President Joe Biden has ordered for the federal government to conduct a thorough review of the U.S. supply chain. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light serious issues concerning how we get essential goods to Americans all across the country. It has also brought an increased awareness of how vulnerable America’s supply chains are for purposes like public health, business, and even national security.
As a national emergency was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery store shelves went bare. Frontline workers had no personal protective equipment (PPE). Even healthcare providers, nurses, and doctors were so short on supplies that PPE was rationed, putting their lives and the lives of their patients at risk.
President Biden has signed an executive order which “launches a comprehensive review of U.S. supply chains and directs federal Departments and Agencies to identify ways to secure U.S. supply chains against a wide range of risks and vulnerabilities.”
According to the announcement published on Wednesday, it’s not just the “unacceptable” PPE shortages that are of concern. There were disruptions all throughout the supply chain that left the U.S. vulnerable.
“While we cannot predict what crisis will hit us, we should have the capacity to respond quickly in the face of challenges,” reads the announcement from the White House. “The United States must ensure that production shortages, trade disruptions, natural disasters and potential actions by foreign competitors and adversaries never leave the United States vulnerable again.”
The executive order comes in two parts. First, the order “directs an immediate 100-day review across federal agencies to address vulnerabilities in the supply chains of four key products.” The review will also identify “near term steps the administration can take, including with Congress, to address vulnerabilities in the supply chains for these critical goods.” They are:
- APIs – the part of a pharmaceutical product that actually contains the active drug. Over 70% of API production is overseas and therefore potentially vulnerable to disruption outside of U.S. control.
- Critical minerals used for defense and high-tech industries. These include raw materials like the rare earths needed for motors and generators and manufactured goods like the carbon fiber needed for airplanes.
- Production of semiconductors. While the U.S. is a leading developer, the production capacity is almost entirely overseas.
- Large capacity batteries. Increasingly needed for storage of renewable energy, again the U.S. is leading the charge on development, but batteries used by the American consumer and in American industry are mostly produced overseas.
The second part of the executive order launches an “in-depth one-year review of a broader set of U.S. supply chains.” This review’s goal is to ensure the health and security of America focusing on “six key sectors.” These are:
- The defense industrial base;
- The public health and biological preparedness industrial base;
- The information and communications technology (ICT) industrial base;
- The energy sector industrial base;
- The transportation industrial base; and
- Supply chains for agricultural commodities and food production.
Any concrete changes coming from this initiative would likely take time. But if they do occur, increased supply chain resilience would likely mean increased domestic manufacturing, which could in turn lead to greatly increased domestic freight requirements.
Source: Whitehouse, ttnews, ttnews, freightwaves
Trumps hours of svc and eld mandate have crippled transportation. In a good economy freight is shipped as “jit” and the docks are waiting for u. Now it takes days to receive shipments and it must be delivered by appt only. Days of the stoneage. Need to go back to paper logs and 4/4 split or 5/5 split sb. Then stuff will get rolling again and keep up with supply and demand.
Trump ran 1000’s of trucking companies out of business with his pointless trade war. Took away Drivers per diem. Put the regulations on hold limiting driver’s ability to earn for four years, and people have a toilet paper fetish ruining our perfect stocked shelf record. The veterans got out because big brother is always watching and the millennials want no part of this Industry. The industry also hasn’t seen a raise in 40 years. The average age out here is 52 and the average life expectancy is 61. We also have autonomous vehicle companies literally racing to try to throw us on the curb. Be interesting to see what their fact finding group comes up with.
President who? 😂
Thia doesn’t even sound important
Number one it was mentioned in the article, batteries made over seas when we should be making them here.
Number two, with fuel prices continue to soar its going to be fewer trucks who are willing to operate to haul for nothing.
All you complaining about fuel prices, tells me one thing, you guys suck at running your business, and don’t understand trucking. As the fuel prices go up, so should your FSC and rates.
Yeah…not all of us have full control over our rate bub…
Well I’m no owner operator and I believe your response is downright dumb.
He ordered WHAT? Not a headline to read before you finished your first cup of coffee.
Yes, and so should you, and your families cost of every single item you purchase
Get used to fewer choices and more shortages, of everything.
Except pudding, Joe will always have plenty of pudding.
I think it’s time for a national Truck Shutdown.
I know we can’t get every truck to just park.it would make them think for a minute.
The ATA is here to see that won’t happen
Sounds like preparedness for world war 3 events.
Maybe… Though domestic production would surely be impacted by the extinction of all animal life larger than domesticated cats…
I think that the point is more focused on what to do if we got into a cold or trade war with, say, China – can we still make cell phones if we can’t buy them on the cheap from China? Can we stand to go back to a world without smartphones? If we’re going to try to move away from gasoline and diesel, to electric transportation, how well does this work if China makes 70% of the world’s lithium batteries, and is our sole source for minerals to make electric motors, generators, and solar panels?
It’s not an issue until we stop liking the terms of doing business with the people running the monopoly… So how well do you like your cable company, and don’t you think you’d be getting a better deal if there were practical alternatives to dealing with them?
We don’t actually have to produce everything, here. We just need to be able to do so, and stockpiled for emergency shortages. Take the pain out of running out of stuff, and the rest of the world loses any incentive to try to interrupt supply. You know, the same way that the ATA and megacarriers have subverted the idea of a trucker strike, by ensuring that not enough of us can afford to shut down, for a strike to be effective…
“A comprehensive review of (insert name here) is code for – We know there is a perception of a problem and to make sure we put on the appearance of caring – here’s a comprehensive study.
Exactly!
“We’re going to – very carefully, thoughtfully, and thoroughly – delay taking any action until our responsibility to do so, expires; under the guise of thoughtful, thorough, and careful consideration of all of the options that we will ultimately ignore.”
THANK YOU
One of the biggest problems is we are over regulated. Its that we don’t need regulations. But there no balance. Fuel prices always goes up or down with the economy. Take usps system they have no perception of what Logistics really is. Its a mess supply chain. Shipping and receiving always has been a major problem. Supply chain. My rant for the day
One side of the industry is over-regulated. The other side is a free-for-all. Store shelves are full, and have been all along. The only people suffering are the ones bringing the stuff to the stores.
The common fallacy about the USPS is that they are supposed to be profitable or even efficient – they are not supposed to be either. They are a service, like the Army (which is also neither efficient nor profitable, and was never intended to be).
The USPS is reliable, and ubiquitous – and that is exactly what it is supposed to be. That doesn’t come cheap, but they have done an astonishingly good job (until recently) at keeping those costs down, without compromising either reliability or ubiquity. As government-affiliated agencies go, they have, in fact, been absolutely stellar performers for, what? The entire life of the nation? Find me another agency that has been as consistently effective at its mission, for as long, and has been remotely as affordable in doing so… there isn’t one.
Does private industry do better? Well, they are able to trim costs more efficiently, but at the cost of ubiquity and reliability – both of which are the primary mission of the postal service. Don’t knock the USPS. Without them, this nation would not be remotely recognizable as the world leader that it is, today. UPS and FedEx both rely on the post office for the ubiquity and reliability that makes their business models work. So does Amazon. None of them could, or would, replace the post office in this mission – not today, and certainly not a hundred years ago.
Respect to the USPS.
With diesel up over a $1/gallon from this time last year. He’s really doing a great job. Of making OPEC Great Again!
How’s that broker transparency coming along??
I’m sure Biden will throw us a bone, sniff our hair while he’s at it, whisper sweet nothings! I’d like to emphasize nothings!
Absolutely correct.
Highly suspect
More than likely this information will be used to regulate and control for the sake of health and safety. Yes, I am cynical, but I have zero trust in the government
Greatly increased domestic freight requirements! That means Pelosi, Waters… bought stock in OPEC!
Now the rape of the nation will be in full circleback.
Politician talking and never doing anything except making governments worse the more they control. I wish he would “order” nothing to be changed, that way the government won’t keep worsening.
I dont need biden to mess with our industry that he knows less about than being a president
So Biden is saying “America First” hmmm where have we heard that before?
Now, is he talking about fortification or fraudification, cuz we’ve had enough of the latter part.