Quick changes in the supply chain — Freightonomics

How quick is economic recovery actually happening?

Freightonomics

Economic changes can seem like they happen at a supersonic pace, especially with so many metrics available for economic measurement. 

Anthony Smith and Zach Strickland discuss the actual speed of economic recovery in this episode of Freightonomics. 

Smith starts out by bringing up unemployment numbers, saying that while numbers are showing change, it might not be completely accurate as data collection might not be catching all those who are truly unemployed. 

Looking forward from COVID-19, Strickland brings up the trend of companies reshoring away from China and other Southeast Asian countries to Europe. He says the shift to the other side of the globe will have a massive impact on global freight movement as well as domestic transportation.

Colorado State Assistant Professor Zac Rogers shares his opinions on the direction of supply chain changes and weighs in on the discussion of fleet loss, driver shortages and the debate over marajuana legalization and its impact on trucking jobs. 

Strickland says when it comes to quickly changing the regulation space, COVID-19 vaccines and spread will be one of the bigger controlling factors in supply chain shifts. However, Rogers says supply chains are currently so clogged up from both sides with both huge consumer demand and port backups both foregin and domestic. 

“It is going to be awhile before we get things moving at a rate we need them to go,” says Rogers. 

You can find more Freightonomics episodes and recaps for all our live podcasts here

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Kaylee Nix

Kaylee Nix is a meteorologist and reporter for FreightWaves. She joined the company in November of 2020 after spending two years as a broadcast meteorologist for a local television channel in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Kaylee graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2018 and immediately made the Tennessee Valley her home. Kaylee creates written summaries of FreightWaves live podcasts and cultivates the social media for FreightWaves TV.