There are all kinds of stories about the “mass resignations” etc., where people are just not going back to work. In some states they encourage not working by sending assistance checks and by restricting evictions. And then there are people who have simply retired instead of going back to work and feeling at risk. Everyone has some definitive theory about it but it’s a very strange time and I don’t believe anyone really understands what is going on in the economy.
In any event, as a result of all the pandemic, trucking companies cannot hire drivers. And although it wasn’t widely discussed, it actually started prior to the pandemic.
The current shortage is affecting towing companies, waste management companies, and things you wouldn’t imagine, like shredding services, gas stations, and medical services. The owner of a towing company told me he was shutting down and two weeks ago he just closed up his shop. He had a fleet of tow trucks and no one to drive them. He couldn’t meet contractual obligations and he was paying insurance and taxes and figured he’d sell for whatever he could get. An owner of a waste hauling company outside of St. Louis said that he was offering $75,000 a year PLUS a $7500 signing bonus and he still couldn’t find drivers. And this was in Missouri, where that money goes a long way, not the expensive coastal states.
There’s a nationwide shortage of truck drivers. Buttigieg and a few other Biden admin officials have been meeting with people in the trucking industry to figure out what to do, but good luck with any quick solutions.
And it’s world wide. In the UK they are using the military for trucking.
What is the rush on shipping? West coast temps are too high. It was 80 in MN the other day. Wine sitting on a hot truck all day is not good for the wine. If you are doing ground wait!
Yeah, this. Its widespread across industries and UPS is pretty much just as bad (though their on-time record is killing FedEx right now because, while they were built for ground shipments, FedEx was just ramping up for it). Which carrier you like depends on your driver quite frankly.
John, it is 68 degrees just south of Sonoma right now and it will be cool, in the 70s, thru next Friday.
Shipment saga update:
Delivery still next Tuesday as per tracking page, but now it shows a Bakersfield, Ca scan? Huh?
So a delivery update is needed, or that Bakersfield scan is bogus…update, update, update, please.
Oh yeah, I forgot the older Heitz in the case. Update!
So, Cam, speaking of that, can we get some communication on what summer hold, mid-October means for De Negoce shipping? I’ve been trying for over a week to get some dialogue going with no response. I don’t need everything at once and prefer to wait, spread things out, help ease the load on you/Mickey. But need two-way communication. Thanks.
All of my shipments are coming from northern CA and OR and it is a bit nuts how much longer everything is. FedEx’s major hub into Seattle is in Troutdale, OR and ground boxes usually get stuck there for days on end now. Stuff will make normal progress and then just sit in Troutdale for 4 or 5 days. At this point I am just assuming most shipments will take twice as long. That way I’m pleasantly surprised when something gets here on time.
I get a fair bit of vintage cast iron off of eBay and have been pleasantly surprised how good the USPS has been…who knew. Of course that’s of no help with wine.
Bummer. But there’s no mystery to the routing. Most long-distance FedEx and UPS ground parcels go by rail, and it sounds like this is travelling via BNSF, whose lines from Chicago to California run through KC and AZ (thick red lines on map). If it were on Union Pacific (thin purple lines), it would go more directly, through Denver and Salt Lake City.
This is one of many reasons I am extremely adverse to buying wines that need to be shipped to me. I make a couple exceptions for mailing lists, and those (predictably) are for wineries also on the west coast, and who hold for appropriate shipping weather. The situation detailed by Richard in his OP is not only likely to ruin the wines, but it also causes undue stress. No thanks.
That is the case!
I just have the sense that the public is not yet aware how disrupted the supply chain is!
FED EX, UPS, Trucking, Air Cargo, Boat Cargo, I know it is shown on the national news,
however I do not think the public is aware how awful, disrupted all supply chain is.
Even the Chateau we order from eventually did not believe our reports…
I stopped at the more active WHOLE FOODS on the weekend and it is BAM - all of a sudden half a shelf
is empty.
There is no run yet on the usual products, that will come any day…
We continued to order - but what is the point? It will not reach us for the Holiday season.
this was months ago now, but FedEx screwed up on three consecutive Flannery shipments (same order), we finally switched to GSO and got my order, but what an incredible waste.
In the past 4 months my wine.com shipments from Berkeley to Melo Park, about 40 miles apart and used to be delivered overnight, were almost all routed to Tracy and spent extra one or two days there… UPS shipment from Napa/Sonoma have been delivered overnight as usual.
Then I would suggest you avoid Fedex, UPS, USPS, and probably DHL too. There are no longer guarantees on estimated shipping times, and at least for Fedex and UPS, there are no refunds.
