YIKES!
HOLY COW!
Or as our good friend Snagglepuss used to say: “HEAVENS TO MURGATROYD!"
Those were just some of the things I said to myself after listening to the great resources from last week’s outstanding webcast that addressed the impact of AB 5 and gave an update about the ongoing negotiations at the West Coast ports between the PMA and ILWU.
Let me cut right to the chase. I know you are extremely busy but you need to invest the time and listen to this webcast. Practically speaking, a lot of people don’t have AB 5 on their radar screen. That’s too bad because it could be one of the most significant pieces of legislation to hit the trucking industry in a long time.
As we learned from Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association, drayage rates will likely skyrocket as drayage carriers in California look to pass along a 100% increase in costs to shippers - and that is just for starters. Karyn Booth from Thompson Hine LLP addressed the uncertainty created by this legislation and the likelihood that it will be adopted by other States. And Peter Tirschwell, VP of Maritime & Trade at IHS Markit, gave us an insightful understanding on the current status of negotiations affecting the West Coast Ports between the PMA and the ILWU.
During the webcast, Karyn also shared some very important information about when this law technically went into effect. While it was originally passed in 2020, there was an injunction that was in place until the Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by the California Trucking Association this past June. We expect to learn more about how this will be handled in the near future.
On the good news front, Peter Tirschwell noted that the PMA and ILWU may have a signed contract in August or September. But on the downside, there are also threats of local actions that could be disruptive at the ports.
We also fielded lots of questions from the audience during this webinar. Got some interesting answers from the panelists as they addressed these questions.
As noted above, invest the time and listen to this webcast, share it with your team and then let us know if you have any questions, or want some insights on developing contingency plans to address these issues. As always, we encourage you to get in touch if you’d like some insights on strategies to address spiraling freight and supply chain costs.
BY MIKE REGAN, CO-FOUNDER OF TRANZACT
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