For the last two years, supply chain issues have dominated the news. These issues started in 2020, persisted through 2021, and seem to have no end in sight. It feels like every time we make progress and improvements, another link in the chain is broken or strained. The cliché “one step forward and two steps back” comes to mind. While those of us in the distribution cycle have grown weary of the constant problems plaguing the supply chain, it is also something that we must continue to monitor and adapt to; for us, it can never be out of sight or out of mind.
We would like to take a brief look into the less glamorous issues that continue to hold up the shipping process and the supply chain as a whole. One of the more frustrating issues happening right now is the shortage of packaging and containers. International Paper, one of the world’s larges makers of cardboard boxes, is reporting that the “supply chain is very stretched” and creating a shortage of boxes. There has also been a shortage of plastic totes and steel drums, two of our most important packaging products for chemical distribution. These problems are enough in and of themselves but then we add a worldwide shortage of steel shipping containers, and distribution becomes more and more difficult.
The proverbial icing on the shipping cake is the shortage of truck drivers, and specifically, bulk drivers and trucks. As NACD members, we are committed to responsible distribution and strive for excellence in our carriers. The number of bulk drivers and trucks is dwindling, making it more difficult to transport bulk loads on demand. When once we could secure freight for next-day delivery, now we are faced with limited driver availability and astronomical price increases. This, coupled with backlogs at warehouse facilities, continues to delay shipments and orders, causing manufacturing plants to slow down or stop production while waiting for materials, further compounding the supply chain issues.
Timelines have been disrupted at every stage in the process: manufacturing plants with worker and material shortages, lack of packaging for materials, shortage of shipping containers, astronomical duty and shipping fees, port backups and limited storage space, truck driver shortages, warehouse overload and labor shortages, more truck driver shortages, leading to delayed arrivals and stalled production. It is the most vicious of cycles, one that we are all working hard to break.
The problems with the supply chain are innumerable and not going away any time soon. Through all of this, we have learned the importance of adaptability and flexibility. We are always willing to go the extra mile for a solution, being as transparent as possible with our customers and adjusting to the latest disruption to the once-smooth process that is chemical distribution. All we can do is keep moving forward, always working toward positive solutions and trying to be prepared for the next hurdle.