Get ready for more shortages: Truck driver shortage is getting worse and there aren’t enough drivers to fix the problem
(Natural News) The supply chain crisis under Joe Biden is going from bad to worse and that’s not even the most disturbing news: At this point there is simply nothing to stop the massive shortages that are coming.
We’ve said for weeks now that there is no shortage of goods and commodities; American and foreign factories have continued to crank out items despite labor shortages and whatnot. The problem created by a year’s worth of COVID-19 shutdowns is that now there is no way to get goods to market quickly or at all in some cases.
We have air, rail and seafaring transportation available but by far the single biggest portion of the supply chain is trucking; they make up the vast majority of the delivery aspect of the supply chain. And while actual trucks are in great supply, people who know how to, and are licensed to, drive them, are not.
And, of course, there is a bureaucratic backlog as well, which is typical in this current governmental environment with a half-wit at the helm.
The trucking industry is desperate to get drivers into seats at a time when the supply chain needs them most, but a variety of factors is stalling the industry’s ability to gain traction.
Chief among those factors is the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Since January 2020 when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration began recording substance abuse violations in the clearinghouse database, over 91,000 drivers have been taken off the road for testing positive or refusing to take a test. That number is expected to hit 100,000 before the end of the year.
While this is considered proof that the clearinghouse is doing its job — keeping unsafe drivers off the road — it is also increasing pressure on carriers trying to deal with unprecedented freight demand.
“We’ve lost, at least temporarily, 44,000 drivers so far in 2021 to drug or alcohol violations, which really stings when freight is sitting at the dock waiting to be picked up,” said P. Sean Garney, the Scopelitis Transportation Consulting co-director, in an interview with FreightWaves.
“With only 21% of drivers disqualified from driving a [commercial motor vehicle] taking the steps necessary to get back behind the wheel, the industry needs to continue to find creative ways to fill seats.”
Got that? Only one-fifth of the drivers who were disqualified are bothering to try and get back into the industry again; that leaves an 80 percent deficit.
And why would they? Consider what it takes just to be able to drive a truck:
— Health requirements (important for sure)
— A multitude of expensive licenses (not important except to big government bureaucracies)
— Constant scrutiny
— Endless qualifications
— Paperwork galore
— Long hours
— Relatively low pay
— Lots of time away from loved ones
And what is the government (and governments) doing to make this situation better, to alleviate some or most of the requirements for this emergency situation? After all, some of these same functionaries told us they had to change voting laws to ‘protect us’ from COVID (resulting in a stolen election); they can’t do anything to help alleviate the backlog of disqualified drivers so they can get on the road again?
Here’s another issue created by left-wing Democrats that is preventing drivers from getting back on the road: Drugs and in particular, marijuana.
“Some contend that the inability of more would-be and current drivers to pass a drug test is exacerbated by an increasing number of states legalizing marijuana. The clearinghouse has consistently revealed marijuana to be the top substance identified in positive drug tests,” Freightwaves reported.
And before you get upset about that, remember that companies don’t want their drivers behind the wheel drunk, either.
“But there’s a lot of other things that are having a negative effect as well. Parts to fix trucks are in short supply, which means trucks have to be parked,” said Karen Goodpaster, manager at St. Louis-based Apollo Express, adding that many drivers are moving from over-the-road to delivering locally because of shifting purchasing habits by shippers and consumers.
All in all, the point is the supply chain crisis, made much worse by a dearth of truck drivers and trucking parts, is not getting better. Stockpile now.
Sources include:
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
About the Author: NC Scout
4 Comments
Comments are closed.
GUNS N GEAR
I have always been concerned about protracted stoppages, for any reason: Martians, Norks, Chicoms, Cuban para’s, the plague, the chicom bio weapon, crazy Iranians closing the Straight, you name, if they stop for a serious length of time, it’s on like Kong…
EBT/SNAP cards going down, don’t want that music to stop:
https://www.americanpartisan.org/2020/05/when-the-music-stops-how-americas-cities-may-explode-in-violence/
https://www.prepperfortress.com/just-time-trucks-stop-america-will-stop-immediate-catastrophic-consequences-3/
Food
Significant shortages will occur in as little as three days, especially for perishable items following a national emergency and a ban on truck traffic.
Consumer fear and panic will exacerbate shortages. News of a truck stoppage—whether on the local level, state or regional level, or nationwide—will spur hoarding and drastic increases in consumer purchases of essential goods. Shortages will materialize quickly and could lead to civil unrest. (We’re seeing this in the UK right now)
Water
Supplies of clean drinking water will run dry in two to four weeks. For safety and security reasons, most water supply plants maintain a larger inventory of supplies than the typical business. However, the amount of chemical storage varies significantly and is site specific. According to the Chlorine Institute, most water treatment facilities receive chlorine in cylinders that are delivered by motor carriers.
On average, trucks deliver purification chemicals to water supply plants every seven to 14 days. Without these chemicals, water cannot be purified and made safe for drinking.
Health Care
Without truck transportation, patient care within the truck stoppage zone will be immediately jeopardized. According to Cook, many hospitals have moved to a just-in-time inventory system. In fact, some work from a low-unit-of-measure system. This means that essential basic supplies, such as syringes and catheters, are not ordered until the supplies are depleted.
These systems depend on trucks to deliver needed supplies within hours of order placement. Internal redistribution of supplies in hospitals could forestall a crisis for a short time; however, in a matter of hours, hospitals would be unable to supply critical patient care.
If an incident of national significance produces mass injuries, truck transportation is the key to delivering urgently needed medical supplies necessary to save lives.
Hospitals and nursing homes will exhaust food supplies in as little as 24 hours
Pharmacy stocks of prescription drugs will be depleted quickly. According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, most of the nation’s 55,000 drug stores receive daily merchandise deliveries by truck.
Transportation
Service station fuel supplies will start to run out in just one to two days. An average service station requires a delivery every 2.4 days. Based on these statistics, the busiest service stations could run out of fuel within hours of a truck stoppage, with the remaining stations following within one to two days
Air, rail and maritime transportation will be disrupted.
A fuel shortage will create secondary effects. Without access to automobile travel, people will be unable to get to work causing labor shortages and increased economic damage. Without cars, many people cannot access grocery stores, banks, doctors, and other daily needs.
Public bus systems will cease to operate as well, preventing many disabled and elderly people from accessing these necessities. Without fuel, police, fire, rescue and other public service vehicles will be paralyzed, further jeopardizing public safety.
Waste Removal
Within days of a truck stoppage, Americans will be literally buried in garbage with serious health and environmental consequences. Further, without fuel deliveries, many waste processing facilities will be unable to operate equipment such as backhoes and incinerators.
Uncollected and deteriorating waste products create rich breeding grounds for microorganisms, insects, and other vermin. Hazardous materials and medical waste will introduce toxins as well as infectious diseases into living environments. Urban areas will, of course, be significantly impacted within just a couple of days.
Retail / Manufacturing / Economy
Replenishment of goods will be disrupted. Many of the nation’s leading retailers rely on just-in-time delivery to keep inventory levels as low as possible. Similar to the low-unit-of-measure hospital inventory system, these stores rely on frequent deliveries to replenish basic goods.
Often, delivery of a shipment is not triggered until the current inventory is nearly depleted. Without truck deliveries, retailers will be unable to restock goods, including consumer basics such as bottled water, canned goods, and paper products.
Consumer behavior during emergencies triples the rate of inventory turn-over.Since many large retail outlets typically keep inventories as lean as possible, problems often arise quickly during truck transportation slowdowns that occur from crises such as hurricanes.
Just-in-time manufacturers will shut down assembly lines within hours. Major American manufacturers, ranging from computer manufacturers such as Dell and Compaq to major automakers such as GM and Ford, rely on just-in-time manufacturing. Without truck deliveries, component shortages and manufacturing delays will develop within hours
Financial Sector
ATM and branch bank cash resources will be exhausted quickly. In today’s fast paced, high-technology economy, consumers access cash 24/7 from 370,000 ATMs nationwide. JP Morgan Chase, the nation’s second largest consumer bank, replenishes its 6,600 ATMs via armored truck delivery every two to three days. Given the increase in ATM activity that occurs before and after any type of crisis, ATMs would run out of cash much sooner.
Small and medium-size businesses will lose access to cash.
Regular bank functions will cease.
The above, and for other reasons, now very evident, are why i plan, prepare and prep, develop in person, NOT online relationships, that matter, based on trust, respect and mutual aid and time spent together having breakfast at Denny’s, training together, and just talking and being, perhaps enjoying a wee dram of Jura or ….
One see’s the measure of a man in the way he treats his children, and others, when no one is looking…..Certain traits can not be hidden in that setting…What you do when not being watched, is the tell…
We are already seeing many of these issues right now all over conus, not just due to truck stoppages, but folks who actually DO THE FUCKING WORK as Mike Rowe opines, who say fuck the jab and refuse to go to work, or take the job loss….
I feel for them, as a self employed person, i am not in that position…
No man is an island..just my .000002 worth..
\\Romeo Foxtrot
I agree with this situational awareness:
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/11/08/purposeful-crisis-keeps-unfolding-as-bidens-irrelevant-polling-keeps-collapsing-white-house-vaccine-mandates-promoted-while-courts-attempt-to-block/
Now, the way to overcome this, as it surely continues, is for like minded people, families, friends, is to
stick together in tens, hundreds and thousands and connect locally and branch out throughout.
History has shown these events unfold before, and surviving this slaughter of civilisations will require
great measures, in faith, hope and charity, without force.
I advice anyone to do some reading on preparingyou.com.
“Seek ye The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness”… …”that ye might be saved”
There will be confrontation. The response of Xiden’s handlers was to order the companies to enforce the mandate and ignore the court order. Just wait until the refineries are down due to vaccine mandates.
Yup.