Month: October 2021

Oilfield workers are a tough breed. Some may be a little bit rough around the edges. Some may have little formal education. Some may have advanced degrees. Some do very hard physical labor. Some have it easier. It really depends on what role you play and what profession you are in. The oil and gas industry is enormous, and you wouldn’t believe the number of jobs available in this industry.

The job of an oil truck driver is exactly what it sounds like-driving oil trucks. However, their job is not as easy as it may seem. Just like other types of truck drivers, an oil truck driver endures grueling hours on the road to ensure that their load is delivered to the destination safely and on time.

Aside from driving, an oil truck driver is also responsible for additional tasks like fueling the truck at designated stops, maintaining paperwork, and performing basic maintenance on the rig. Some oil truck drivers also operate oil tankers and forklift trucks, which require separate licensing.

To become a crude oil driver, you typically need prior experience as a commercial truck driver as well as industry certifications and licenses. Having a high school diploma is helpful, but usually not necessary. Employers require a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and a clean driving record. In addition to a CDL, you may need special certifications with your license, such as hazmat and tanker transportation worker identification credentials, which permit you to operate trucks transporting crude oil. Important skills include excellent organization, driving ability, and attention to detail.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

Amazon plans to add 150,000 temporary workers in the United States for the holiday shopping rush, a 50% increase from the company’s holiday hiring push a year ago.

Amazon, like many retailers and logistics companies, is facing challenges hiring workers and is raising pay, dangling bonuses, and expanding benefits in response to the pressures.

The jobs have a starting pay of $18 an hour plus sign-on bonuses up to $3,000 in a bid to compete in a tight labor market, the company said in a news release. Workers can earn an additional $3 an hour per shift depending on location.

Amazon’s temporary positions for the holidays include picking, scanning and packing items at warehouses and loading boxes onto trucks.

Other chains are adding temporary and permanent workers at stores and warehouses to meet demand from holiday shoppers.

Walmart plans to hire around 150,000 employees, most of them in permanent, full-time positions, while Target  is aiming to bring on 100,000 seasonal workers and 30,000 permanent supply chain employees.

UPS , Kohl’s , Nordstrom , Macy’s  and others are also adding workers for the holidays. Some are offering sign-on bonuses this year for new hires and other incentives.

Growth + Change = Opportunity! 

Hundreds of thousands of containers are stuck at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, West Coast gateways that move more than a quarter of all US imports. Dozens of ships are anchored ashore, with waiting times of up to three weeks.

US president Joe Biden has hailed a new 24-hour working system, which he says will help to shift bottlenecks in US supply chains bringing products to market for Christmas.

According to the White House, expanded operations at the Port of Los Angeles will nearly double the hours of cargo moving. It said the additional shifts have been agreed to by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents dock workers.

Some terminal operators say there is no point in extending hours when many of their regular pickup slots are not used by truck drivers.

Truckers say they are troubled by the lack of equipment needed to transport containers and warehouses that are packed or open during limited hours.

The Port of Long Beach struggled to increase cargo flow after increasing its opening hours, with truck drivers complaining that the restrictions on them for lifting and dropping containers were too tough. The shortage of truck drivers and warehouse workers has also created problems in supply chains. It is unclear how many terminals in Los Angeles will operate 24/7 and when those operations will begin.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

Demand for distribution workers has been soaring as more consumers are shopping online. Picking, packing, and shipping e-commerce orders is more labor-intensive than traditional warehouse operations that distribute wholesale goods or replenish inventory.

More people are leaving the workforce because of concerns about getting sick or to care for family members. This has caused an intense hiring push among retailers.

Logistics providers are boosting pay, adding flexibility to shifts, blanketing social media with recruitment ads and even shipping in more robots to help workers field surging e-commerce volumes.

The push for workers is also driving sharp increases in pay. Wages for e-commerce workers have jumped from between $13 and $15 per hour to as much as $19 in some markets led by the sector’s largest operators, according to logistics executives.

Companies are increasingly utilizing robotics to navigate the holiday season. For example, DHL Supply Chain is adding hundreds more collaborative robots that navigate warehouse aisles to help workers pick orders.

Additionally, GXO Logistics Inc. added 40% more robotics and automation systems in North America in 2021 and plans to open nine new automated U.S. sites to support e-commerce this year. Among grocers at the forefront of using robotics is Hy-Vee.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

The congestion in California continues to challenge the major US ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, as demand surges and retailers pile up stock ahead of the holiday season.

The backup impacts the nation’s supply chain because one-third of all imported cargo shipped on ocean carriers is processed at San Pedro Bay, the Pacific Ocean entry point for Long Beach and the adjacent Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest facility.

The two ports recently announced plans to expand hours to eventually move to a 24/7 operation by encouraging trucking companies and railroads to utilize the ports around the clock.

Improving efficiency is essential as both ports will see high single-digit or double-digit annual growth over the next 10 years. The forecast for 2021 is 20 million TEU containers, and there’s not another gateway in the U.S. that comes close to half that number for 2025, it’s 24 million, and if you look at the end of this decade, it’s 27 million.

The congestion issue is not limited to Pacific facilities. On Sept. 27, some 23 ships were waiting to be unloaded at the nation’s fourth-busiest facility, the Port of Savannah, Ga., and an official said that number is “above average.

There is excessive stress on the ports, and therefore indicating further congestion is expected in the coming months as we approach the holiday season in the latter part of the year.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!