Besides labor, the biggest challenges these days are in freight — not just rates, but having the trucks available to carry freight, said Timothy Coolong, a University of Georgia horticulture professor and Extension vegetable specialist.
“The pandemic has changed freight dramatically,” he said.
Short supply in freight and trucking has skyrocketed rates, said Walt Dasher, chief operating officer of Glennville, Ga.-based G&R Farms, a year-round grower, packer and shipper of sweet onions.
Dasher said he thinks this challenge stems from several COVID-19 pandemic effects: government economic stimulus programs influencing employees to stay home, struggling owner-operators retiring or taking buyouts and higher retail demand overall.
Related: A little chill didn’t hurt Georgia much
“It’s really bad right out there at the moment. It’s extremely challenging,” Dasher said. “I think a lot of it has to do with economics. You just have to ride it as it is and manage as best you can.”
Some of the trucking industry’s top concerns are the need to prioritize recruiting and training new truck drivers due to the shortage, the need for additional truck parking and rising insurance costs, president and chief operating officer Rebecca Brewster of Marietta-based American Transportation Research Institute said at the March 23 virtual Georgia Logistics Summit, according to a news release.
The summit was presented by the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
And the 2020 spike in e-commerce requiring more delivery resources seemingly overnight hasn’t dropped yet. The trend is spurring more fulfillment and distribution centers, food processing facilities and other large projects with needs based on timeliness and access to consumers.
Related: Truck rates soar and no immediate relief expected
At the summit, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry highlighted the Interstate-75 Commercial Vehicle Lanes project from Macon to McDonough. This project is the first-of-its-kind in the nation, according to the release.
It will improve mobility and safety for freight operators and passenger vehicles by constructing barriers separating commercial vehicle-only lanes northbound along I-75.
The busy corridor handles about 12,000 commercial vehicles daily, and that number is projected to double within the next 30 years.
Heath Wetherington, operations director at Baker Farms, Norman Park, Ga., said he’s also battling these packing, freight and trucking problems to move his leafy greens and other vegetables.
“We are challenged with boxes, pallets and other packing supplies and trucking conditions that seem to be a result of COVID restraints,” Wetherington said.
