b'34American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(DIFFERENCEcontinuedquestionintruckingcirclestime, more family time, justsis pool in the South Atlantic,but they boil down to this: the from page 26) is there a driver shortage orbecause they can. willbecomprisedof50,000respondentcarriersrequired therightdirection,exceptnot? Some of the change is gener- modernizedchassisservic- shippers and truckers to use wholesalersdurablegoods.Siphonhasanuancedational. As Siphon remarked, theinglocationsbasedinNorththe carriers designated chas-The 3PL noted that durableanswertothequandary, younger generation today thatand South Carolina, Alabama,sisprovidersevenwhen goodshaveexceededtheirtheres lots of drivers that areare coming into the industry,Florida, and Georgia. itwasthecargoowners pre-pandemic levels, and areoutthere.Ivealwayssaid.at21,23,24,whentheyreresponsibilitytodeliverthe near historical highs. Somepeoplehavedifferentactuallyabletomeethiringt HEfmc r uliNg oN cargo to its ultimate destina-In the meantime, inflationopinions, but theres not reallyrequirements, they dont wantc Hassisp racticEs tion. That practice, the FMC continuedtorise,thestockadrivershortage.TheresatobeoutontheroadforaInadecisionthatcameconcluded, is unreasonable.marketlimpedalong,butshortageofsafe,qualified,week at a time. down in February, the FMCMotorcarriersconsid-unemployment remained low,professional drivers. ruledthattheShippingActeredtheFMCrulingavic-andconsumersshowedsur- If anything is clear abouta N Ewl aBorc ompact ? prohibits ocean carriers fromtory.Fromtheirperspective prising confidence in the econ- the new economy, it is comingA lot has happened sincedesignating an exclusive chas- thedisputerevolvedaround omy and shifted from buyingout of the COVID pandemicCOVIDopenedthenationssisproviderforitscontain- the agreements shippers make whitegoodslikerefrigera- hasforeveralteredtherela- eyestotheimportanceoferswhenthecarrierisnotwithintermodalequipment tors and washing machines totionshipbetweenemployerslogistics and its most publicresponsibleformovingtheprovidersatports.Asthe going out to dinner and moreandemployees.Andthatismanifestationthetruckcontaineroffterminal.Inaruling pointed out, these were social orientated activities thatvery true for truck drivers. and the driver. From that cru- case brought by the Intermo- agreementsinwhichIMCC hadbeenunavailableduringRecruitingdrivershascible is a new compact withdalMotorCarriersConfer- truckers had no control, even COVID.Framingtheback- becomealittlemoredifficultsupplychainlaborandspe- ence (IMCC) of the Americanthough they are bound to use drop to this stagflation was[in the current economic envi- cificallywithdriverwork- Trucking Associations (ATA)the providers equipment. The the constant reminder throughronment], because people areforce, emerging? againsttheOceanCarrierIMCCs view was that this put various indices and commen- staying where they are. AndCertainly, in past decadesEquipmentManagementAsso- theircarriersatadisadvan-tary that the real recessionisifyouarerecruitingdriv- itisunlikelywithaneventciation (OCEMA), Consolidatedtage. Although the two sides just over the horizon.ers,youreprobablypullinglikethe YellowFreightcol- ChassisManagement(CCM),negotiated for months eventu-them from somewhere else,lapse, a deal like UPS wouldand11shippinglines(theally it landed with the FMC. t HEc ommoNd ENomiNator Siphon explained. havebeenmade.Clearlyrespondents),theFMCruledItsunlikelythatthe PageSiphon,CEOofBut poaching truck driv- thereisadifferentdynamicthat such a practice is unreason- FMC ruling is the end of the TeamOne Logistics, has a fronters or for that matter, anyoneto the trucking business andable and therefore unlawful. matterasthereisthepros-row seat when it comes to thein the logistics space, is notindeedtheentirelogisticsPeterBuxbaum,inanpect of appeal as well as the economy,laborandespe- easy as the employee expec- sector. What might have beenarticle (See April AJOT issuevery practical matter that the ciallytoputtingtruckdriverstations are now different. Asokayadecadeorevenin#752page6)wrote,Thetwosidesareinextricably into seats. The Alpharetta, Geor- Siphonpointsout,What2020 wont fly now. claims in the case were sev- tied together in providing the gia-basedTeamOneLogisticsthat means is that a lot of ourHowdoestheindustryeralandthefactscomplex,intermodal service.describesitsuniquebusinessseasoned professional driversmake the adjustment? One way modelasbeingaworkforcearelookingformorehomethatSiphonseestheindustry partner exclusively focused ontime. Wages matter. But theadaptingisthroughdiversi-theasset-basedtransportationfirstthingthatourrecruit- fication.Virtually,allthebig andlogisticsindustry.Muchersandourtalentmanagersplayers in the trucking industry of that business means manag- hear from drivers Tell mehave multiple divisions which ing trucks and drivers. about the home time. Is it aalign with the drivers working regional, local job? Becauseexpectations.AsSiphonsays Imoutontheroadthree,of the rise in divisions within four days a week. I want totheindustry,they[trucking be home every night.companies]didthatbecause Asaresultofdriverstheres business there and you expectationsSiphonsays,can recruit drivers. Youve got the business model is chang- a bigger portfolio of opportuni-ing, So, people are moving,ties to recruit drivers. (SHIFTScontinued fromcommoditiesthataregrow-shifting away from the longpage 30) ingquicklyinVietnam,it hauldrivermodel,espe- two reasons.willbeabattleforincreas-ciallytheseasonedprofes- (CHASSIScontinued fromFirst, Chinas market share isingly scarce resources.sional drivers that everybodypage 30) almost 3X Vietnam. Second,The China trade may be wants, and theyre looking forthroughouttheSouthAtlan- Vietnams population is 100shiftingbutasthenumbers maybe even taking a pay cut,tic region. In its entirety, themillion while Chinas is overpoint out, it is more a trickle butlookingformorehomeSACP 3.0, interoperable chas- 1 billion. Given all the otherthan a torrent. Page Siphon, CEO, TeamOne LogisticsFromSiphonsperspec-tive, the common denomina-torfortheeconomyinany cycleistransportationand logisticsBig T, Big L. It is this common denominator, thatconnectstheentireeco-nomic eco-system and enables it to function. Something the nation as a whole learned all too well during COVID. And of course, the key to transportation and logistics is people.Weakeneddemandand to a degree less supply chain disruptionshavelessened thedemandfordrivers in2022therewassucha demandfortruckersthat largebonuses,likeanNFL signing, were just part of the businessofputtingdrivers in seatsbut there are still problemsfindingandmore importantly keeping, profes-sional drivers.This begs the oft debated'