FreightPlus' Chris Peckham featured in Food Logistics article: What More Disruptions will 3PLs See in 2022.
Chris gives insight into the mergers and acquisitions that occurred during this past year. More specifically, "Lineage Logistics acquired the Netherlands’ Kloosterboer for global expansion; Ryder Logistics bought Midwest Warehouse Distribution; Hub Group took over Choptank Transport and numerous other organizational movements took place."
Food Logistics Predicts that these occurrences will only increase in 2022, as many companies will look to expand and take advantage of competitive sectors to help combat the labor shortage.
Peckham also comments about the constant change in the supply chain, “I think the only thing that hasn’t changed in the past year is the color of the ocean, although that’s debatable given the recent oil spill in Southern California. Inflationary pressures are certainly on everyone’s radar as the input costs continue to rise. Production output from a manufacturing standpoint is lagging due to COVID-related issues from both a labor and input standpoint. Transportation costs across all modes have skyrocketed, and although some of the large volume shippers are not paying costs we see in the greater market, they are still paying significantly more than what they were prior to COVID. Warehousing space is at a premium right now--especially in the cold storage space.”
Commenting about the truck driver shortage, Chris adds that large trucking companies are seeing a turnover rate of about 90% and driving schools are behind, due to the pandemic. With more vaccine mandates added to the mix in 2022, the shortage is likely to continue. To address this issue, Peckham states that some believe the driving age should be lowered to 18 and that the companies should look to recruit more female drivers, as women only make up 8% of the industry.
Lastly, he comments on the power shippers hold. “If you are a shipper who is delivering to some challenging locations, you will see carriers back away from that type of freight,” says Peckham. “Every carrier is assessing their networks and have the leverage and ability to ‘pick and choose’ what freight they want to haul. If they see their equipment being tied up, or the deliveries aren’t smooth, it’s almost a guarantee that shippers will see a minimum of price increases or a complete refusal from carriers to haul this freight.”
Read the full article here to learn more about technology, labor shortage, supply chain disruptions, mergers, acquisitions, and compliance predictions for 2022.
