Union Pacific: Current supply chain challenges require good communications at all levels
October 5th, 2021
October 5, 2021 - TRA Newswire -
As Texas and the nations' consumers face empty store shelves, six-month delays for items that used to be in stock, and limited availability of their favorite items; they are asking a simple question: What in the world is going on?
The perfect storm is underway. Covid, labor shortages in trucking and warehousing, a ramp up in consumer purchasing, railcars out of sync and final-mile delivery delays are all contributing to industry-wide shortages in the U.S. The global supply chain keeps our national economy thriving and growing and that supply chain is not healthy right now.
Elise Gosch, Union Pacific AVP-Marketing & Sales-Premium Intermodal indicated that "We can’t be complacent. Each member of the supply chain must focus on optimizing their part of it and keep communicating with the players upstream and downstream from them in the chain. That is exactly what Union Pacific is doing – focusing on what we can control and communicating early and often with our supply chain partners." Gosch's comments were made on the recent Union Pacific Inside Track post. Gosch said, for instance, a Covid outbreak at one warehouse could have a knock-on effect and turn a one-day event into a weeks-long delay for all members of the supply chain.
Gosch said that during this period of market instability Union Pacific has stepped up communications with their customers. For example, UP hosted an international shipping forum in May to get ocean carriers together to review problems and work to create solutions. In addition, Union Pacific domestic sales teams are providing customers weekly – sometimes daily – updates on equipment forecasts.
"To keep shelves stocked, delivery times low, and products readily available, every link in the integrated supply chain must work in a precisely coordinated sequence", according to the Intermodal executive. "This requires every player – steamship lines, port terminals, trucks, rail, warehouses, freight asset owners, and the beneficial owners of the cargo – to keep the freight flowing at the same pace. If one cog in the machine stalls or gets out of line with another, the entire system slows down or can even grind to a halt."
Union Pacific will be investing in new chassis in 2022 for the domestic pools that they manage and are equipping their rail-owned containers with GPS units to track railcars. Gosch said this will address the current chassis shortage while also providing better shipment visibility for their customers. Additional locomotives have been added to the intermodal business to address current network imbalances. A major transfer point, Global III Ramp in Illinois has been reopened to use as an inland storage depot to reduce clogged up marine terminals and provide additional options for ocean carriers.
Gosch closed her post with this reminder: No one can solve this alone.
As Texas and the nations' consumers face empty store shelves, six-month delays for items that used to be in stock, and limited availability of their favorite items; they are asking a simple question: What in the world is going on?
The perfect storm is underway. Covid, labor shortages in trucking and warehousing, a ramp up in consumer purchasing, railcars out of sync and final-mile delivery delays are all contributing to industry-wide shortages in the U.S. The global supply chain keeps our national economy thriving and growing and that supply chain is not healthy right now.
Elise Gosch, Union Pacific AVP-Marketing & Sales-Premium Intermodal indicated that "We can’t be complacent. Each member of the supply chain must focus on optimizing their part of it and keep communicating with the players upstream and downstream from them in the chain. That is exactly what Union Pacific is doing – focusing on what we can control and communicating early and often with our supply chain partners." Gosch's comments were made on the recent Union Pacific Inside Track post. Gosch said, for instance, a Covid outbreak at one warehouse could have a knock-on effect and turn a one-day event into a weeks-long delay for all members of the supply chain.
Gosch said that during this period of market instability Union Pacific has stepped up communications with their customers. For example, UP hosted an international shipping forum in May to get ocean carriers together to review problems and work to create solutions. In addition, Union Pacific domestic sales teams are providing customers weekly – sometimes daily – updates on equipment forecasts.
"To keep shelves stocked, delivery times low, and products readily available, every link in the integrated supply chain must work in a precisely coordinated sequence", according to the Intermodal executive. "This requires every player – steamship lines, port terminals, trucks, rail, warehouses, freight asset owners, and the beneficial owners of the cargo – to keep the freight flowing at the same pace. If one cog in the machine stalls or gets out of line with another, the entire system slows down or can even grind to a halt."
Union Pacific will be investing in new chassis in 2022 for the domestic pools that they manage and are equipping their rail-owned containers with GPS units to track railcars. Gosch said this will address the current chassis shortage while also providing better shipment visibility for their customers. Additional locomotives have been added to the intermodal business to address current network imbalances. A major transfer point, Global III Ramp in Illinois has been reopened to use as an inland storage depot to reduce clogged up marine terminals and provide additional options for ocean carriers.
Gosch closed her post with this reminder: No one can solve this alone.