In times of chaos, the American logistics industry steps up.
The logistics professionals, shippers, warehouse operators, dispatchers, brokers, and most importantly, truck drivers have stepped up to provide an orchestrated effort to ensure the safety and well being of our country.
This week, the heroic efforts of the American trucking and logistics industry should be obvious to anyone that walks into a store one day and sees empty shelves, only to come back the next day and find them filled again. This happened to me a few times this week. From my family, thank you.
Here at FreightWaves, we have been taking the COVID-19 story very seriously for months now, mostly because we have been monitoring how it has impacted cargo flows and economic data throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. We did a TV special on it a few weeks ago (you can also listen to the podcast), but even still, it seemed like a far-away reality until this past week.
Whether it was the NBA suspending its season, Tom Hanks being diagnosed with COVID-19, or Donald Trump’s March 11, primetime address to the nation, reality seemed to set in for everyone on Thursday.
We have been taking precautions for weeks at FreightWaves by stocking up on cleaning supplies and instituting more aggressive cleaning measures, even eliminating all travel. Even still, it didn’t feel like enough.
On Thursday, we sent the majority of our staff home and have plans to do more over the next week. Over time, I suspect the folks will only come in for TV or radio production purposes. Our goal is to stay true to our mission of providing information and context about the market. We also recognize that with the new work-from-home environments taking hold across the industry, logistics professionals are going to want to be engaged and informed. We hope you will consider us a resource during this period.
FreightWaves TV is broadcasting live coverage of the freight market from our studios in Chattanooga and the talented crew is always excited to receive comments from fans during live shows. You can watch the show on TV.FreightWaves.com, Apple TV, or Roku. You can also listen to audio podcasts on FreightCasts, which can be downloaded on any podcast platform, including Apple. We want to know what you are seeing or concerned about and you can comment while watching the shows or send messages to the hosts. They love that.
Of course, our editorial team, many of which work in their homes, are always looking for interesting stories to tell and love when they get your perspective. Feel free to reach out to them and share stories of things that are happening on the ground, good or bad. Hopefully, over the next few months, we will get to write many stories of the triumph of the American logistics and supply-chain industry in keeping America, and the world, moving.
We are all in this together. This is a scary time and no one really knows what is going to happen.
For us, this is a labor of love. We are logistics professionals and all have great pride in the efforts of our industry right now. The freight industry is the always-responder, involved in relief, recovery, and replenishment efforts throughout natural disasters, weather emergencies and now the coronavirus pandemic.
We want to tell your stories and hopefully share our thoughts with you. So whether you are driving around or bored sitting at home, consider us your partner and biggest fans.
Duke Strathmann
This is Bullshit…now we can run on how we feel phyisicaly? I guess Electronic Logs (do not) recognize Coronavirus, or worldwide pandemic.This will run into Hurricane season,which will close out the year.It should be Interesting.Be safe
Karl Alan Petersen
Yeah that’s what happens when Satan is having a great time with the chaos in the United States of America. So here’s the truth about what is really going on. People are in panic mode because the Japs are terrorist and this is their way of getting back at the anti christ in the WH. And that’s the whole truth and nothing but the Truth.
Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & YOU'LL PROSPER ! IMHO
LOL !
With that sort of imagination you should write a book ! Satan is a planted figment of one’s imagination that unfortunately brainwashed many into obedience out of fear a very long time ago .
Some of us have grown up since . We no longer believe in childish fairytales .
You should know better than to believe in religious hocus pocus that have been created in an attempt to control the population . But adding a Japanese conspiracy theory to it take the cake , LOL !
Thanks for the entertainment .
Simon T
I just want to say is most people hate truck drivers. When they see us on the road, they don’t like us to park. Know I want to them to know every time when they go to store they use to find any thing they want, because truckers delivery 24/7 most never appreciated.
Red light
👏🤝👍🏻
Well done driver!
Sad is they don’t care about us the still cut Lanes in front of us , they don’t use the signals they aspect for us to stop 80.000 LBS truck and trailer how the stop their cars 1000-3000 LBS.
If I will have the power and ability I will resend back to driving school 85% of the drivers in US .
Few are and truckers don’t get me wrong.
Long time ago before the TEXT And MEDIA was fun driving now you know if the screen lights up the face then is time to get ready bc an accident is imminent.
Funniest thing is POLICE,Trupers,sheriff’s,Dot ,nobody give a cr@P bc they DON’T CARE… even them they text and drive.
And I bet if someone loved have a bad experience or a is in the major crash and something bad happen is kinda late to say… sorry I did want to text you … is my fault .
We drive night and day but nobody cares what impacts they have missing few hundredths trucks from the road.
Thank you again!
Alvie Wertz
I figure if you have a class B license and have drove tractor trailer be for they should let us help out. I drove OVR for about 5 years. Untill it cost me my marriage. But I would love to help out if they would let class B Drivers
Karl Alan Petersen
What are you nuts
Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & YOU'LL PROSPER ! IMHO
Thanks for your support Alvie much appreciated , however , we currently have a tremendous overcapacity of drivers .
The best you could do right now is expose yourself as little as possible to this unfortunate viral outbreak and take good sensible preventive care of yourself and your family at the moment .