Supply Chain Labor Challenges

Three years after the pandemic began, finding labor still challenges organizations. The front-line labor market is tight. Companies continue to struggle to fill job vacancies.?

“We hear every day from our member companies—every size and industry across nearly every state—they’re facing unprecedented challenges trying to find enough workers to fill open jobs,” said Stephanie Ferguson of the US Chamber of Commerce. “Right now, the latest data shows that we have over 10 million job openings in the U.S.—but only 5.7 million unemployed workers.”

Supply chain labor

The tight labor market resulted in unusual worker shortages across the supply chain over the past year, giving workers more leverage with employers. Here is a node-by-node look at the labor situation.?

Parcel labor

UPS workers prepare to strike after failed negotiations between Teamsters and the parcel giant. Around 340,000 employees intend to walk off the job if the company does not meet conditions.?

A strike creates massive disruptions for UPS’ network, which handles millions of packages daily. Due to shipper concerns, many diverted volume to other carriers in Q1.?

Rival FedEx capitalized on the situation and urged customers to shift volumes from UPS to avoid possible strike issues. FedEx does not face labor dispute issues but did combine its express and ground networks.?

Its LTL services are the only arm of the business that remains independent. A smooth consolidation process could allow FedEx to challenge the already integrated UPS.

Read more about the labor situation across other nodes on the Flexe Institute.