It can be difficult for an entire segment of the industry to step into the future while the world is under crisis.
How do you anticipate the coronavirus pandemic will impact transloading?
The pandemic has taught us some valuable lessons as it relates to supply chain resiliency.
Going forward, it will be critical for transloaders to have the ability to diversify their commodity base. If not, some transloads may not be able to survive if a major disruption stops a customer from being able to ship into the marketplace. Terminals that only focus on one or two commodities will need to learn new skill sets and invest in infrastructure that will allow them to pivot to handling multiple shippers and different commodities.
In addition, with more shippers having their employees work from home we will start to see interactions become more transactional. This is where partnerships like we have with Commtrex, are valuable. Shippers can source transload options from their home office with a resource that aggregates multiple transload options to facilitate quick and nimble decision-making, and CN is excited to be part of those options.