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Truckers Facing Coronavirus Hurdles in Keeping Supply Chains Moving

10 points by spking 7y ago

sbuttgereit 7y ago
Now... we're crossing a line. This is one area of the economy that needs to be facilitated, not hindered. Yes, truckers can transport the virus from one community to another. Yes, there is risk. But in the case of the supply chain, the downsides of losing cargo transport far overwhelm the potential negatives of that transport.
- doodlebugging 7y ago
  I do think that this is one of the ways that the virus is currently spreading. Evidence for this is on the Covid-19 map at Reuters website. [0] I noticed that the counties in Texas with reported cases mostly lie along the I-35 corridor, the I-45 corridor, and the I-10 corridor. Then, if you follow I-35 north into Oklahoma you see cases along the route. In fact you can track it all the way to Minnesota along I-35. The exception in Texas is the recent cases coming out of Lubbock County but those could be spring break travel related or related to cases from people visiting relatives in DFW area since a lot of kids go west to Texas Tech from there. Then I noticed that the Gulf Coast counties affected are along the I-10 corridor. Florida has a lot of cases along the interstates too. I-20 across northern Louisiana in to Baton Rouge. Travel west out of Denver and all the counties in that direction are reporting cases. I-25 from New Mexico into Wyoming has scattered cases in those counties too. It almost looks like rest areas, convenience store rest rooms, motels, or other sites commonly used by people who travel by car, truck, SUV, or big rigs are focal points for spreading. One has to wonder how many people who were already infected but who were still asymptomatic decided to take a car trip instead of flight across the country so that they wouldn't get exposed on a plane, and then unwittingly ended up spreading it everywhere. I don't have city data for the reported cases nor do I have any information on where the infected people worked or whether they traveled but this sure looks a lot like widespread transmission along normal interstate commerce routes. [0] https://www.reuters.com/ https://www.reuters.com/
  - sbuttgereit 7y ago
    I wouldn't be surprised if it is spreading this way. If not already, then certainly in future. Having said that, a steady stream of supplies is what will allow everyone else to stay holed-up. If you can't get the supplies you need to get through the ordeal then you'll start to see individuals go out on far-and-wide "hunting trips" to find those supplies (at best) or you'll start to see societal breakdowns which will give Covid-19 a run for its money on lives and damages. That's more than just trucks delivering food. It may be trucks delivering electrical equipment to keep refrigeration running, to keep other trucks, moving, etc. Modern life depends on surprisingly deep connections. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetplHcM7aQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetplHcM7aQ
    - doodlebugging 7y ago
      Thanks for that video. I think we are already seeing the beginning of far-and-wide hunting trips if you believe posts in r/Texas subreddit about small towns in Texas.[0] See u/OutWestTexas comment from yesterday. [0]https://old.reddit.com/r/texas/comments/fljp1r/how_are_small_towns_dealing_with_the_corona_virus/ https://old.reddit.com/r/texas/comments/fljp1r/how_are_small...

10 points by spking 7y ago

Now... we're crossing a line. This is one area of the economy that needs to be facilitated, not hindered. Yes, truckers can transport the virus from one community to another. Yes, there is risk. But in the case of the supply chain, the downsides of losing cargo transport far overwhelm the potential negatives of that transport.

doodlebugging 7y ago
I do think that this is one of the ways that the virus is currently spreading. Evidence for this is on the Covid-19 map at Reuters website. [0] I noticed that the counties in Texas with reported cases mostly lie along the I-35 corridor, the I-45 corridor, and the I-10 corridor. Then, if you follow I-35 north into Oklahoma you see cases along the route. In fact you can track it all the way to Minnesota along I-35. The exception in Texas is the recent cases coming out of Lubbock County but those could be spring break travel related or related to cases from people visiting relatives in DFW area since a lot of kids go west to Texas Tech from there. Then I noticed that the Gulf Coast counties affected are along the I-10 corridor. Florida has a lot of cases along the interstates too. I-20 across northern Louisiana in to Baton Rouge. Travel west out of Denver and all the counties in that direction are reporting cases. I-25 from New Mexico into Wyoming has scattered cases in those counties too. It almost looks like rest areas, convenience store rest rooms, motels, or other sites commonly used by people who travel by car, truck, SUV, or big rigs are focal points for spreading. One has to wonder how many people who were already infected but who were still asymptomatic decided to take a car trip instead of flight across the country so that they wouldn't get exposed on a plane, and then unwittingly ended up spreading it everywhere. I don't have city data for the reported cases nor do I have any information on where the infected people worked or whether they traveled but this sure looks a lot like widespread transmission along normal interstate commerce routes. [0] https://www.reuters.com/ https://www.reuters.com/
- sbuttgereit 7y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if it is spreading this way. If not already, then certainly in future. Having said that, a steady stream of supplies is what will allow everyone else to stay holed-up. If you can't get the supplies you need to get through the ordeal then you'll start to see individuals go out on far-and-wide "hunting trips" to find those supplies (at best) or you'll start to see societal breakdowns which will give Covid-19 a run for its money on lives and damages. That's more than just trucks delivering food. It may be trucks delivering electrical equipment to keep refrigeration running, to keep other trucks, moving, etc. Modern life depends on surprisingly deep connections. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetplHcM7aQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetplHcM7aQ
  - doodlebugging 7y ago
    Thanks for that video. I think we are already seeing the beginning of far-and-wide hunting trips if you believe posts in r/Texas subreddit about small towns in Texas.[0] See u/OutWestTexas comment from yesterday. [0]https://old.reddit.com/r/texas/comments/fljp1r/how_are_small_towns_dealing_with_the_corona_virus/ https://old.reddit.com/r/texas/comments/fljp1r/how_are_small...