Supply chain workforce has come a long ways in terms of diversity
Good morning! Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
We won’t keep you too long today. Get to your family and start feasting!
Over the past few decades, women have made leaps and bounds to secure a spot in the workforce, particularly in the supply chain sector. However, gender biases still exist, especially pertaining to work-related inequalities. According to the nonprofit Coqual, one in five women in the United States believe that they are being unfairly treated due to their gender.
Check out today’s featured article from Supply Chain Brain to read about the progress that’s been made and how much is still ahead of us for women in the supply chain workforce. ☕️
Featured Article:
Fighting Gender Pay Inequality in Procurement and Supply Chain | Supply Chain Brain
“Despite the progress, women have made in the workforce during the past few decades, gender biases persist.”
Rail & Congress 🚂
Shippers desperate for Congress intervention to avoid rail strike
While retailers continue to bite their nails in anxiousness over a looming railroad strike, shippers are begging for Congress to further intervene. As the December 9th deadline approaches - the end of a union-proposed “cooling-off” period - a now fourth union has voted and rejected the proposed labor deal that was mitigated by the White House’s Emergency Board.
The timing is challenging in itself, as retailers are depending on the peak season for a large chunk of their yearly revenues. The landscape is different now in a post-Covid world, but supply chain turbulence can greatly disrupt facets of many industries. Failure to ratify the deal proposed in September between the railroads and unions can result in a very difficult Christmas season for many.
Fuel & Shipping 🛢️
Crude oil prices skyrocket as shipping trade route reaches $100k per day
In a breach that eclipsed the early 2020 surge, soaring shipping costs reached $100,000 a day this week on the industry’s benchmark trade route. European sanctions on Russia are forcing tankers to take the “scenic route” and making fewer vessels available for transfer as they take longer to reach their destination. Oil companies are paying prices higher than ever to transport their valuable cargo.
A cap will soon be imposed on Russian oil prices on December 5th - although that cap’s number has not been officially set. The longest mainstream route, The Gulf of Mexico to China, is pricing out at $6.60 per barrel. That’s three times the cost in February 2022.
Let’s Get Global 🌎
Stop Asking Tina Belcher GIF By Bob's Burgers via GIPHY
🇳🇱 The Netherlands isn’t submitting to the United States’ chip industry interests. Dutch officials have refused the White House’s not-so-subtle attempts to curtail The Netherlands’ sale of chipmaking equipment to China. Home to ASML Holding NV, the largest manufacturer of cutting-edge chipmaking equipment, the Netherlands is defending its economic interests by refusing to limit its business with China. Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher advised that despite other countries’ attempts to sway the conversation, the decision is ultimately up to the Netherlands, which will defend its own interests as a nation above all else.
iLevel With You
More topics for the average American household to consider…
🛍️ Macy’s Department Store is creating mini distribution centers. As part of the retailer’s goal to expand its supply chain network, Macy’s is utilizing the space within 35 of its stores to handle shipments as the holiday season approaches. Macy’s CFO Adrian Mitchell explained the company’s plans to use about 1 million square feet of space for the company’s distribution network and a closer relationship with its customers. Using the stores is a low-cost element to expanding their fulfillment network, according to Mitchell.
🎯 Retail darling Target unveils “large-format” stores for future expansion. The retailer will be focusing on these 150,000 square feet stores - about 20,000 square feet larger than its current average - over the coming years with new constructions and remodels. This larger format displays the company’s focus on expansion past its previous focus on urban areas for younger shoppers. By increasing square footage, the company will also increase the store’s ability to fulfill same-day orders for its customers.
😃 Employees should be treated with the same care as your customers. Companies understand that by delivering the “ideal” product or service to their customers, their customers will keep coming back. But how many companies truly consider what their employees want? Employee engagement is key to a company’s profit. Poorly trained managers ignore their subordinates’ engagement, resulting in high turnover metrics.
GET SMART
Ramp up that brain power for these advanced topics…
🔎 Insurance talk can be a drag, but increasing premiums is a must. Accidents involving big rigs, rising medical and litigation costs, inexperienced truckload capacity, and catastrophic losses are all putting major pressure on the insurance industry as a whole. The trucking industry faces layers of safety and compliance issues and in the era of escalating insurance costs, carriers should look at ways to minimize that while maintaining coverage according to industry standards.
🔋 Port of Long Beach unveils the nation’s first publicly accessible charging station for heavy-duty electric trucks. Being the country’s second-busiest seaport, the service is a huge step in the direction of electrification in the trucking industry. EV Connect, a provider of charge-management solutions for electric vehicles, has partnered with the port to provide two charging units at the Port’s Harbor District. Southern California will need a vast network of these stations to meet its electrification goals over the next decade.
🧊 Sourcing quality applicants in the cold food and beverage supply chain isn’t easy. Food manufacturing has witnessed a 7.8% increase in jobs added from August to September of this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Organizations that employ more than 1,000 individuals spend approximately $670 to hire one person.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for November 28, 2024, from iLevel Logistics Inc.