Wednesday December 22, 2021
No more major failures
Logistics industry: are ready for the fifth wave
At the beginning of the corona pandemic in spring 2020, numerous supply chains collapse. The transport industry sees itself well prepared for the next wave. Failures can now usually be compensated, but experts still rate the driver shortage in Germany as critical.
The transport industry sees itself as well positioned for the feared worsening of the corona situation. “The logistics industry is now extremely experienced in dealing with the ongoing pandemic, so that at the present time, despite thin staffing levels, there are no major supply-related failures to be feared,” said Frank Huster, General Manager of the Federal Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (DSLV). “It is crucial that politicians do not decide on ad hoc measures, but rather anticipate the development of the pandemic, link legislative changes with impact assessments and announce these with sufficient advance notice.”
In the previous corona waves, there were hardly any failures in supply chains due to infections among employees. Rather, the cause was measures such as border closings. The industry is very heterogeneous, so failures in one place can usually be compensated elsewhere, said Huster. Only a few large logistics groups were part of the critical infrastructure. The forwarding and logistics sector is working flat out to ensure that industry, trade and the population continue to be supplied. “Many employees work in the home office, and where the work has to be carried out on site, logisticians in companies have implemented complex hygiene, distance and test concepts.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Association of Freight Transport, Logistics and Waste Management (BGL) proposed to reissue the “Pact for Supplying Germany” concluded in March 2020. In coordination with the Federal Ministry of Transport they want to talk about a new freight transport pact at the beginning of January, said BGL board spokesman Dirk Engelhardt the “Tagesspiegel Background”.
Because many drivers from Eastern Europe returned to their home countries due to the pandemic in spring 2020, some supply chains collapsed. Freight forwarders stepped in, trucks were converted and rerouted. The BGL sees the shortage of drivers as an urgent problem in the industry. According to the association, there is a shortage of 60,000 to 80,000 truck drivers in Germany. The gap grows by 15,000 annually.