Businesses adapt to supply food during a pandemic.
President Donald Trump, the food sector, and others have emphasized that there is sufficient food supply during the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. However, it has proven difficult to get those goods where they are needed as shopping habits change and “panic” buying causes brief shortages of some grocery staples.
All forms of transportation have been impacted, but for the “last mile”—delivering goods to the ultimate retail location—trucking is the most important. The corporate sector and the government have both stepped forward to assist in easing the logistical challenge.
In reaction to COVID-19, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the US Department of Transportation officially declared a national emergency for the first time in history, granting commercial vehicle drivers moving “emergency relief” respite from hours-of-service regulations. The statement includes “food for emergency restocking of stores” in addition to medical staff, equipment, and supplies. On March 23, the Department of Homeland Security made clear that essential workers also included people who assist in the transportation of emergency goods, such as food, like dispatchers, mechanics, workers at truck stops and rest areas, and “employees of firms providing services that enable logistics operations, including cooling, storing, packaging and distributing products for wholesale or retail sale or use.” That list included truck drivers.
Trucks are excluded from temporary partial border closures between the United States, Canada, and Mexico since cross-border truck movement is considered essential. Additional measures taken in relation to trucking by the FMCSA and other state and federal government agencies include, but are not limited to, easing truck weight and dimensional restrictions, ensuring that truck stops with sufficient parking are open and accessible throughout the interstate highway system, and temporarily waiving the need for commercial vehicle drivers to renew their expired licenses and medical certificates.
It’s widely acknowledged that grocery store empty shelves are a result of consumer demand rather than a supply problem.
The American Bakers Association’s president and CEO, Robb MacKie, stated, “Recent empty shelves are a result of ‘pantry stocking and preparedness’ and it is advisable to prepare for a week of food supplies, versus a month.” “The supply chain is stable and food is getting to consumers as quickly and safely as possible despite the surge and the strength of the United States’ food system.”
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) president and CEO, Chris Spear, stated in a blog post dated March 18 that “there is plenty of food, water, medicine, fuel, and, yes, toilet paper, in our supply chain.” The temporary empty shelves are only the result of Americans stockpiling during a spike in demand. In response to the market’s whims, shippers and retailers have swiftly replenished them.
During the pandemic, the American Truck Association (ATA) adopted the slogan “Keep Calm and Keep on Trucking.” The organization has been actively collaborating with state, federal, and law enforcement agencies to fulfill its top priority, which is “maintaining the flow of interstate commerce and ensuring the continued movement of goods” through the trucking industry.
Granted, grocery shop trips by customers have not been subject to municipal or state travel limitations. People still need to eat, and they can travel to obtain food or have it delivered from restaurants and grocery shops, even when a large portion of America (and other countries) restricts movement outside the home.
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However, that does not imply that there haven’t been difficulties on a local and worldwide scale. Increasing production and/or delivery to retailers of pandemic-hoarded goods like flour, pasta, eggs, milk, and other products has been essential to keeping grocery aisles stocked. Food meant for restaurants, bars, schools, and other institutions is backing up due to closures, even if some grocery aisles are empty. Food transportation from institutions to supermarkets is difficult because of packaging, transportation routes, and other issues.
The largest wholesale grocery supply company in the US, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., and US Foods Holding Corp., a top distributor for food services, announced on March 24 that they had joined forces “to combat job and food insecurities amid the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the supply chain.” This is an example of cooperation between the grocery and food service industries.
“To guarantee that our warehouses are manned and deliveries are underway, allowing families access to food across the nation, we are taking the necessary steps to onboard and train members of US Foods’ workforce,” stated Mike Duffy, CEO of C&S.
Through the cooperation, C&S will be able to address any labor shortages that may arise from increased demand for retail food while moving US Foods employees to related positions where there was a lack of demand.
Pietro Satriano, chairman and CEO of US Foods, said, “This partnership is an excellent example of how we are leveraging our distribution capabilities in new ways to support our nation’s retailers.”
That is just one instance out of many in which food distributors and corporations are recruiting, relocating, or collaborating with other businesses to adapt to the evolving demands brought on by the pandemic.
More broadly, the lack of shipping containers is a major worry, mostly due to decreased trade between China and the US and other countries.
According to a Bloomberg article, there were the fewest cargo containers available ever at the ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Antwerp in Europe and Long Beach and Los Angeles in the US. According to the data, 35% of all containers entering the country pass through the two US ports; however, in January and February, imports to both ports decreased by almost 13%. In February of this year, Shanghai’s outward container shipments decreased by 25% compared to the same month last year.
The ATA stated on its COVID-19 Update Hub that “West Coast port volume has plummeted as production in China was hit first by COVID-19.” “The amount of sailing to and from China decreased significantly with that cut in overseas production.”
It is completely predicted that there will be a negative effect on grocery demand as individuals use up their well-stocked freezers and pantries as they become used to staying at home during the pandemic and when restrictions start to be relaxed. In states that were the first to adopt limitations, anecdotal reports already show a slowdown in purchases and better-stocked shelves, while the situation in other locations that imposed restrictions more recently is still becoming worse. In terms of international shipping, the same would be anticipated, especially as things loosen in China.