All indications suggest the current supply chain backups in the US will extend well into 2022. Given this, the trucking industry’s greatest challenge will be to reach adequate capacities of people, facilities, and equipment as carriers seek to break the logjam.
Why specifically people, facilities, and equipment? People are the heart and soul of the trucking industry, the drivers and dockworkers who continually work to move goods between our facilities and to the store shelf.
Trucking companies are seeking innovative ways to demonstrate the benefits of a trucking career and get new drivers on the road, and how much headway the industry makes toward ending the supply chain disruption in 2022 will be determined in large part by how well we address the truck driver shortage.
Of course, we must also consider the facilities in which these employees spend their time. Do these service centers have enough doors to handle demand? Are they centrally located to increase the number of shipments they can receive each day? Expanding the service center network to adequately store product — and, ideally, house excess capacity — is more important than ever.
Trucking carriers also need the right equipment to keep the supply chain moving, both at our facilities and on the road, including younger tractors, trailers, and forklifts.
The time to address these challenges is now. It’s critical that carriers and shippers start planning for 2022 as soon as possible to ensure there’s sufficient capacity for the carrier to move product and that there’s continual, open communication between partners to reduce potential shipping delays.