As the year 2022 passes the halfway mark, uncertainty still remains with the supply chain. Whether you are an importer or an exporter who is moving goods using ocean carriers to various ports around the world, every day continues to be a challenge. Companies are keeping their eyes on the various supply chain trends in an effort to predict the future so they can effectively mitigate risks.
The Challenges of the Supply Chain
The challenges faced over the last two and a half years remain a reality:
- Container dwell times
- Port congestion
- Railroad challenges
- Trucking equipment problems, shortages, and delays
- Transportation in fracture roadblocks and breakdowns.
It seems like the challenges remain unchanged due to the complexity in fact, some things have worsened such as the wait times in Southern California ports. Many are left scratching their heads as they try to figure out why inventory carry costs remain high and the transit times are still double what they were over two years ago.
Remaining Optimistic
The Biden Administration is trying to address the problems by making the global supply chain a priority by enacting the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiatives. Many remain optimistic that the initiates will eventually help. The hope that is fair practices will be enforced which will lead to improvements across the board. Another factor is that the prioritization of export cargo will take place. However, how things will be enforced remains up in the air.
With the U.S. rail network broken in the U.S., the port terminals suffer along with other parts of the supply chain. Clearly, nothing is going to be solved overnight and most remain hopeful that FLOW will help.
At this time the only way to go forward is by coping with each challenge. Shippers will need to build in a sufficient amount of lead time. This is especially true when shipping from Europe because of the labor issues, shortages, and severe congestion. Using smaller ports can help ease congestion, especially along the Gulf coast. Collaborating closely with carriers to reach solutions and then ensuring that they meet their obligations is also especially important. The spot market has also shown a decrease in rates.
3PL servers can keep their customers up to date on the changes, events, and legislation. They need to create data and complete visibility for all freight movements involving shippers so that they can make the best decisions. They should also provide peer-to-peer benchmarking data along with market intelligence.
Challenges persist with the supply chains, and many are growing weary of the slow pace of improvements. However, there is some reason for optimism on the horizon.
To learn more about logistics solutions, contact Sobel Network Shipping Co, Inc.
