Risk aversion and a perfect storm are among my expectations for 2018, another year that will challenge BCO logistic professionals like never before. As a shipper, everyday life has become about avoiding the logistic pitfalls. Whether the coming US Gulf resin boom, impact of ELDs, sulfur fuel requirements, or a fragile transportation infrastructure, we all have sinkholes to dodge as we steer our products to destination safely.
With respect to our fellow Americans in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, all of whom endured devastating events in 2017, logistics’ version of the perfect storm may be closer than you think.
Expansion of the Panama Canal, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract extension, and possibly the same for the International Longshoremen’s Union are good things that stand to exacerbate growing pains for global logistics. Known challenges such as big ships, carrier financials, consolidation, alliances, and unsustainable rates, among others, will continue to stress a global logistics economy that has bent but not broken to this point.
We have all experienced simultaneous disruptions in the past, however, I do believe 2018 will see a convergence of multiple factors to challenge our infrastructure in a way we have not seen before. My approach and that of others in the shipper community will be to mitigate risk throughout the supply chain, diversifying across liner, warehouse, truck, and rail vendors, as well as diversifying geographically, as a means to avoid becoming paralyzed by any significant catastrophic event(s).
It can be said that global logistics makes normally confident people paranoid. Logistic professionals are a resilient bunch. Many of us have been accused of being martyrs. Yes, we complain about the industry, yet it is a guilty pleasure for most. Indeed, the challenges and consequences are greater than ever before, yet in the end, the decisions we make and the strategies we employ will ultimately prove our value within our respective organizations.
As Hyman Roth said in The Godfather, “… this is the business we’ve chosen.” Here’s to staying out of the fray in 2018.