Just a couple weeks after Hurricane Helene passed through the Southeast US, leaving a vast swath of damage across multiple states with people still currently stranded and in danger, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida. If you’ve been to Florida or the Southeast in the past couple of weeks, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the disruptions: shippers and receivers closed or behind schedule, road closings and the traffic backups that result, or lack of truck parking due to all the evacuation vehicles. Unfortunately, there isn’t much good news on the horizon as Milton threatens to disrupt supply chains even more.
While Milton didn’t create as much trouble for Tampa as originally feared, it still dumped around 18 inches of water and left millions without power. The wind has whipped up a path of tornados and there is still the possibility of storm surges in the aftermath. Major distributors in the storm’s path such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, and other food distributors moved their products to distribution centers outside of the impact zone and will move everything back in as the storm passes and power is restored. Economic losses due to the storms are likely to be in the billions of dollars. The loss of products, buildings, and equipment in the storm area will likely add to inflation as exports will be more expensive due to the shortages, especially in Florida’s citrus trade and tourism markets.
In addition to the national disasters wreaking havoc on the supply chain, recently the contract negotiations for the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the port workers union, reached an impasse in September, the union boss threatened to cripple the economy if their demands weren’t met. While the strike only lasted three days, workers are still behind as the strike affected 14 ports along the East Coast, including three of the busiest ports in the US. Any rerouting of freight bound for the Tampa Bay port might put additional strain on those ports.
At Marvin Keller, we’re adjusting our normal network to avoid the hard-hit areas, but considering a lot of our business is in Georgia, South, and North Carolina, and some in Florida, it will be difficult for a while. At this time there are still road closures from Helene that are projected to take a year or longer to reopen, causing considerable rerouting and probable traffic congestion. If you are heading into the impacted areas, you are advised to give yourself extra time for likely delays. Always reach out to your driver manager if you need help with routing or reserving parking for the night. We’re here to assist you and make sure you safely get where you need to be.