The “perfect storm” of bad weather, a driver shortage and productivity-harming regulations in 2014, along with how to prepare for 2015, was the focus of a session on managing carrier costs at last week’s CSCMP Annual Global Conference in San Antonio.
“Everybody who was in the U.S. – whether you were in Chicago, Atlanta, West Coast, the South, wherever – experienced this snowpocalyspe,” said Frank Morgiewicz, COO of ArrowStream and moderator for the session. “Twenty-three storms, capacity constraints – and we certainly don’t want to hear the term ‘polar vortex’ again.”
But while many people may hope last winter was a once-in-a-lifetime mess, crossed fingers are not a sound business strategy.
With rail traffic especially hard hit in the north and northeast, much of the freight shifted to the road – which faced it’s own challenges, explained Dave Geyer, senior vice president of van truckload at Schneider National (No. 7 on the CCJ Top 250).
“Everything kind of snowballed,” he said. “Every winter we deal with harsh storms, but what was really unique was the intensity, the duration and the scope of what happened.”
And what was unique for Schneider was the impact the weather had on driver retention and new-hire training.
