Big issues facing trucking could further impact supply chains

COVID-19 knotted supply chains, created logistical bottlenecks and wreaked havoc on nearly every industry.

Now, lingering impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent vaccination policies are further disrupting supply chains and weighing heavily on a trucking industry that seems to be taking hit after hit.

Truck drivers protesting Canada's vaccine mandates closed off the Ambassador Bridge Feb. 7-13, shutting a major shipping route between Canada and U.S. for nearly a week. As much as 25 percent of traded goods between the two countries pass through that entry.

The days-long closure hit the auto industry particularly hard, given the concentration of auto parts and vehicle manufacturing in Michigan and Ontario. Major auto makers including General Motors, Ford and Toyota had to cut back production due to delayed shipments.

Leaders from the American Automotive Policy Council—which represents GM, Ford and Stellantis; the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association; and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association said the disruptions at the bridge and other border crossings added "additional strain to the automotive supply chain that has already led to reduced production and may spread the longer the disruptions last."

"U.S. auto makers and suppliers are doing everything possible to maximize production with what they have, working to keep lines running and shifts scheduled to minimize the impact on American auto workers," the groups said in a joint statement Feb. 10.

The American Trucking Associations, meanwhile, denounced the demonstrations.

"ATA strongly opposes any protest activities that disrupt public safety and compromise the economic and national security of the United States," ATA President Chris Spear said in a Feb. 10 statement. "We'll continue to advocate on behalf of our members for policies that enable the industry to keep the supply chain moving, and we'll do so in ways that do not hinder the safe and timely flow of commerce that everybody depends on."

The bridge closure delays came on the heels of supply chain bottlenecks, severe shipping cost increases and microchip shortages, compounding problems the auto industry has been struggling to navigate since the start of the pandemic.

Trucking, likewise, has had its share of challenges in recent years, the vaccine mandates among them.

The ATA was part of the coalition that brought legal challenges against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's vaccination mandate, ultimately leading to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the OSHA regulations.

Spear discussed the legal challenge with Dan Ronan, host of Sirius XM's Transport Topics, Feb. 11. The legal challenge against OHSA, Spear said, shouldn't be viewed as a pro- or anti-vaccination stance. Rather, it should be taken for what it was: a mandate challenge.

"We sample-surveyed drivers right out of the gate when this mandate was announced and determined that 37 percent of our drivers alone—not technicians, dock workers and others, just drivers—37 percent would have up and left," Spear said. " … That would have had a dramatic impact on our ability to serve the economy in an already strained supply chain."

Even if that survey was incredibly off, Spear said, and only 3.7 percent of drivers were to leave the industry, that remains a major hit to a sector reeling from labor shortages to the tune of 80,000 drivers.

"When you start pulling the public health elements into the supply chain—we are moving the vaccines—you have to take that into account," Spear said. "It was very disappointing when the mandate went forward that (the administration) wouldn't listen to that, that they wouldn't consider that element. But the Supreme Court did."

Vaccine mandates were at the heart of the Ambassador Bridge blockade, but one trucking industry expert believes the protest also is indicative of other issues bubbling within the trucking industry.

"From what I know," said Mahesh Srinivasan, associate professor and director of the Institute for Global Business at the University of Akron, "about 90 percent of Canadian truck drivers are already vaccinated. I think this (blockade) is an outpouring of bigger issues that are coming through."

He wouldn't be surprised, he said, to see similar disruptions ahead.

He pointed to reports that the Department of Homeland Security had issued alerts in the days after the Ambassador Bridge blockade, indicating additional trucker protests could begin in the U.S. with possible disruptions to the Super Bowl and major highways throughout the country.

The underlying message amid all of the supply chain disruption is clear, Srinivasan said. Truckers are an essential part of the domestic and global supply chains. Now, the stresses that have been placed on the industry are building, driving truckers to take action.

"Has trucking been undervalued? Absolutely. Asking that question is the first step toward recognizing that there is an issue," Srinivasan said. "There is no doubt that trucking is undervalued; it is an afterthought" for consumers, especially.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in a discussion with Transport Topics last month, expressed similar concerns about the undervaluation of trucking as a vital part domestic and global supply chains.

"You know, these supply chain issues—as terrible as they have been—have had the effect of something that I think is really important, which is (prompting) Americans to realize just how important drivers are," Buttigieg said. "That is something we need to carry with us long after the pandemic and these supply chain shortages and crunches are behind us."

The thing about the supply chain crunches, particularly as they relate to trucking, is that they don't appear to be lessening any time soon.

In fact, Srinivasan said, "it will probably get worse before it gets better."

Trucking in the U.S. is a $700 billion industry—closer to $800 billion, when parcel services are factored in as well, making it a critical part of the economy. It's also an industry struggling to get needed labor, losing drivers by the tens of thousands, Srinivasan said. Any disruptions to an industry that large and that central to the American economy will have cascading impacts, Srinivasan said, especially given the number of impacts the industry has seen in the last 24 months.

Buttigieg acknowledged that the trucking industry has been hit by the Great Resignation, which is why the Department of Transportation is doing what it can to help bolster recruitment and help with CDL certifications.

"If we (don't) work on that side of the equation, it's going to be a little like filling a leaky bucket because we see far too many people leaving their jobs as drivers every single year, about 300,000 by our department's estimates," Buttigieg said. "So, yes, we need to recruit and we need to retain. And that is why we focus on things that affect job quality—whether we are talking about compensation or whether we are talking about issues like parking—all of that goes to whether we are able to retain as well as recruit the work force that we absolutely will be counting on."

The truck driver shortage, Srinivasan said, is staggering, especially for an industry trying to keep pace with demand as supply chain bottlenecks—at the ports, especially—persist.

Back-ups at the ports have drivers waiting hours for cargo, adding strain to the industry and stress to the drivers. That wait, Srinivasan said, not only is taxing physically for drivers, it's likely impacting their pay.

"Drivers are waiting hours to get in and get out" at ports, Srinivasan said. "I'm not sure that they are paid to wait, but my guess is if they are, they are paid more if they are on the road. But it's not fun. Even if I am given whatever money I am given to be told 'go and sit in this traffic for hours on end' it is not fun."

Srinivasan also is watching to see to how infrastructure investments will impact trucking's labor pool. While it's true the investments could be a boon for the trucking industry—better roadways and upgraded technology that allow for fleet monitoring and automated driving could have positive impacts. Still, Srinivasan wonders if the uptick in construction jobs will pull from the trucking industry.

Traditionally, he said, the two markets have competed for labor, and many truckers may choose to leave the stresses of trucking behind for similarly paying construction positions that could allow them to stay home.

"It is a bigger thing that is coming through," Srinivasan said, "and I think we need to recognize that truck drivers are a bigger part of the whole big picture."

Audrey LaForest, Automotive News reporter, contributed to this report.