Some 90% of globally traded goods move by sea, 60% of which are packed into those crates. The advent of large steel shipping containers enabled globalization by drastically reducing the cost of moving vast quantities of freight over the ocean. with medical instruments, microchips (a key component in new devices and automobiles), apparel and footwear, and grocery items like pastas, cereals, baked goods, and vegetable oils.Ī major reason for delivery delays and empty shelves is that these goods are stuck in Asian factories and ports. we depend on the Chinese for machinery, furniture and bedding, toys and sports equipment, and agricultural products like processed fruits and vegetables. High-volume container ports in China, Vietnam, and Malaysia are operating at reduced capacity, with severe downstream effects for American consumers.Ĭhina is the largest foreign supplier of goods into the U.S. It’s from Asia where many of today's pressures are emanating.Īs the Delta variant continues its deadly surge, factory output there remains crippled – at about 50% of pre-pandemic levels. manufacturing base began migrating overseas as companies looked to reduce labor costs. Now, as the global supply chain struggles to untangle itself out of the COVID recession, rest assured truckers will continue to have America’s back.ĭecades ago, large elements of the U.S. We persevered through unimaginable hardships to ensure the economy’s wheels kept turning. Truckers have been on the frontlines since Day One, delivering PPE, medical supplies, life-saving vaccines, and life’s daily essentials.
Trucking is not the source of these current woes, but we will be a key part of the solution-just as we were through the darkest days of the pandemic.
Today, those pressures are felt upstream and down-from diminished factory production in Asia as a result of the Delta variant, to faltering infrastructure here at home following decades of disinvestment by Washington.
With more than 7.6 million employees nationwide – including 3.3 million professional truck drivers – the industry moves 10.23 billion tons of freight annually, or 72.5% of total domestic tonnage shipped in the United States.Īs an essential link, truckers feel pressure any time the supply chain gets squeezed. Agricultural and Food Transporters ConferenceĪmerica’s trucking industry is a central and critical link in the supply chain.