The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America’s (NCBFAA) Transportation Committee’s Logistics Subcommittee is constantly collecting and updating information on supply disruptions that impact you and your business, but we could use your help to make it better.
From reporting what you see at the docks, rails, and in the trucking industries, we can create a more cohesive, collaborative, compiled data analysis of what is going on in various parts of the country that will affect the supply chain as well as the shippers directly after that.
From delays such as the empty exports containers and equipment shortages that have been plaguing the railways lately, to the congestion at the west coast ports hampering trade – any information you can give on these matters is helpful to spread the word to carriers across the country so that they may react accordingly and adjust for disruptions.
With consumer spending causing wildly varying levels of demand in the past few years, there has been massive port congestion all across the board, but in the west coast, some suspect there may be a “different culprit this time” states Market Intel, and that it may be the tentative agreement between the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). While contract negotiations and port operations are, as of right now, up and running, importers and exporters are taking a hypervigilant approach by rerouting supply chains that add to congestion in the Gulf and East Coast ports.
The Logistics Subcommittee will compile this data collected into a Excel spreadsheet for your reference, and requests that any reports received from carriers and ports be directly reported to Merit Tremper, President of Merit Trade Consulting Services LLC, as soon as possible by email ([email protected]) so that it can be included in the Weekly Supply Chain Disruption Roundup series.
As a freight forwarder, Sobel will continue to do our part in informing you and the NCBFAA of any incoming information regarding the supply chain disruptions that occur at ports, by rail, or in the trucking industry, and how it may potentially affect your business. Until then, if you have any questions regarding this or any supply chain disruptions, please contact your Sobel representative today.
