Trucking Life Takes Center Stage Nowadays as Media Outlets Highlight Challenges and Needs
The New York Times may have nailed it well in their November 2021 article "The Biggest Kink in America’s Supply Chain: Not Enough Truckers." The exposure drilled into the life on the road and the toll it takes on truck drivers. It also explained this relative to the supply chain crunch that is omnipresent in just about everybody's news feed somewhere in some way.
The featured article does not often profile problems such as drivers' shortages and trucking, but the time has come, and the article raised the curtain behind the modern over-the-road trucker, the challenges they face, and their critical role in modern supply chain economics and world commerce.
The article, just a few paragraphs in, stated: "Truck drivers have been in short supply for years, but a wave of retirements combined with those simply quitting for less stressful jobs is exacerbating the supply chain crisis in the United States, leading to empty store shelves, panicked holiday shoppers and congestion at ports. Warehouses around the country are overflowing with products, and delivery times have stretched to months from days or weeks for many goods."
Central to the article, was a focus on the gruel and grind that truckers face each day. They get behind the wheel and face a myriad of challenges - on the road and in their lives. Without them, however, goods just would not get delivered. The article focused on many individuals who drive for a living, illustrating the challenges they face.
Jay Wagner, 57, a truck driver who hauls hazardous chemicals, is usually on the road for about three weeks at a time, rarely spending time at his home in Wichita, Kan. Mr. Wagner said that he “thought about leaving his job every day to spend more time with his wife and grandson, but that he was not sure what he would do for work if he quit.”
“It’s been my life,” said Mr. Wagner, who has driven trucks for 27 years. “This is what I do.”
To understand our worldwide supply chain, we must understand those who make it go. That means delving into the hearts and minds of truck drivers and doing our best to serve their needs.
New Truck? Supply is Strained.
As demand for truck transport experiences a steady surge in demand, truck carriers seek more trucks. However, the availability of new trucks means you will likely be waiting.
According to the Wall Street Journal, supply for trucks and truck parts is a victim of supply chain woes itself, as end-users look to the trucking industry as a component in the complex and sometimes inexplicable supply chain shortage. Meanwhile the trucking industry feels the same pain in their own industry.
"Production of heavy-duty trucks that haul trailers is bogged down by parts shortages that can’t keep up with a long backlog of orders, industry executives said, keeping fleets from replacing and adding trucks at the same time demand for shipping consumer goods and industrial materials is elevated," said the Wall Street Journal's Bob Tita in a May 9th article on the topic.
The article explains that the scarce supply of new trucks, added to the known driver shortage, rising fuel prices, and other contributing economic factors, all add up for a compounding effect on the economy in the U.S. and North America.
According to an article in TheTrucker.com. There is a serious production lag from the time an order is placed. In the article, author Cliff Abbott put the facts on the table: "There were 27,300 new trucks ordered in September, compared to 17,565 actually sold. The North American backlog of orders now stands at 279,000 trucks waiting to be built. If you ordered a new truck today, it wouldn’t even be built until mid-November of 2022."
Truck Parts and OEM Components? The Scarcity Within the Trucking Supply Chain Strain
Class 8 truck orders are undoubtedly backlogged, and it is problematic for trucking firms and all those who rely on such assets and the service they provide. But if we drill a bit deeper, it is not just the glut of orders that cause the problem. It is also the scarcity of parts and components such as chips and electronic components that are on the critical path of truck production nowadays.
The same Wall Street Journal article that trumpeted the concern of new truck availability, also emphasized the problem of scarce OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts that go into manufacturing new trucks.
"Scarce parts, including semiconductor chips, led truck manufacturers to cancel orders late last year for several thousand vehicles they weren’t able to build," According to market analysts. So far this year, manufacturers have accepted about 55% fewer orders than during the early months of 2021, according to Indiana-based market forecaster ACT Research Co. Trucking companies are more reliant on aging fleets in the wake of reduced access to new equipment."
A shortage of semiconductors is an after effect of the worldwide pandemic and the sluggish pipeline of supply from Asia. In another article, the Wall Street Journal cited ACT Research as a source of Class 8 truck production: "The global chip shortage has caused auto manufacturers to slash car productions, including new cutbacks announced this week by General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., and is cascading through factories making heavy-duty trucks. Some equipment makers are moving semiconductors from smaller medium-duty trucks to Class 8 production to maximize the value of the chips."
Right now, the worldwide trucking industry is right in the middle of the mire of its own supply chain. New truck orders have soared but filling those orders has been strained. Getting trucks to roll off the assembly line has been further strained by a parts and chip shortage. When chips are in short supply, truck production is in short supply.
Let us also not forget that truck trailers are in short supply. Truck trailer production is almost a mirror image of the truck industry in that leased trailer as well as those owned by shippers and truckers are at capacity. The cumulative effect is a ripple effect that is making supply chain strain a front and center issue on the business page of most news sites. It is quite uncertain when the fog will lift.