I don't know how things are in the South, but here in Corvallis, Wal-Mart and other stores have had some empty shelves for month. I've read it's a national problem, and also read something today that sounded like a plausible explanation for it, although I don't know anything about the trucking industry.
The media sure aren't covering it. Until they start, it's unlikely the situation will improve, and the holidays are coming up now.
Thoughts, anyone? (His highlighting: I didn't know how to remove it.)
The media sure aren't covering it. Until they start, it's unlikely the situation will improve, and the holidays are coming up now.
Thoughts, anyone? (His highlighting: I didn't know how to remove it.)
I have a simple question for every ‘expert’ who thinks they understand the root causes of the shipping crisis:
Why is there only one crane for every 50–100 trucks at every port in America?
No ‘expert’ will answer this question.
I’m a Class A truck driver with experience in nearly every aspect of freight. My experience in the trucking industry of 20 years tells me that nothing is going to change in the shipping industry.
...
How do you convince truckers to work when their pay isn’t guaranteed, even to the point where they lose money?
Nobody is compelling the transportation industries to make the needed changes to their infrastructure. There are no laws compelling them to hire the needed workers, or pay them a living wage, or improve working conditions. And nobody is compelling them to buy more container chassis units, more cranes, or more storage space. This is for an industry that literally every business in the world is reliant on in some way or another.
My prediction is that nothing is going to change and the shipping crisis is only going to get worse. Nobody in the supply chain wants to pay to solve the problem. They literally just won’t pay to solve the problem.
-- Source (read the whole thing; it's interesting)