FALL 2024

38 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

38 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Chris Donnell Chris Donnell is the National Sales Director for Scanwell Logistics International (CHI) Inc., specializing in Supply Chain Management, Inventory Control, Logistics Sales and Management. Chris excels at selling the “Solution” to advanced program analysis and implementation. A highly ambitious and effective team leader who thrives on the challenges of this industry, Chris currently oversees a National Sales and Partnership Program consisting of more than 100 Sales executives who focus primarily on SCM and Logistics development in most vertical markets. Contact Chris at 847-228-6789 or email: chrisdonnell@scanwell.com. THE STRAINS OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN It’s that time again. Time for me to outline the current strains plaguing the global supply lines and hopefully provide some insightful information all of you can use to safeguard your company and product from falling into the abyss that is the current global supply chain. I do want to start off by saying how grateful I am to have the opportunity to write to everyone about an industry I’m so passionate about. I don’t write these articles to fuel anxiety or fear monger, I write these because, unfortunately, we live in a time where misinformation runs rampant, and it’s shocking to hear how many companies are ill-informed or simply neglected when it comes to information flow. If I reach one company who is able to take advantage of this information, I have done my job. Ocean Carriers, Freight Rates And Port Situations As usual, I start with the industry segment that represents the largest range of disruptions. I will be discussing such issues as the on-again, off-again Canadian Rail Strike, the potential East and Gulf Coast Port Strikes, the current situation in India, congestion, and where ocean rates are going. First, lets discuss the situation in Canada. As I’m sure you know, on August 22nd the rail network within Canada shut down due to stalled labor and contract negotiations between the rail owners and union employees. The strike lasted only 17 hours when the Canadian Government forced both parties back to work; however, immediately CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLE after the announcement, the union representatives, consisting of more than 9000 union members, posted an appeal of the decision to come back to work and is calling on all unions throughout Canada to unite. The current issues still hindering any progress in negotiations stem from shift durations and availability, scheduling and pay. In short, we’re nowhere near a resolution regarding this situation and the fact is this will raise its ugly head again. The fallout from any strike will be felt long and wide. From import containers being stranded at the port to exports to the Pacific Rim and the rest of the world. A strike will further add to the already highly congested ports of Seattle and Tacoma as the carriers strive to keep their strings of vessels moving. More importantly, the effect of a strike on Canada would be catastrophic as much needed items like chemicals, heating oil, and agricultural goods that are primarily moved by rail will be hindered. Costs will escalate quickly and it could potentially pull Canada into a recession should the strike linger. As if things couldn’t get any worse, the ILU unions representing the ports along our East and Gulf Coasts have issued their intention to strike as of October 1st. This comes as their current union contract expires on September 30th and the negotiations have been on rocky footing for some time. If a strike does occur, this would be a knockout blow to global trade. Carriers would undoubtedly declare force majeure resulting on containers being stranded in unfavorable ports of call such as Panama, Jamaica or others CONTINUED ON PAGE 106

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