Coronavirus: The cure can’t be worse than the problem!

[btq96r]

Just now, DaveTN said:

And we all thank you. Truck drivers are a very import part of this issue, and our ability to eat. 

I said from the beginning, it won't take too many truck drivers being pulled off the road for medical reasons to feel the pinch.  They enjoy a bit of isolation in their jobs, but by design, have to interact with a lot of folks in different areas. 

It's also a good coincidence that gas prices are keeping low enough to let the industry have some relief on that fixed cost for a bit during this crisis.

[Chucktshoes]

1 minute ago, btq96r said:

I said from the beginning, it won't take too many truck drivers being pulled off the road for medical reasons to feel the pinch.  They enjoy a bit of isolation in their jobs, but by design, have to interact with a lot of folks in different areas. 

It's also a good coincidence that gas prices are keeping low enough to let the industry have some relief on that fixed cost for a bit during this crisis.

I filled up yesterday for a base price of $.85 a gallon! It was glorious!

[DaveTN]

15 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

Yeah, best I can tell , this does nothing for me as an IC.

Unless you made over the limit; you should get a deposit.

[Ronald_55]

4 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

I filled up yesterday for a base price of $.85 a gallon! It was glorious!

85 cents? or $1.85?

[Chucktshoes]

38 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

Unless you made over the limit; you should get a deposit.

I cut checks to the IRS. I don’t get tax returns. Any checks they send me I will have to include it in a bigger one to send back to them.

[Chucktshoes]

37 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

85 cents? or $1.85?

.85, for diesel. 

[DaveTN]

36 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

I cut checks to the IRS. I don’t get tax returns. Any checks they send me I will have to include it in a bigger one to send back to them.

So do I. I pay my taxes quarterly; I get a 1099. But I didn’t make over the limit, and I’m not claimed by someone else. So from what I understand I will get the payment, and it will be tax free.  

[Chucktshoes]

56 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

So do I. I pay my taxes quarterly; I get a 1099. But I didn’t make over the limit, and I’m not claimed by someone else. So from what I understand I will get the payment, and it will be tax free.  

My understanding is that it’s tax free because it will essentially be an advance upon next year‘s tax returns. I could be wrong but since nothing is actually complete at this point, who knows.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[Garufa]

2 hours ago, Chucktshoes said:

My understanding is that it’s tax free because it will essentially be an advance upon next year‘s tax returns. I could be wrong but since nothing is actually complete at this point, who knows.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

That sounds like some Washington DC double-talk.

[Erik88]

If you want to see a visual breakdown of where our money went, here it is.

 

 

[jgradyc]

If you're a truck driver, you should be taking extreme measures to avoid getting this virus and urging other drivers and those who interact with drivers to do so as well.  After medical professionals and first responders, no other profession is more important. If drivers start getting infected, interstate commerce stops. All that TP that's getting restocked overnight due to truckers... and the food... that supply chain stops. Driving a big rig isn't like retail or food service where you can pull any Joe or Jane off the street to do the job with some OJT. 

If any part of the supply chain breaks down, our situation would get a lot worse. Truckers are probably the most vulnerable group.

Edited March 27, 2020 by jgradyc

[E4 No More]

48 minutes ago, jgradyc said:

If you're a truck driver, you should be taking extreme measures to avoid getting this virus and urging other drivers and those who interact with drivers to do so as well.  After medical professionals and first responders, no other profession is more important. If drivers start getting infected, interstate commerce stops. All that TP that's getting restocked overnight due to truckers... and the food... that supply chain stops. Driving a big rig isn't like retail or food service where you can pull any Joe or Jane off the street to do the job with some OJT. 

If any part of the supply chain breaks down, our situation would get a lot worse. Truckers are probably the most vulnerable group.

What TP? I still can't find any in the stores.  

[Chucktshoes]

59 minutes ago, jgradyc said:

If you're a truck driver, you should be taking extreme measures to avoid getting this virus and urging other drivers and those who interact with drivers to do so as well.  After medical professionals and first responders, no other profession is more important. If drivers start getting infected, interstate commerce stops. All that TP that's getting restocked overnight due to truckers... and the food... that supply chain stops. Driving a big rig isn't like retail or food service where you can pull any Joe or Jane off the street to do the job with some OJT. 

If any part of the supply chain breaks down, our situation would get a lot worse. Truckers are probably the most vulnerable group.

We are as a general rule. The truck stops have all closed their lounges and the restaurants are all takeout only now. They’ve prohibited the used of the refillable mugs. The roller grills and self serve foods have either been shut down completely or roped off and manned by an employee using the enhanced food service rules in place now. Everywhere I go (not just the truck stops, shippers and receivers as well) I see more wet surfaces from being freshly wiped down with disinfectant than I ever have before. The whole industry is taking this very seriously. 

[Erik88]

23 minutes ago, E4 No More said:

What TP? I still can't find any in the stores.  

If you have an Aldi near you, they have TP each time I visit. Go in the morning for the best luck. 

[MacGyver]

I was listening to a food logistics person speak yesterday, and he made an interesting point about food distribution.

There's plenty of food.  The problem is that up until last week, Americans consumed more than half of their food in restaurants. So, now grocery stores are trying to sell more than twice as much food because people who were consuming half their meals out are now trying to cook at home.

The grocery model wasn't built for that kind of volume so you've got people working around the clock.

The stores near me here in South Nashville have been well stocked. The butchers at Publix are earning their money.

The other interesting point that the logistics guy made was that the restaurant supply companies are trying to figure out a way to get their stuff to consumers now that no restaurants are buying food.

I know we've got some logistics folks on here - I'd be interested in what you're seeing/hearing professionally.

[E4 No More]

10 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

If you have an Aldi near you, they have TP each time I visit. Go in the morning for the best luck. 

Thanks, Erik

[E4 No More]

1 minute ago, MacGyver said:

I was listening to a food logistics person speak yesterday, and he made an interesting point about food distribution.

There's plenty of food.  The problem is that up until last week, Americans consumed more than half of their food in restaurants. So, now grocery stores are trying to sell more than twice as much food because people who were consuming half their meals out are now trying to cook at home.

The grocery model wasn't built for that kind of volume so you've got people working around the clock.

The stores near me here in South Nashville have been well stocked. The butchers at Publix are earning their money.

The other interesting point that the logistics guy made was that the restaurant supply companies are trying to figure out a way to get their stuff to consumers now that no restaurants are buying food.

I know we've got some logistics folks on here - I'd be interested in what you're seeing/hearing professionally.

Well, that certainly makes sense. Unfortunately, the stores near me haven't been stocked - although I haven't been in one since Saturday. The only meat they had was frozen turkeys and whole briskets. No toilet paper or paper towels. No cleaning supplies or hand sanitizer.

[MacGyver]

4 minutes ago, E4 No More said:

Well, that certainly makes sense. Unfortunately, the stores near me haven't been stocked - although I haven't been in one since Saturday. The only meat they had was frozen turkeys and whole briskets. No toilet paper or paper towels. No cleaning supplies or hand sanitizer.

Yeah, it's interesting how all of this might present differently in a rural area.  I know Lascassas is close to Murfreesboro - but may be just far enough that it doesn't get the attention bigger stores might get.

[FUJIMO]

1 minute ago, MacGyver said:

Yeah, it's interesting how all of this might present differently in a rural area.  I know Lascassas is close to Murfreesboro - but may be just far enough that it doesn't get the attention bigger stores might get.

Just about to say the further out of town you get the better chance of getting essentials are. However limits apply to everything right now. Paper products, meats, sanitizers and cleaning products, and breads. Otherwise shelves are looking less bare than in weeks past and crowds are low and distancing intact

[Erik88]

3 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

I know we've got some logistics folks on here - I'd be interested in what you're seeing/hearing professionally.

The job I just left was with a transportation provider and my customer was Kimberly Clark(Kleenex, Huggies, Cottonelle, etc) They were having pretty good luck in most places with truckload capacity. The real kink in their chain was on the loading side. Their DC's and production sites can't keep up with demand. They simply couldn't fulfill the orders being placed on them. They were doing mandatory OT. Demand for some products such as TP were 20x normal levels.  In the 3 years I worked there this was the most chaos I've ever seen. 2nd worst time was the summer we had all those hurricanes. 2017?

Another huge customer of ours was Kohl's but since they closed nationwide we actually have a lot of drivers without work right now. That's not something I expected. The safest driving jobs right now are the ones hauling food.

Prior to all this, the Sysco DC in Nashville was destroyed by the Tornado and my old company was being asked to fill demand from their Knoxville DC. I'm curious if they are still doing that or not.

My new job is with a beverage manufacturer. They are actually paying their hourly associates 20% more for coming into work right now and they are checking temperatures at the door. They are also making contingency plans to have all the office staff like me work out on the production floor if it comes down to it. So I could be running machines in a worst case scenario. 

 

[Chucktshoes]

I just rolled through one of our terminals and they had an associate doing health checks on all inbound drivers asking questions and checking temps. All of our dispatch/road assist/computer based in house associates are telecommuting. We’ve got as few associates in the building as we can. 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Chucktshoes

[DaveTN]

I try to watch the press conferences everyday. I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m continually surprised at how ignorant and immature the reporters are. Now they keep hammering that they “need a date” that everything will return to normal. Do they really think Trump controls that? Of course he plays them for the idiots they are.

Deciding between safety (health) and economic collapse is a tough call to make. I don't think I'm any longer in the majority on this. 

 

[DaveTN]

My wife works at a food company. They are telling employees if they have a temperature; stay home. That’s now playing havoc with production. I think they need to identify who will work, and who won’t, and put some incentives in place. People that are willing to do what is needed is not limited to Police/Fire/Medical. They just might need to ask them to step up and let the others stay home.

[Chucktshoes]

[FUJIMO]

27 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

I'm sure he will have a chapter dedicated to it in his book