Welcome back to Part II of our special report on tucking during COVID-19. We have been taking an in-depth look at how the pandemic has impacted the transportation sector and trucking companies. Today we are going to jump back in where we left off, which was in a discussion surrounding how the virus has caused chaos in the market and disrupted rates. Let\u2019s get right to it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Rate Impacts Across the Board<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By the end of April, spot market rates across the United\nStates had dropped so much that some loads would cost more than what it would\ncost for the truck drivers to haul them. We would end up seeing truckers\ndemonstrating in Texas and California, but what were they demonstrating\nagainst? At the time, many truckers were pointing the finger at brokers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, the story remains that the pandemic caused widescale\ndisruption that impacted markets and operators all over the transportation\nspectrum. While trucking companies reeled from the drastic decline in rates,\nprices fell on most major lanes. As demand for truckload shipments fell,\npricing fluctuations stunned the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, as April ended, states began cautiously reopening and\nspot load-posting volume increased by just over 6% as we moved into May. This\ncame as Texas, Ohio, Georgia, and other states begin to ease up on their\nlockdown orders and reopen their economies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Contract Carriers Get Slammed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But even with these moves, truckload volumes would remain\nwell below their seasonal levels, whether in terms of loads offered or loads\nmoved. As a result, spot rates would continue to fall into dangerously low\nterritory for owner-operators and small carriers. There must be an increase in\nvolume to see these operators succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since larger trucking companies rely on contract freight,\nwhich is far less volatile, many were still hiring truck drivers and operating\nwith little disruption. Obviously, they had to make some changes to their\nhiring practices to account for a global pandemic, but activity continued apace\nat many large, legacy carriers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, some contract carriers would end up getting slammed\nas the number of available loads dropped precipitously. This would wind up\nforcing established carriers either out of business or into the chaotic spot\nmarket. As trucking companies accepted low rates just to get the truck moving,\npricing pressure continued to shift downward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of the fleets who serve industries such as events, food\nservice, and some types of manufacturing have seen their contracts completely\ndry up, which has led to more furloughs and temporary \u2013 and in some cases \u2013\npermanent shut downs. In other cases, executives at larger trucking companies\nhave taken pay cuts or dipped into government loans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, as trucking companies do everything they can to\nnavigate through this crisis, they are making big changes that could have\nlong-lasting impacts on the industry, long after the pandemic has receded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Human Resources Innovations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If there is one department that has had to brace itself for\nchanges and impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is human\nresources. HR departments need to take responsible steps to prevent the spread\nof the virus at their companies, but how do they do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before HR deals with the virus itself, they need to conduct virtual walkthroughs of the business to see how the team can make concrete steps to reduce the possible spread of the disease. Are there opportunities where HR can reduce the spread of the virus across the fleet? To ensure proper planning, trucking companies must be constantly reevaluating the guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As CDC and HHS guidelines change, trucking companies must be\naware of what the new rules are. As the medical community learns more about the\nCOVID-19 virus and how it operates, guidelines will change. For example, it\nused to be that the CDC defined as being within 6 feet of an infected\nindividual for 15 minutes. Now that guidance has changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n New CDC guidance<\/a>\nstates that someone could be infected if they are within 6 feet of an\ninfected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour\nperiod starting from two days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic\npatients, two days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the\npatient is isolated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing changes like these the moment they come out helps\ntrucking companies keep their employees safe. It will be important to stay up\nto date on new government guidelines and look up latest updates in your\ncommunity on a near-daily basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping Your People Informed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is one way to ensure you can keep your employees\nhealthy \u2013 through consistent health questionnaire. Fleet employees should be\nfilling out health questionnaires every day and they should be including close\ncontacts. Employees must also follow consistent CDC guidelines. Mask guidelines\nmust be kept up to date depending on the latest guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some CDC guidelines that are more important than\nothers. For instance, the temperature threshold of 100.4 degrees for sending\nhome an employee, are flexible depending on state orders or statutes. For\ninstance, in some states the threshold has been lowered to 99.5 degrees. In\naddition to temperature, you want to pay attention for chills, fever, cough,\nloss of smell or taste, a heavy dry cough, or ongoing shortness of breath.\nThese symptoms put together could point to a COVID diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing that is important to not rely on rapid COVID\ntests, simply because they are not the most reliable testing option. Although\nsomeone might test as negative today, they could wind up positive tomorrow.\nUnfortunately, the lack of consistent countrywide testing regulations ensures\nproblems in the chain. Speaking of that, what should you do if you have a\npositive test outcome?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have an employee who tests positive, you want to\nfirst respond with sympathy and compassion. Make sure you are offering them\nsupport and empathy for their situation. You also want to thank them for\ngetting you involved and being honest with you about their diagnosis. Coming to\nyou early allows you to conduct proper contact tracing and reduce the risk of\nexposure for the rest of your fleet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the time comes for you to conduct that contact tracing,\nmake sure you keep the identity of the employee involved strictly confidential.\nAnd when it comes to how long an employee should quarantine if they are\npositive, think 14 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Final Thoughts on COVID-19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way\nwe live our lives. From home life to our social life and work lives, no part of\nhumanity has been unaffected. The way the novel coronavirus spread around the\nworld has demonstrated the importance of essential workers, which include our\nnation\u2019s truck drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For trucking companies and truck drivers, adaptations have\nbeen made. As motor carriers and other companies in the transportation sector\nadapts, organizations will need to be truly proactive by helping their people\nmanage stress, stay\nhealthy<\/a>, get good sleep, and manage their diets. Keeping a strong immune\nsystem and staying healthy is more important now during the time of COVID. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Truck drivers still struggle with challenges on multiple\nfronts. Whether it be the lower freight demands or chaotic spot markets or the\nhealth risks to them or their families, U.S. truckers have a lot on their minds\nthese days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, you have got to keep both your workforce and\nyour business healthy. When you make investments into the health and well being\nof your workforce, you will see improvements in the bottom line, whether it be\nthrough productivity increases or otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart fleets will spend time creating stress management and resilience training programs. Additional communication and soft skills training for staff on things like emotional intelligence not only helps your people feel better but it has noticeable impacts on motivation. Investing in programs like these have a positive impact on staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n While many experts believe life will never be the same,\nothers are more optimistic. Certainly, in the trucking sector, long term\nchanges have already been implemented. Fortunately, smart trucking companies\ncan get ahead of it. Of course, there is still a lot of uncertainty around\nCOVID-19, but the transportation sector is vital and resilient. We will get\nthrough this!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"