5 supply-chain disruptions affecting long-haul freight transportation

Supply chain challenges brought on by the pandemic have rocked industries across the nation – manufacturing, retail, construction and many other sectors have been plagued by shortages and logistical issues.

It’s become so impactful that in June, the White House unveiled a Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to “provide a whole-of-government response to address near-term supply chain challenges … (and) to diagnose problems and surface solutions – large and small, public or private – that could help alleviate bottlenecks and supply constraints.”

Long-haul freight is one of the most central pillars of the national supply chain. And Department of Transportation professionals are uniquely positioned to help maintain the flow of long-haul freight – so it’s important to know how and why freight can be vulnerable to disruption.

Here, we detail five supply-chain disruptions, before exploring how high-quality transport data can help keep you one step ahead of them.

1. COVID-19 prevention

By this point, we’re all intensely familiar with social distancing. These and other safety measures were widely implemented to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. But in spaces that were designed for the pre-pandemic world, these measures can lead to significant disruptions.

The most prominent example of this can be seen at some of America’s busiest ports, like Los Angeles and Long Beach. Dozens of container ships remain moored offshore, as there’s no space for them to dock. On September 15th, the total number of ships waiting to dock was a record 88.

The Port of Savannah is also seeing an immense backlog of another kind, as tens of thousands of containers accumulate in heaps on the port grounds, all awaiting pick-up.

These slowdowns are largely due to the number of COVID-19 protocols in place, including the cleaning of cranes and equipment, daily health screenings for staff and social distancing. Combine those operational limitations with a huge increase in demands for goods – and you’ve got a recipe for some serious congestion.

2. COVID-19 recovery

Counterintuitively, the recovery of our economy itself is also causing problems for our infrastructure.

Total retail spending – comprising both online and in-store purchases – has averaged 16% higher than pre-pandemic levels so far this year, and this high level of demand is placing strain on manufacturing and logistics processes.

This becomes understandable when you consider that many factories, warehouses and logistics companies were forced to downsize during the pandemic. The operational agility required to scale back up again at speed is beyond all but the most well-staffed, well-funded organizations.

Transportation infrastructure like ports, roads and railroads are under similar pressure to upscale to match the newly roaring demand. As expected, this can cause issues for Department of Transportation professionals that need to access funding and resources quicker than ​​bureaucracy tends to allow.

3. An ecommerce boom

Ecommerce has long been at the whirring heart of the transportation industry, but it’s also been a catalyst for strained infrastructure.

Even before the pandemic, the World Economic Forum was predicting that congestion from delivery traffic would rise by over 21% before 2030.

Again, port activity is emblematic of a shift in supply chain activity. According to Forbes, cargo ships are now double or triple the size that they were in the early 2000s and can now hold more than 20,000 containers.

As a result, they require more truck, train and warehouse capacity to load and unload – demanding even more from a currently strained infrastructure.