifically, a looming shortage of warehouse workers.
With a bit of training and improved wage structures (i.e., above minimum but less than website developers), that problem seemed to solve itself. To be sure, demand remains high in logistics hot spots, and workforce development is a high priority in those locales.
We had miraculously escaped that catastrophe when the Jeremiahs began to rant about another impending shortage—this time involving truck drivers. And not without cause. Given the aging driver population (currently, the average age of over-the-road drivers is over 55) and the difficulty attracting new people to the field—not to mention the prospect of burgeoning freight volumes—it's probably no surprise that we began hearing projections of a shortage roughly equivalent to the combined capacities of the Ohio Stadium and the Rose Bowl.
Then came the economic meltdown of 2008 and ensuing Great Recession, which collapsed the demand for truck drivers and erased the expected shortfall nearly overnight. We began to breathe easier. Like Jessica Tandy's Miss Daisy, we saw only the things we chose to see, and we interpreted what we saw in the light of mysterious factors known only to ourselves.
The problem was solved, never mind if only for a moment. Perhaps if we squeezed our eyes tightly shut, a tornado would not come our way again. If it did, it would spare the barn. The trolls would go back to living under the bridge, and the monsters under the bed would not dare venture out to get us in the night.
Welcome to 2012
The recession is over and has been for a while, except in certain verticals. Goods are moving through the supply chain at levels approaching those of 2007. Guess what? There is a shortage of truck drivers, and it's looking as if we'll need at least three stadia worth of drug-free individuals with commercial driver's licenses (CDLs)—now.
But we don't know where to get them. And the factors that were limiting our ability to maintain a stable driver supply, let alone grow it, are still with us, in spades. They include the following:
Pay is essentially piecework, so many cents per mile
Traffic delays and wait time at pickup and delivery points consume a greater number of a driver's hours, reducing his (or her) mileage potential
Federal HOS (hours of service) regulations, while well-intentioned, have the effect of reducing miles by capping daily work hours
Quality of life: time away from family, diet and recreation on the road, long hours
Wages that do not fully compensate for time and effort, leading drivers to change employers for trivial per-mile amounts—or leave the field altogether
The investment (indebtedness) and payback involved in the owner-operator model
A negative perception of the field, its current population, and the lifestyle—in short, the lack of an aspirational image that involves honest work by decent people for fair wages
Late entry as the only option for getting in. The high school graduate has already been working some three years in another field before being eligible for consideration as an interstate driver. In addition, there are training requirements to consider in making a career shift.
The CSA 2010 (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) program, the federal government's far-reaching initiative to remove unsafe commercial drivers from the nation's roads. This has not yet had a major negative effect on the driver supply, but it has reportedly caused some unease in the driver community.
The added scrutiny of on-board monitoring systems. Some companies report that drivers like the systems, but it is another "eye in the sky" that can un-nerve independent spirits.
Not a pretty picture. Yet we must address the grievances and find workable remedies.
And what are we doing about it?
Shipping more by rail. Maybe. The railroads certainly hope so. And significant growth is projected for rail and intermodal traffic over the next few years. But drayage is still needed at both ends of a long-distance rail or intermodal movement.
Paying more. This was one of the late Don Schneider's focal points, and many carriers are nudging rates up, penny by penny, nickel by nickel, in order to raise wages.
Arranging for more, and more regular, off-the-road time. Some companies have been more aggressive in pursuing this than others, and there are inevitable costs involved.
Developing conscious programs to treat drivers with respect, openness, and trust.
Partnering with driving schools to establish relationships with prospective drivers before they finish, and to be a preferred destination for the schools to steer graduates. A few companies are trying this. A very few workforce development agencies in logistics hotspots are integrating with driving schools to begin to address the problem on a regional basis.
Creating win-win-win solutions by hiring military veterans with appropriate driving experience, and recognizing their military experience as part of their total experience rather than taking them on as rookies. There is interest in doing this in a few locales, but it will take collaboration and alignment among a number of agencies, including carriers, veterans' affairs bureaus, and insurers, at a minimum.
Permitting more extensive driving duties at younger ages (say, 19 versus 21) to capture more people at the beginning of their careers rather than trying to "convert" them later on. This again requires collaboration with carriers and insurers, as well as careful monitoring of individual progress.
There is surely more going on in the real world, but these illustrate what's happening.
And what's wrong with that?
Nothing, really, except that all those toes in the water aren't nearly the same as swimming the English Channel, and that's what we've got to figure out how to do. We can all learn from the successes and failures of local and company-specific initiatives. We do need a forum to get the word out, though.
Too many of the company-focused initiatives are designed more to steal drivers from the competition than to enlarge the total driver pool, which is what is needed.
The big things, engaging returning veterans and having younger drivers, definitely need coordination—and action rather than endless study—at a national level. It's a national problem; it will take a national solution.
But in our opinion, solving the driver shortage is too big to simply peck away at and hope for the best. It demands a comprehensive strategy and the committed engagement of industry and governmental players. And it shouldn't be delayed for years while environmental impact studies are conducted in Washington.
We don't have a Harry Potter answer; we left the magic wand back at the office. But we do know that our profession and our economic success require all hands on deck to work on a comprehensive and sustainable solution. We can't count on another recession to take the pressure off.
An ironic afterthought
We do have a sneaking suspicion that the ultimate solution to the driver shortage could involve immigration, possibly on a couple of levels.
Consider the positive impact in Europe of, for example, truck drivers from the high-unemployment CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) nations relieving human capacity pressures in fully loaded warehousing and transportation sectors in "Old" Europe. Could we use a few thousand Poles, Czechs, Ukrainians, or Slovaks here in trucking?
Then, contemplate the labor force just beyond our Southern border. Would it not be interesting if we suddenly had Mexicans arriving with jobs in hand and not needing the services of coyotes to get across the border? The IBT (International Brotherhood of Teamsters), among others, was not keen, post-NAFTA, about Mexican trucks on U.S. roads. Might they feel differently about Mexican drivers in U.S. trucks?
For those who might decry bringing in immigrants to perform relatively prosaic tasks, here's reality. The currently unemployed are possibly not capable of, not qualified for, or not interested in driving trucks—or else they would already be on the road somewhere.
Might some be retrained? Possibly, but at what cost (and to whom), at what career stage, and in what numbers? Enough to make a dent in the shortage? Highly unlikely. And we suspect that even Miss Daisy might come—in time—to approve of the strangers in her midst.
States across the Southeast woke up today to find that the immediate weather impacts from Hurricane Helene are done, but the impacts to people, businesses, and the supply chain continue to be a major headache, according to Everstream Analytics.
The primary problem is the collection of massive power outages caused by the storm’s punishing winds and rainfall, now affecting some 2 million customers across the Southeast region of the U.S.
One organization working to rush help to affected regions since the storm hit Florida’s western coast on Thursday night is the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). As it does after most serious storms, the group continues to marshal donated resources from supply chain service providers in order to store, stage, and deliver help where it’s needed.
Support for recovery efforts is coming from a massive injection of federal aid, since the White House declared states of emergency last week for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Affected states are also supporting the rush of materials to needed zones by suspending transportation requirement such as certain licensing agreements, fuel taxes, weight restrictions, and hours of service caps, ALAN said.
E-commerce activity remains robust, but a growing number of consumers are reintegrating physical stores into their shopping journeys in 2024, emphasizing the need for retailers to focus on omnichannel business strategies. That’s according to an e-commerce study from Ryder System, Inc., released this week.
Ryder surveyed more than 1,300 consumers for its 2024 E-Commerce Consumer Study and found that 61% of consumers shop in-store “because they enjoy the experience,” a 21% increase compared to results from Ryder’s 2023 survey on the same subject. The current survey also found that 35% shop in-store because they don’t want to wait for online orders in the mail (up 4% from last year), and 15% say they shop in-store to avoid package theft (up 8% from last year).
“Retail and e-commerce continue to evolve,” Jeff Wolpov, Ryder’s senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “The emergence of e-commerce and growth of omnichannel fulfillment, particularly over the past four years, has altered consumer expectations and behavior dramatically and will continue to do so as time and technology allow.
“This latest study demonstrates that, while consumers maintain a robust
appetite for e-commerce, they are simultaneously embracing in-person shopping, presenting an impetus for merchants to refine their omnichannel strategies.”
Other findings include:
• Apparel and cosmetics shoppers show growing attraction to buying in-store. When purchasing apparel and cosmetics, shoppers are more inclined to make purchases in a physical location than they were last year, according to Ryder. Forty-one percent of shoppers who buy cosmetics said they prefer to do so either in a brand’s physical retail location or a department/convenience store (+9%). As for apparel shoppers, 54% said they prefer to buy clothing in those same brick-and-mortar locations (+9%).
• More customers prefer returning online purchases in physical stores. Fifty-five percent of shoppers (+15%) now say they would rather return online purchases in-store–the first time since early 2020 the preference to Buy Online Return In-Store (BORIS) has outweighed returning via mail, according to the survey. Forty percent of shoppers said they often make additional purchases when picking up or returning online purchases in-store (+2%).
• Consumers are extremely reliant on mobile devices when shopping in-store. This year’s survey reveals that 77% of consumers search for items on their mobile devices while in a store, Ryder said. Sixty-nine percent said they compare prices with items in nearby stores, 58% check availability at other stores, 31% want to learn more about a product, and 17% want to see other items frequently purchased with a product they’re considering.
Ryder said the findings also underscore the importance of investing in technology solutions that allow companies to provide customers with flexible purchasing options.
“Omnichannel strength is not a fad; it is a strategic necessity for e-commerce and retail businesses to stay competitive and achieve sustainable success in 2024 and beyond,” Wolpov also said. “The findings from this year’s study underscore what we know our customers are experiencing, which is the positive impact of integrating supply chain technology solutions across their sales channels, enabling them to provide their customers with flexible, convenient options to personalize their experience and heighten customer satisfaction.”
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Two European companies are among the most recent firms to put autonomous last-mile delivery to the test with a project in Bern, Switzerland, that debuted this month.
Swiss transportation and logistics company Planzer has teamed up with fellow Swiss firm Loxo, which develops autonomous driving software solutions, for a two-year pilot project in which a Loxo-equipped, Planzer parcel delivery van will handle last-mile logistics in Bern’s city center.
The project coincides with Swiss regulations on autonomous driving that are expected to take effect next spring.
Referred to as “Planzer–Dynamic Micro-Hub w LOXO,” the project aims to address both sustainability issues and traffic congestion in urban areas.
The delivery vehicle, a Volkswagen ID. Buzz battery-electric minivan, will feature Loxo’s Level 4 Digital Driver navigation software, a highly automated solution that allows driverless operation. The van was retrofitted to include space for two swap boxes for parcel storage.
During the two-year pilot phase, Loxo’s Digital Driver will navigate a commercial vehicle several times a day from Planzer’s railway center to various logistics points in Bern's city center. There, the parcels will be reloaded onto small electric vehicles and delivered to end customers by Planzer’s parcel delivery staff.
Following the completion of the pilot phase, Planzer and Loxo will build on the program for rollout in other Swiss cities, the companies said.
The partners said the project addresses the increasing requirements of urban supply chains and aims to ensure the “scalability of their disruptive solution.” With largely emission-free delivery, it contributes to greater levels of sustainability for the city as a living space, they also said.
“The uniqueness of this project lies in the fact that it will have a direct impact on society,” Planzer’s CEO and Chairman Nils Planzer said in a statement announcing the project. “We didn't just want to integrate automated technology into existing systems, we wanted to develop a completely new concept and a new business model.”
As the hours tick down toward a “seemingly imminent” strike by East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers, experts are warning that the impacts of that move would mushroom well-beyond the actual strike locations, causing prevalent shipping delays, container ship congestion, port congestion on West coast ports, and stranded freight.
However, a strike now seems “nearly unavoidable,” as no bargaining sessions are scheduled prior to the September 30 contract expiration between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) in their negotiations over wages and automation, according to the transportation law firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary.
The facilities affected would include some 45,000 port workers at 36 locations, including high-volume U.S. ports from Boston, New York / New Jersey, and Norfolk, to Savannah and Charleston, and down to New Orleans and Houston. With such widespread geography, a strike would likely lead to congestion from diverted traffic, as well as knock-on effects include the potential risk of increased freight rates and costly charges such as demurrage, detention, per diem, and dwell time fees on containers that may be slowed due to the congestion, according to an analysis by another transportation and logistics sector law firm, Benesch.
The weight of those combined blows means that many companies are already planning ways to minimize damage and recover quickly from the event. According to Scopelitis’ advice, mitigation measures could include: preparing for congestion on West coast ports, taking advantage of intermodal ground transportation where possible, looking for alternatives including air transport when necessary for urgent delivery, delaying shipping from East and Gulf coast ports until after the strike, and budgeting for increased freight and container fees.
Additional advice on softening the blow of a potential coastwide strike came from John Donigian, senior director of supply chain strategy at Moody’s. In a statement, he named six supply chain strategies for companies to consider: expedite certain shipments, reallocate existing inventory strategically, lock in alternative capacity with trucking and rail providers , communicate transparently with stakeholders to set realistic expectations for delivery timelines, shift sourcing to regional suppliers if possible, and utilize drop shipping to maintain sales.