Black swan events lurking inside your supply chain – WTT?!? [with video]

On this weekday’s supply of What The Truck?!?, Dooner and Prevost have your loadboard covered.

Why are 90% of drivers failing to register in Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse? Despite calls urging truck drivers to register in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse database, the vast majority applying for jobs still have not done so, says Jeremy Reymer, founder and CEO of DriverReach, a recruiting and compliance management company. Reymer adds that more than 3,000 failed drug and alcohol test results have been recorded in the database in the first 30 days of operation.

Coyote Logistics has laid off all the remaining 25 carrier representatives in its Chattanooga office. Thirty IT workers were also cut from Coyote’s Chicago headquarters. The layoffs at Coyote come at a time of widespread reductions in headcount across the transportation and logistics industry.

In spite of the news about layoffs, job growth is outnumbering attrition, especially in the warehouse and delivery space where jobs are tethered to e-commerce. Courier and messenger payrolls grew by 14,300 last month, extending an 11-month hiring spree, according to seasonally adjusted preliminary employment figures the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday, and as reported by the Wall Street Journal Logistics Report.

We are joined by special guest, Logixboard CEO and founder, Julian Alvarez, about the company’s customer engagement software for the freight industry, and their mission to streamline interactions between shippers and freight forwarders from a labor-intensive phone call and email processes, to an easy to use, online platform.

We dial up RDS Logistics director of sales, Jamin Alvidrez, who has three southern tips for winning freight. When it comes to partnerships, he talks about authenticity, just being yourself, and let the chips fall where they may.

Check out what happens when market expert Mike Baudendistel joins the desk for a competitive round of market expert trivia on the topic of Mode of Transportation, and trans-border freight.

Find out why economist Anthony Smith is still so positive on the economy even in the face of black swan events, such as the emerging pandemic of the Wuhan coronavirus, and what it might mean for global supply chains. He also gives us a tease as to what’s coming up on his podcast, Freightonomics.

In Big Deal, Little Deal we consider the gravity of stories such as: the AB5 pause and what it might mean for California team drivers as they continue their “truck-friendly” relocation search; Keith Wilson, president of Titan Freight Systems, saying regulation in Oregon is necessary to accelerate the transition to clean fuel vehicles; iPhone manufacturer Foxconn telling staff to stay away from Shenzen factory; DSV/Panalpina pushing for exclusive deals with shippers that bar them from using other freight forwarders; and Joaquin Phoenix winning best actor, among other Oscar-winners. 

As always, thanks for tuning in to the What the Truck?!? community, and for helping make us a top-20 podcast in Business News on iTunes!

Check out the video above, or run some errands and get jacked at the gym and listen to us anywhere podcasts are heard around the world right here! And at Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

And check out what our sponsor, Redwood Logistics, is up to.