Our guest in this week's episode is Jason Haith, branch manager for OEC Group Louisville. Import congestion continues, as ships are delayed and backed up at ports, waiting to unload their cargos. The situation could get even worse soon with the triple whammy of Chinese New Year, the Beijing Olympics, and more Omicron lockdowns all about to hit China at the same time. How do shippers prepare for what's on the horizon?

2021 was a difficult year for shippers relying on less-than-truckload (LTL) services. New research shows that things are not going to improve any time soon. Shippers should expect to see higher shipping volumes that result in tight capacity and higher prices.

For five decades, supply chains have relied upon linear bar codes to manage shipments and track store inventories. While the basic bar code, such as UPC symbols, is not going away, there have been alternatives that provide more information and can improve service. These 2-D bar codes have been with us for years as well, but the industry has been slow to adopt them. A new push is now on to gain wider use for these improved bar codes.

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly has a new 11-episode limited podcast series called the Top 10 Supply Chain Threats. Each week, a different threat to our supply chains is discussed, including capacity constraints, labor shortages, inflation and economics, weather-related issues, component and product shortages, digitalization, automation, and much more. Subscribe at your favorite podcast platform. Search "Top 10 Supply Chain Threats."


Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:

• OEC Group
• Increased shipping volumes and higher LTL rates on tap for 2022
• 2D bar codes could share far more product data than UPC standard, GS1 says
• Visit DCVelocity.com for the latest news.
• Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
• Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
• Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@dcvelocity.com.

Podcast sponsored by: Aptean

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