Richard McDuffie, COO, Dunavant

https://www.dunavant.com
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Richard McDuffie

Dunavant is keeping a close watch on industry developments and trends, both globally and domestically.

The current regulatory environment for trade is under intense scrutiny right now, as the new administration had discussed sweeping tariff increases. Though we are experiencing tariffs related to lumber imports, the rhetoric on trade terms with different countries has settled down a bit.

There continues to be significant pressure in the driver market. Owner-operators are required to move forward with electronic logging devices (ELDs). Though a 90-day reprieve is in place for agricultural haulers, the overall driver market is experiencing significant capacity concerns because of ELD implementation, increased construction demand, and the overall economy. At Dunavant, we continue to monitor the impact to overall driver capacity.

Looking three to five years ahead, there continues to be growing dialogue on driverless trucks and how they could impact the industry. Additionally, our industry sees a need for more infrastructure investment in our ocean and intermodal port locations along with our highway infrastructure. The amount of time it takes to deliver products to customers is delayed, in many cases, due to poor logistics infrastructure. The United States continues to need port reform to avoid nuclear lawsuits in our industry that are not substantiated by fact.

We continue to place a high priority on safety. We must be safe enough to prevent the unpreventable. We are hyper-focused on identifying the right type of freight for our owner-operators and drivers. At the end of the day, we must reduce overall turnover and hold onto long-term, safe, and reliable drivers.