Category: Newbies

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!

Truckload volume surged and spot and contract freight rates hit new highs in August as logistics managers stared down their most challenging peak shipping season yet.

Shippers and logistics managers who would normally be gearing up for peak shipping season have encountered one test after another in terms of their ability to manage transportation pricing, capacity and supply chain disruptions.

The DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI) rose to 231 last month, up 2% from July and 17% higher year over year. The Index is an aggregated measure of dry van, refrigerated (“reefer”) and flatbed loads moved by truckload carriers and an industry standard indicator of commercial freight activity.

The DAT Truckload Volume Index reflects the change in the number of loads with a pickup date during that month; the actual index number is normalized each month to accommodate any new data sources without distortion.

The August reading for the TVI  is one of the five highest months on record. July came in at 222, which was preceded by June’s 237 (the all-time record), and May’s 212.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

The vast network of ports, container vessels and trucking companies that move goods around the world is badly tangled, and the cost of shipping is skyrocketing. 

With the holiday season on the horizon retailers will face shortages and consumers should expect higher prices.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a long-lasting rise in transportation costs, leaving many businesses already facing high wages and raw material prices. Some CEOs are saying they expect freight costs to rise by 2023.

The cost of transporting goods is a component at every stage of a company’s supply chain. Everything from iron ore, steel, parts and finished products has to move as raw materials are processed into global manufacturing. Shipping containers across the ocean cost more, truckers are in short supply, and gasoline is more expensive than expected earlier this year.

Logistics networks have been running at maximum capacity for months, thanks to stimulus-fueled demand led by US consumers and a pickup in manufacturing.

After a decade of consolidation among ocean shipping lines, a handful of companies dominate the major routes. This means there are generally smaller and fewer ships between ports, forcing cargo owners to pay a premium to find space. 

Shipping companies expect the global crunch to continue. That’s massively increasing the cost of moving cargo and could add to the upward pressure on consumer prices.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

Containerized shipping has become a problem of the chaotic supply chain facing U.S importers and Chinese exporters. Hopes are quickly fading that trans-pacific supply chains will normalize this year or even in 2022.

Congestion contributes to the global shortage of shipping containers and the exponential cost of sea freight. 

The number of ships is increasing. The port has already been overwhelmed by the record number of containers arriving on the U.S. coast during the peak season of this year’s shipments, waiting for a birth space at a gateway in Southern California as log jams spread across nationwide warehouses and distribution networks. 

Port leaders who have spoken to shipping companies and their freight customers say the volume of containers is declining.

Ports have emerged as one of the many bottlenecks in the world’s supply chain as ships fill boxes carrying electronics, furniture, holiday decorations and other commodities.

Hundreds of thousands of containers are loaded onto container ships waiting to berth or from terminals waiting to be transported by truck or rail to inland terminals, warehouses and distribution centers. 

The log jam causes the Biden administration to appoint a port envoy last month to work on ways to improve cargo movements in response to complaints from U.S. companies facing inventory shortages, shipping delays and rising costs.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

If you want more money, flexibility, back-office support and freedom to thrive, and are ambitious with a hard-working approach, becoming an independent freight agent could be the best move you ever make. Whether you’re a longtime veteran of the freight industry or a potential newcomer there are several reasons you should become a part of the freight broker business:

1. Independance: Independent agents have more control of business decisions than many others in the industry. At the same time, agents receive deep, comprehensive support from their brokers.

2. Unlimited Earning Potential: Because your income is determined based on your production, you will have the ability to make as much money as you want, as long as you’re willing to work for it.

3. Flexible Scheduling: As an independent freight agent you are free to work however and whenever you please. Independent agents do not need to request time off or call in sick to their boss.

4. Low Start-Up Costs: You can avoid these outstanding costs by working with an already established freight broker. You represent their company but operate with your own customers and work for yourself, through their business.

5. Work from Home: All you need is your PC or laptop to access all of the load boards and a cell phone to handle call-ins on your shipment. Making money while you’re in your pajamas is not a bad gig! It provides flexibility in case you ever want to move elsewhere, because you’re not tied down to a specific work location.

6. Work-Life Balance: As an independent freight agent, you are free to take vacations, get married, have kids, and take sick days whenever you please

7. Security For Your  Family: An agency is an extremely valuable gift that can be extended or passed down to family.It is a chance to position not just yourself, but your family in a place where they can be successful.

8. Be Your Own  Boss: It gives you a clear mind and reduced stress environment, so you can produce your best work without any distractions. The only person you answer to is yourself.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

Walmart announced Tuesday plans to scale a program it calls GoLocal to make final-mile deliveries for businesses of all sizes.Walmart had previously restricted its last-mile service to the delivery of its own products. The program, called Walmart GoLocal, opens new revenue streams for the company by expanding its access to inventory and increasing delivery density, the golden goose of logistics business models.

Walmart said it has been piloting the service over the past several months and is now expanding to more than 500 markets just ahead of the holiday rush and amid the backdrop of rising freight costs and shortages of carrier capacity.

At the heart of this project, Walmart is aiming to create another revenue stream by using its technology and people. Walmart will not use third-party drivers but instead, rely on its Spark delivery network and other modes of proprietary transportation.

Walmart’s existing last-mile ambitions saw it building out capacity for same-day delivery, the latest frontier of the shipping wars as competitors try to catch up to Amazon’s Prime service. In three years, Walmart developed same-day delivery for more than 160,000 items from more than 3,000 stores that can cover 70 percent of the U.S. population.

Walmart GoLocal already has agreements with national retail clients, the company said in a news release, though it declined to name them. Ward told reporters that Walmart envisions a service that could deliver cupcakes from local bakeries as easily as it could car parts from national retailers.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!

The trucking industry has entered a historically strong business environment, but trucking companies continue to face some persistent headwinds: Recruit enough professional truck drivers and infrastructure.

With the shortage increasing driver pay, it can have a significant impact on supplier costs and therefore consumer pricing. It can also increase shipping delays and shortage at stores

Trucking companies will need to find ways to entice more workers to become professional truck drivers

The majority of truckers say that they get held up by poor road conditions every day or a few times a week which increases maintenance costs resulting in declining margins for owner-operators. Local and city roads that need pothole repair, resurfacing and leveling are costing truckers a lot of extra money in additional vehicle operating costs such as fuel consumption, tire wear, and deterioration.

Much of the infrastructure of the United States—including its roadways—is long overdue for overhaul and upgrading.

For truckers, who spend most of their working lives on the road, the issue is especially critical.

Infrastructure-related delays such as congestion, road closures, and deferred road maintenance present unique challenges that often require team drivers to ensure on-time delivery, this increases the cost to move the load itself and is ultimately passed on to the consumer and taxpayer at the point of sale.

Growth + Change = Opportunity!