June 1st through the end of November is considered Hurricane Season for the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, with heightened chances of storms occurring from early August to October. According to the National Weather Service, there’s an average of six hurricanes each year, with two typically becoming major storms hosting winds of 110-plus mph.  

Even on its best days, the logistics industry is considered complicated. Throw a hurricane in the mix, and you can have straight-up chaos. Hurricane Season means supply chains should prepare for the worst in weather, like heavy rain, dangerous gusts of wind, limited visibility, and flooding. Shipping setbacks such as impassable roadways, stranded trucks and drivers, loss of cargo, and extended deliveries are just some of what can be experienced. Here’s what your organization needs to know to prepare during peak Hurricane Season so your company can avoid delays and a loss in revenue. 

Supply Chain Tips for Peak Hurricane Season 

Stay Informed 

A hurricane’s path and level of impact can change very quickly. It’s crucial you stay informed of potential storms that could impact your supply chain during Hurricane Season.  

Set up alerts to be notified of newly formed storms and hurricanes. When a potential storm is in your path find a trusted weather news source and check it often for updates. Don’t just follow the updates before the storm, but also during and after. You may also adopt and use advanced weather tracking systems to get up-to-date information to make informed, real-time decisions.  

Maintain Communication 

Natural disasters, like hurricanes, can have a huge impact on your company’s supply chain. An easy way to stay ahead is to be transparent and communicate openly throughout. Transparency builds trust and helps manage expectations during a crisis. 

If a potential hurricane threatens your business, acknowledge it immediately. Then, start communicating with your customers and partners about the potential effects. Regular updates on potential disruptions and recovery efforts can go a long way in maintaining strong business relationships. 

Have an Emergency Plan Ready 

You should have a company-wide plan that outlines its actions during a hurricane. Your emergency plan should include important details like; 

• an evacuation route for buildings affected 

• a crisis communication plan 

• assigned employee emergency roles and responsibilities 

• instructions on how to protect inventory and equipment 

• where emergency supplies are located and how best to use them 

• how capable facilities will support when others are affected  

When planning, make safety your company’s top priority during a hurricane. Once established, your plan should be reviewed often and updated as needed to ensure it remains effective. Additionally, running practice drills can help everyone know their roles and responsibilities.  

Consider Alternatives 

Consider what alternative workspaces and methods of transport you could use in the event of a hurricane. Are there temporary warehouse solutions where inventory could be stored? Could intermodal replace a truckload shipment that’s in the path of the storm? Are there alternative routes? How can facilities outside of the storm’s path support those affected? These alternative options should be included in your emergency plan.  

While you may not have all the answers when planning, the more you include, the quicker you can make strategic decisions when needed. Having room for flexibility and adaptability is key to minimizing disruptions. 

Have Visibility in Your Supply Chain 

Visibility is needed now more than ever for supply chains. Having visibility not only helps you on good days but especially during  hurricane season.  

A transportation management system (TMS) can provide the necessary visibility during a hurricane. It provides critical data about your shipments and orders in real-time, giving you an advantage should a problem arise. This can help you make quick decisions to reroute shipments, avoid affected areas, and keep your customers informed.  

Think About Recovery 

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost 40 percent of businesses that have to shut down for 24 hours due to a natural disaster never open again.  

Ensure your business won’t be in that 40 percent if it happens. Have a plan ready to roll for the aftermath of a hurricane. Prepare for the worst and then plan how to recover from it quickly. This will help prevent any potentially steep revenue loss. 

Recovery Team, assemble! It’s time to identify the key employees and providers to get your business back to normal operations. An initial assessment will need to take place and your team’s sole responsibility should be to restore and resume processes. Having those alternative solutions and backup suppliers or providers will be handy here.  

Weather the Storm with a Reliable Logistics Partner 

Sometimes, you just need extra help. A relationship with a reliable logistics provider, like Trinity Logistics, can help your supply chain overcome the threats of Hurricane Season.  

Hurricanes can roll in a cloudy overcast of unknowns, but Trinity shines a light toward safety and security. We have over 45 years of experience helping thousands of supply chains through ups and downs. We thrive on problem-solving and handling issues like the ones hurricanes can bring. We also have a dedicated After-Hours Team to support and quickly resolve any potential challenges – no matter the time of night, holidays, or weekend. 

Our nationwide network of trusted carrier relationships ensures your shipments arrive safely at their delivery locations. Additionally, multiple transportation options offer the flexibility to keep your goods moving. Lastly, we’ll help you find real-time visibility with our customizable Managed Transportation solutions. Our dedicated Team (comprised of six Regional offices across the nation) is ready to help you maintain continuity and resilience in your supply chain.  

Partner with Trinity logistics so your supply chain can stay afloat, no matter the weather. (Our exceptional service might just blow you away, though!)  

The last two decades have brought about increasingly destructive natural disasters. From Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy to the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Along with widespread devastation to their physical surroundings, each of these natural disasters impacted business operations in many cases on a global scale. Over the years, climate changes are happening at a faster pace than originally anticipated. This has resulted in rising sea levels, which coincides with more severe storms, temperature swings, and volatile precipitation. Because of this, we have seen and will likely continue to see more intense weather that will have greater destructive potential, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In this blog, we’ll go over the economic and supply chain impacts that result from these events and how you can best prepare your supply chain.

Impacts on the economy and supply chains

Severe weather has exponential impacts on our global economy. According to Aon Benfield’s 2016 Global Climate Catastrophe Report, the world saw $210 billion (USD) in economic losses because of 315 separate natural disasters. That’s 21 percent above the 16-year average of $174 billion (USD). When these natural events happen, numerous businesses find their supply chains shook.

Natural disasters cause severe disruption to global technology supply chains. For example, after the 2011 Thai floods, there was a global shortage of computer hard drives that sent consumer prices skyrocketing until factories were able to get back up and running. When the 2011 tsunami struck, several major car manufacturers were forced to shut down production at factories throughout Europe and the U.S. due to a lack of available parts from factories in Japan, setting off a supply chain reaction that impacted multiple suppliers of parts throughout the wider global economy. Snowstorms are also a culprit of transportation delays and supply chain worries. If weather conditions drop below a certain temperature truck engines will not start, quickly accumulating snow may mean railroads might not be able to clear the tracks fast enough and snow and ice can make it impossible for planes to travel safely. All causing disrupted supply chains across the country.

Preparing your supply chain

With the increase of natural disasters, ensuring that your business is prepared for the potential disruption is very important. Disaster planning needs to consider not just the direct impact to your infrastructure, but how the after-effects of events far away from your base of operations could affect your supply chain and markets.

Create a disaster preparedness plan
Have a plan ready that outlines what to do in case of emergencies and natural disasters. This plan should take into consideration all types of weather and natural disaster your area is most susceptible to, and perhaps some that would particularly be considered unlikely. Also, be sure to ask companies you partner with for their disaster plans to ensure alignment with risk management.

Monitor for threat
Supply chain risk management works best when companies have the earliest possible notice of potential disruptive impacts. Keeping up with potential weather, running a data analysis, and running simulations across your supply chain to identify pressure points where natural disasters would most likely impact your operations are all ways to keep up with your disaster preparedness plan.

Be transparent and flexible
Many natural disasters may be impossible to predict (earthquakes, wild fires, etc.) so disruption may be inevitable. Be open with members of your team and companies you partner with about how weather or natural disaster may affect capacity and your company’s supply chain. Additionally, think about substitute work spaces and methods of transport for your goods. It’s never too early to revisit your risk management and disaster preparedness plans. At Trinity, we work with a network of over 70,000+ carriers and we’re always looking at the state of the industry and communicating with our customers. If you’re looking to partner with a 3PL to help manage your supply chain or have any questions about how Trinity can help your business, chat with us online here.

There was over two feet of rain and an estimated $18 billion in damages as Tropical Storm Florence pummeled the Carolinas and other parts of the Atlantic. There were 691,000 customers without power and water had closed parts of Interstate 95. As Florence pushed on in the United States, Typhoon Mangkhut hit the Philippines that Saturday and then China on Sunday, causing an estimated cost impact on Hong Kong’s gross domestic products of $627 million per day. Although devastating, these side-by-side catastrophic events are seemingly becoming a norm.

The last two decades have brought about increasingly destructive natural disasters. From Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy to the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Along with widespread devastation to their physical surroundings, each of these natural disasters has impacted business operations in many cases on a global scale.

Over the years, climate changes are happening at a faster pace than originally anticipated. This has resulted in rising sea levels, which coincides with more severe storms, temperature swings, and volatile precipitation. Because of this, we have seen and will likely continue to see more intense weather that will have greater destructive potential, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In this blog, we’ll go over the economic and supply chain impacts that result from these events and how you can best prepare your supply chain.

Impacts on the economy and supply chains

Severe weather has exponential impacts on our global economy. According to Aon Benfield’s 2016 Global Climate Catastrophe Report, the world saw $210 billion (USD) in economic losses because of 315 separate natural disasters. That’s 21 percent above the 16-year average of $174 billion (USD).

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey victims saw over 178,000 homes lost, $669 million in damages of public property, around a quarter million vehicle losses, $200 million in Texas crop in livestock losses…and the list goes on.

Additionally, businesses saw significant and expensive losses due to flooding, electrical outage, and employees’ inability to get to work, all causing temporary disruption of the flow of goods and services.

But the impacts of natural disasters reach far beyond the local damages of affected areas. When these natural events happen, numerous businesses find their supply chains shook.

The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan and the Thailand Floods in 2011 are both examples of natural disasters that had a much wider indirect economic effect. Both disasters caused severe disruption to global technology supply chains.

After the Thai floods, there was a global shortage of computer hard drives that sent consumer prices skyrocketing until factories were able to get back up and running. When the 2011 tsunami struck, several major car manufacturers were forced to shut down production at factories throughout Europe and the U.S. due to a lack of available parts from factories in Japan, setting off a supply chain reaction that impacted multiple suppliers of parts throughout the wider global economy.

Snowstorms are also a culprit of transportation delays and supply chain worries. If weather conditions drop below a certain temperature truck engines will not start, quickly accumulating snow may mean railroads might not be able to clear the tracks fast enough and snow and ice can make it impossible for planes to travel safely. All causing disrupted supply chains across the country.

Preparing your supply chain

With the increase of natural disasters, ensuring that your business is prepared for the potential disruption is very important. Disaster planning needs to consider not just the direct impact to your infrastructure, but how the after-effects of events far away from your base of operations could affect your supply chain and markets.

Create a disaster preparedness plan

Have a plan ready that outlines what to do in case of emergencies and natural disasters. This plan should take into consideration all types of weather and natural disaster your area is most susceptible to, and perhaps some that would particularly be considered unlikely. Snow in Florida? Probably not, but hey, with climate change you never know. Also, be sure to ask companies you partner with for their disaster plans to ensure alignment with risk management.

Monitor for threat

Supply chain risk management works best when companies have the earliest possible notice of potential disruptive impacts. Keeping up with potential weather, running a data analysis, and running simulations across your supply chain to identify pressure points where natural disasters would most likely impact your operations are all ways to keep up with your disaster preparedness plan.

Be transparent and flexible

Many natural disasters may be impossible to predict (earthquakes, wild fires, etc.) so disruption may be inevitable. Be open with members of your team and companies you partner with about how weather or natural disaster may affect capacity and your company’s supply chain. Additionally, think about substitute work spaces and methods of transport for your goods.

It’s never too early to revisit your risk management and disaster preparedness plans. As we all know, disaster can strike at any moment. At Trinity, we work with a network of over 70,000+ carriers and we’re always looking at the state of the industry and communicating with our customers.