Here at FourKites, we’re constantly monitoring real-time shipment, dwell and on-time data to see how things are running. The ability to have visibility across every aspect of the supply chain journey is especially important when a potentially dangerous weather system is moving across the country.
As Bloomberg reported, “much like the pandemic, extreme weather events are acute and hard to protect against. They begin in one region but can quickly ripple through supply chains, affecting production and delivery times.”
Winter Storm Landon was no exception. It ravaged much of the country – from the Southwest to the Midwest – in early February, putting supply chains on ice for a few days.
Though the storm stretched 2,000 miles across the U.S., Indiana, Missouri and Oklahoma saw the most significant impact to shipment volume, with decreases of 72%, 61% and 52%, respectively.
Overall, states within the storm’s path saw the number of completed over-the-road (OTR) shipments decline by more than 40% week over week. Meanwhile, those outside the primary storm path experienced only a 9% decrease in completed OTR loads.
As temperatures began to rise over the weekend so too did load volume, returning to the same levels from the previous week.
However, late deliveries increased 38% week-over-week in the states hit hardest by the storm as a result of the lower volume during the week. The decrease in shipments had ripple effects for states outside the storm path as well, with late deliveries creeping above levels from the previous weeks.
Whether it’s snow, hurricanes or other unexpected events, real-time visibility can help mitigate the costly impact of extreme weather events by giving shippers and carriers the actionable insights they need in order to anticipate disruptions, plan accordingly and avoid delayed shipments.
FourKites offers a number of features that help organizations weather unexpected storms — both literal and metaphorical. Some of our latest weather-related features include Severe Traffic & Weather Alerts for critical conditions along a truck’s route so teams can stay informed of their impact; advanced Instant Messenger functionality that enables users to collaborate with everyone in their FourKites network and share necessary information in real time; and a dashboard that allows users to analyze trends and metrics around rescheduled appointments, as well as recommended insights to improve the reliability and robustness of your supply chain planning.
Stay tuned for more insights and analysis on the latest supply chain trends!
