Supply Chain Challenges Continue: What Can You do?

Disruption

Supply chains experience disruption. That’s nothing new. From extreme weather events, economic upheaval, and changing regulations to labor strikes, driver shortages, and seasonal changes, the supply chain is easily upended. This volatility has never been more obvious than since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

And why is this? 

Simply put, market demand is greater than our ability to supply it. And it’s global. For example, The Wall Street Journal reports that “containers are continuing to stack up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.” These imports are flooding our major gateways.

Craig Fuller explains on FreightWaves that “the global supply chain infrastructure that exists simply can’t handle the volume of products flowing through the economy,” due to a government aid that overstimulated demand.  Here’s the thing–the stimulus did exactly what it was supposed to do–it got money into the hands of businesses and individuals and they in turn spent it on physical purchases rather than on personal services during a time when many service industry businesses were shut down.

Purchasing went into overdrive while production slowed or completely came to a standstill. And that’s where things got sticky. When China finally upped their production again, the volume of goods coming into ports overwhelmed facilities not equipped with the capacity to handle it. We’re talking warehousing, labor, trucks, and drivers.

And labor shortages are at the heart of the capacity crunch in the trucking industry. Driving, as we discuss here often, is a difficult profession. Long hours, stagnant wages, and bad health outcomes are only three of the difficulties drivers face. At the same time, we are experiencing an unprecedented lack of trucks available to companies. 

These difficulties are not going to ease up any time soon, and that means your logistics processes are going to remain challenging and trucking rates won’t be decreasing. So now’s the time to think seriously about working with a professional logistics team to keep your supply chain running as efficiently and smoothly as possible.

Battling Disruption with Consistency, Reliability, and Superior Carriers

Here at AM Transport Services, we’ve been in the logistics business for over 30 years. As a leading provider of logistics services in the midwest, we work with the best carriers in the area–small to midsize trucking companies with excellent business histories, exceptional equipment and drivers, and superior on-time pickup and delivery percentages.

We help manufacturers and distributors in a variety of ways, by supplying excellent communication, state-of-the art technology, and consistent and reliable rates. With long-time experience in job-site deliveries, we know professionals all along the supply chain. We can make sure your last minute needs are accommodated, and we make sure you are never surprised by rates inflated with unexplained charges.

If you’d like to know more about how we can help you in this new supply chain environment, please give us a call today. We’d be happy to discuss everything from dynamic pricing to complete supply chain management.