Why Idle Trucks Mean Empty Shelves in Idaho

Idle trucks mean empty shelves.  A couple of weeks ago I posted about how the backup at Southern California ports impacts grocery shelves.  A guy wrote and said our groceries aren’t imported.  Seriously?  Walk into your local grocery store and you’ll see very little space devoted to fresh produce, meat, and dairy.  By the way, bananas and kiwi aren’t locally sourced.  Some fresh produce does arrive from foreign shores.

Many of the canned goods you buy also no longer come from a cannery down Interstate.  Ten years ago, I was working at my desk when my boss walked in and put a can of peaches down on my keyboard.  The peaches had been shipped from China.  At the time we lived in a community that had once been a peach-growing area.  Strawberries as well.  Now both are simply historical discussions. 

A woman also commented that my previous story was depressing.  Gosh, if we ignore the crisis, I guess it’ll go away!  Come December, bare shelves will be more than depressing.  It’s why we need to shed light now.  The sooner the better.  In March, if Americans are cold and hungry, we may not wait until November to change the government.  This is also about stability.

Trucks waiting to load for days at the docks are inefficient and also abandon other goods waiting for pickup.  Here’s what I’m talking about; my Uncle Frank was a truck driver.  When I was a teenager, I would sometimes spend summers with him on the road.  That would include a stop in Watkins Glenn, New York.  Near the famous track.  The trailer would be loaded with salt, which we would then take to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  It would be off-loaded and we would then pick up another commodity. 

I can’t recall everything we carried.  It has been 45 years, however.  We would take a second load to Virginia and then pick up frozen chickens.  The poultry would head back north.  The trailer was rarely empty.  It’s how the business works.  A man who picks up freight at a port today will then unload it Wednesday in Texas, where he may load beef and deliver it Friday in Alabama.  From there, the process continues.  This is what’s at stake.

I’ll wager some of my critics don’t want this discussion because it reflects poorly on their political party.  So little can be said about their priorities.