Friday, September 24, 2021

The coming American drought (and not from lack of rain)...






"The Great American Drought. Whenever, wherever - buy American when possible. Stuff coming in from the Westpac, might be very problematic. What is the solution to this trucker shortage? Short of AI driven trucks, I have no clue."


It is coming folks. Sooner than you think. It has been forecasted for years, and is now on our doorstep. The Great American Drought. It has little to nothing to do with the weather or "climate change". It has everything to do with logistics. Oh Bird - talking about the pandemic again! Nope. This has little to nothing to do with the pandemic. Again, it has everything to do with logistics - in particular, the common carrier - aka, the over the road trucker.

In the graphic above, there are 44 container ships off the coast of Long Beach and Los Angles, California. Why? They are just waiting to unload. Three weeks ago, 44 ships waiting in queue was an all time record. Today, there are 70 container ships waiting to unload. How much is 70 container ships? It is was Long Beach (the second busiest sea port in America), usually does in the month of August. August has 31 days. And these container ships are just sitting out there, waiting, with more on the way.

The Ports of Los Angles, and Long Beach, combined, are the 10th busiest port area in the world. In other words, lots and lots of stuff this country needs, comes in via these twin ports. My wife and I have gone by them, when coming in from a cruise. Impressive to say the least. 

In 2019, Canada was short 25,000 licenced truck drivers. We were short 60,000. Today, it is worse. Some estimates are as high as 80,000. I read one article, which said it was closer to 100,000. In any event, that is where the real snag comes in. Stuff has been ordered, it has been made. It has shipped. But without trucks ready to receive what is coming off those container ships (or trains, if they get the containers on trains), we are stuck. Stuck so much so, that many will now find out the disadvantages of globalism.

I would like to offer a ray of sunshine on this issue, but I can't. This trucker shortage has been forecasted for some years now, and now the "chickens are about ready to come home to roost." It has been reported that three East Coast states, who have municipal liquor stores, can't get some product from overseas. In fact, some of those stores are so short, they are rationing. Heads up Midwesterners - the next time you are at the liquor store, keep that in mind.

When the pandemic hit, and there were some supply chain issues showing up, I told my wife one thing - when shopping, and we need one of something - buy two. We now have some time before the shortages really start to hit. To repeat, the difference between hoarding and prepping is one simple thing - preppers stock up when times are good - hoarders buy when items are scarce. Preppers - this may be the time to ensure your stockpile of goods is adequate. 

The Great American Drought. Whenever, wherever - buy American when possible. Stuff coming in from the Westpac, might be very problematic. What is the solution to this trucker shortage? Short of AI driven trucks, I have no clue. But until a solution is found, prepare for shortages on many of our goods. If you have never been a prepper, now might be the time to start.  


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