November 2021 – Repertoire Magazine
Transportation challenges affecting ports, roads, and railways are hobbling the U.S. supply chain’s pandemic response and adversely affecting the nation’s healthcare. Prioritizing critical medical products throughout the country’s transportation system would help doctors, nurses and other providers get much-needed supplies for patient care.
HIDA and its members offer solutions
Finding solutions to shipping challenges are a top priority for HIDA and its members. In a letter to the White House Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, Health Industry Distributors Association President & CEO Matthew J. Rowan discussed solutions to transportation delays hampering the supply chain’s COVID-19 response. “It is critical that a process to prioritize important medical supplies be identified,” he wrote, adding that rising COVID-19 cases combined with the upcoming flu season could further strain the transportation system.
HIDA also has discussed the issue with leadership and staff of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, sharing HIDA’s Critical Cargo Position Statement. HIDA supports prioritizing container access and sea freight space for essential medical products. The process should address the entire U.S. transportation system from ports to rail to trucks to small parcel carriers so products are moved efficiently. To read the full statement, visit HIDA.org.
HIDA’s Shipping Workgroup, comprised of member-company transportation and logistics leaders, has been meeting regularly to identify pain points and share best practices with each other as well as with HIDA’s federal partners.
Challenges in U.S. transportation…
Shipping bottlenecks began in earnest about a year ago and some experts predict they will slide into 2023. The transportation industry is struggling to keep up with a big spike in online commerce, while addressing worker shortages and higher costs. Two years ago, a 40-foot shipping container cost less than $2,000 to transport goods from Asia to the U.S., according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Today, it can cost as much as $25,000. In September, there were a record 73 cargo ships waiting to unload off California. This is partly due to the shortage of chassis – the trailers that transport shipping containers. Volume at the Port of L.A. – nation’s busiest gateway for trade with Asia – is up more than 30% since last year.
… lead to uncertainty in U.S. medical supply chain
Along with the holiday shopping season, the fourth quarter of the year brings “cough and cold season.” Georgia and New Mexico in August already were experiencing “high” flu activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means increasing demand for PPE and ancillary flu vaccine products, as well as for medical supplies essential for healthcare. The nation’s current transportation woes are intensifying the supply and demand strain. Healthcare providers need to know how much product they are receiving and when to ensure appropriate, clinical patient care. Snarled ports, delayed deliveries, the surging COVID Delta variant, and uncertainty over when products will arrive is stressing the system.
The nation’s shipping challenges will not be solved in the very near future. Healthcare distributors are taking action to ameliorate this difficult situation. They are diversifying sources, expanding domestic manufacturing, recommending alternative products, and working on building a bigger cushion of medical supplies by increasing inventories and supporting public-private partnerships.
For more on efforts by the Health Industry Distributors Association to educate the healthcare continuum and others about shipping challenges and possible solutions, visit HIDA.org.