Welcome to the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Newsletter presented by Redwood Logistics. In this issue, tornadoes twist freight; Zyn shortages; Future of Supply Chain; and more.
Twisters
X @Invsble_man1948
Southeast slammed — Woke up this morning to a blackout in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after storms struck across the Southeast last night. In North Carolina more than 80,000 homes are without power. In Chattanooga, 16,000-plus are experiencing a blackout, and I’m one of them. Even came across these downed lines while walking my dog, Randy Savage.
I did not see any semis falling from the sky.
Storms tossed trees around Chattanooga last night
This comes on the heels of an already hot tornado season that has seen multiple twisters rip through Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee and other states.
Freight spin — Multiple warehouses were violently blown away during this storm, and the impact didn’t end there. A Garner Industries warehouse in Lincoln, Nebraska, was hit by a tornado on April 26 with more than 70 workers inside.
“These layoffs are necessary for us to stay in business. This is an extremely difficult situation. These people are like family.” — Scott McLain, CEO and president of Garner Industries
As a result, on Monday the company announced it was laying off 62 workers. According to 1011now, “Garner is providing compensation and health benefits to employees affected by the layoff. The company has also organized community support, medical, and mental health assistance as well as new employment recruiting opportunities.”
It isn’t clear if any of the workers who were in the facility when the tornado struck were laid off.
On April 27, a 1 million-square-foot Dollar Tree distribution center with 456 workers inside was destroyed by a tornado. Fortunately, none of the workers were injured or laid off.
X @SaraFlynnWX
On Tuesday, twisters spun through Michigan, tearing the roof off a FedEx building in Portage. According to Kalamazoo County authorities, 50 workers were trapped inside. They’re now free.
Semis in Jeffersonville, Indiana, weren’t safe either. A storm there on April 2 threw semis around, leaving 10 people injured.
Staying safe — Are you prepared in the event of a tornado alert? If you’re not sure what to do or need a refresher, here’s a great blog from Schneider on what drivers should do if they get caught in this weather.
Here’s Schneider’s advice in case you really can’t get away: “First, pull over and park your truck. Keep your seat belt on and cover your head with a blanket or coat. Get as low in your seat as possible and try to stay away from the window.” And of course, don’t forget to pray. Read the blog here.
Drive safe out there. There’s still a lot of tornado season ahead.
Is Zyn the new toilet paper?
A new national crisis? — Hug your nearest freight broker a little harder today as they suffer through a potential Zyn shortage. While there haven’t been any official reports yet about Zyn stockouts, users across the internet are complaining about empty bodega and truckstop shelves.
What’s driving the shortage? The product is experiencing insane growth as these nicotine lip pillows soar off shelves with 80% year-over-year growth.
Redditors across America are particularly upset by this development. They claim there’s no Zyn available throughout Illinois, North Carolina, Arkansa and many other states.
A check of their website shows several flavors were on back order recently.
Zyn
That has fueled a number of theories.
What may be most likely is that wild growth has happened faster than manufacturing and distribution can handle. Or, perhaps this has come stateside?
FreightWaves takes Atlanta
Future of Supply Chain ’24 — We’re just 26 days away from the Future of Supply Chain ’24 in Atlanta, June 4-5. We’re hard at work over here getting WHAT THE TRUCK?!? hats and stickers together for guests. We also have two live shows at the event, and I’ll be hosting the Shipper of Choice awards as well.
Why should you go? There are going to be phenomenal sessions by speakers like Ryan Petersen, Brad Hicks, John Konrad, Ross Kennedy, Jordan Graft, Kary Jablonski, Craig Fuller and many more.
But the real main event for me is The Great Debate: FreightWaves vs. DAT. Can these two rivals coexist under the same roof? Will the debate turn into the Tom Brady Roast? Who will win in the verbal octagon? I may be biased, but my money is on Zach Strickland.
Get your tickets now on this link. It has my discount code, which will get you the cheapest entry around.
WTT store + Miami!
X
Shop that — Later this month, WHAT THE TRUCK?!? is opening our official merch shop. One of the first shirts going out in the first drop is our Miami Vibes design. Why Miami? We’re headed there for a live show later in the month with the wonderful team at Redwood Logistics.
Stay tuned.
WTT Friday
Is there a Zyn supply chain crisis?; from trucker to CEO; cargo theft rings — This Friday on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, I’m taking a deeper look at the curious case of missing Zyn from gas station shelves.
NXTPoint Logistics’ Andrew Lockwood talks about issues with freight fraud and theft. Is there a well-organized cargo theft ring running in California? We’ll look into some cases, how the thieves are pulling these heists off and what is being done about it.
DuShawn Falls has gone from trucker to trucking company CEO. We’ll find out the story behind his company Greenfalls Logistics and how he’s transitioned from the cab to the CEO suite.
Northland Trucking Risk Control’s Anthony Slamar breaks down the importance of speed and space management.
Plus, latest news, weirdness and trends.
Catch new shows live at noon EDT Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWaves LinkedIn, Facebook, X or YouTube or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player and at 5 p.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking Channel 146.
Now on demand
State of fleet management; rebuilding in Baltimore; factoring pain point
What’s less healthy: Truckers or truckload market?
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Subscribe to the show
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Don’t be a stranger,
Dooner
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