Multiple crit! American logistics is in a cold winter! Transportation disruption, delivery delays, e

U.S. logistics problems can be said to be one after another. There was a "zero yuan purchase boom" for express transport trains before, and then the new crown virus Omikron exacerbated port congestion, and now extreme weather is coming again...

Recently, many places in the United States ushered in rare extreme weather. In Alaska, wher winters were cold and dry in previous years, temperatures reached 20 degrees Celsius in some areas this year, while areas that should have been warmer recently experienced a sudden blizzard.

Recently, a "bomb cyclone" has descended on the southern and northeastern parts of the United States, causing severe weather such as substantial cooling, snowfall and freezing rain in many parts of 37 states in the United States. The maximum snow thickness in some places can reach 30 cm.

The storm left nearly 1 million people without power, stranded many drivers on Interstate 95 in Virginia for more than 24 hours, and disrupted food deliveries at some grocery stores on the U.S. East Coast. According to incomplete statistics, more than 90 million people in the United States have been affected by these two rounds of blizzards.

After the storm, panicked consumers even swept U.S. supermarket shelves.

The blizzard also brought a spate of car accidents. In just one day, police handled more than 650 crash reports. Not only were the roads affected, but the trains were afraid to continue moving forward. As a result, some states in the United States have urgently closed highways.

In addition, nearly 5,700 U.S. flights were delayed on January 16, and more than 4,700 were canceled.

The extreme weather has directly impacted the business of American express companies.

FedEx said severe winter storms, especially blizzards near its international airline hub in Memphis, Tennessee, had a severe impact on the company's business. FedEx is implementing contingency plans and adjusting operations to reduce disruption to shipments caused by extreme weather.

UPS also said recent weather events in the Louisville, Kentucky, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania areas have caused some delivery delays.

It can be seen that the impact of this extreme weather is so large that roads, railways, and aviation have all been affected, which has caused a considerable impact on the already fragile global supply chain and logistics and freight.

Plane delays, port congestion continues
US line prices are likely to climb all the way

After all, before the storm, the logistics situation in the United States was not optimistic.

The rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant has led to a sharp rise in infections in the United States, forcing several U.S. airlines to cancel flights to isolate pilots and cabin crew.

FedEx also said in a statement that the explosive growth of the Omikron variant of the new coronavirus has caused temporary shortages of available crew and operators and caused delays in aircraft shipments.

To make matters worse, the Omega virus continues to increase congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

As of Jan. 10, about 800 dockworkers, or about one-tenth of the daily labor force at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, were out of work for coronavirus-related reasons, the Pacific Maritime Association said.

In addition, old truck drivers retired and some driving schools were temporarily closed during the epidemic. Young drivers were unwilling to do this hard work, resulting in a serious shortage of truck drivers and making it more difficult to store goods.

It is understood that dozens of container ships have been waiting weeks or months outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to unload their cargo. The backlog rose to 100 ships in late November, reaching a record 106 on New Year's Day. And, as congestion worsens, both ports are now waiting an average of 10 to 12 days for unloading.

Under the dual influence of the blizzard and the severe rebound of the epidemic, more than 70% of the US terminal workers have tested positive, such as truck drivers, couriers and so on. These circumstances will, to a certain extent, lead to the extension of the time limit for arrival at the port, unloading, carrying containers, etc.

At present, aircraft transportation delays, port congestion will continue, coupled with the shortage of labor caused by the epidemic, the price of US line positions may become higher and higher in the future, and sellers should be psychologically prepared.

Supply disruptions are now an undeniable fact of life. For sellers, it is necessary to grasp relevant information in real time, increase business flexibility, actively face changes in the situation, make emergency plans, and understand all kinds of accidents.

With the increasing frequency of extreme weather and the long-term congestion of shipping, the situation of cross-border e-commerce is constantly changing. In addition to environmental changes caused by natural disasters, there are also policy changes caused by human factors. These changes all show that cross-border e-commerce is placing higher requirements on sellers.