Imagine a world where global cargo transportation suddenly grinds to a halt—supermarket shelves empty, factory production lines forced to shut down, medical supplies unable to reach their destinations. The impact on our daily lives would be catastrophic. During the extraordinary circumstances of a pandemic, maintaining stable supply chain operations becomes as vital as preserving life itself. This is why the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) has actively advocated for "stay-at-home" order exemptions for critical transportation links, ensuring the uninterrupted flow of international container shipping.
Supply Chain Challenges in a Pandemic Era
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, global supply chains have faced unprecedented challenges. Lockdowns, quarantines, and travel restrictions have directly impacted operational efficiency at critical nodes including ports, railways, and highways. Without effective measures to maintain normal operations at these junctures, severe bottlenecks would emerge throughout the supply chain, leading to cargo backlogs, shipping delays, and potentially broader economic and social consequences.
OCEMA's Position: Safeguarding Supply Chain Resilience
As a key organization in international container shipping, OCEMA represents member companies that play pivotal roles in global trade. Recognizing the paramount importance of supply chain resilience during the pandemic, OCEMA has urged U.S. states and Canadian provinces to implement stay-at-home order exemptions for maritime operators, freight railroads, trucking companies, and logistics service providers to ensure continuous operations.
OCEMA's Senior Steering Committee maintains that these exemption measures would significantly facilitate the movement of essential goods during emergency situations. The association commends jurisdictions that have acknowledged the critical nature of supply chains and respectfully requests continued exemptions to protect transportation networks.
Equipment Mobility: The Linchpin of Supply Chain Fluidity
OCEMA Executive Director Jeff Lawrence emphasized: "Our members are working diligently to maximize network resilience and address emerging challenges. We're also looking ahead. Multiple factors affect system liquidity, with inland equipment velocity being a primary concern."
Lawrence stressed that the continuity of international container shipping fundamentally depends on the uninterrupted movement of containers between ports and inland facilities to prevent any single bottleneck that could create ripple effects across port and rail networks.
Potential Bottlenecks: The Risk of Container Gridlock
If containers arriving at North American destinations aren't promptly collected from port or rail facilities—or if collected containers aren't quickly emptied and returned—bottlenecks can rapidly develop. Such congestion could spread swiftly, causing port backlogs, rail disruptions, and ultimately impairing overall supply chain efficiency.
OCEMA's Recommendations: Maintaining Rapid Container Turnaround
To prevent potential bottlenecks, OCEMA recommends implementing several measures to ensure swift container turnover:
Timely collection: Ensure importers and consignees promptly retrieve containers from ports and rail facilities to prevent accumulation.
Expedited unloading: Quickly empty container contents to minimize dwell time.
Prompt return: Return empty containers to designated locations to facilitate their redeployment in subsequent shipments.
The Significance of Exemption Policies: Ensuring Economic Stability
By implementing stay-at-home order exemptions, jurisdictions enable the uninterrupted operation of critical transportation links, safeguarding the continuous flow of goods. This not only helps meet daily consumer needs but also maintains economic stability.
The Future of Supply Chains: Resilience and Collaboration
The pandemic has underscored the critical importance of supply chain resilience. To meet future challenges, enhanced collaboration across supply chain segments is essential—improving transparency and predictability while actively adopting new technologies to boost efficiency and flexibility.
Recommended Action Items:
Port operations optimization: Enhance loading/unloading efficiency, reduce vessel wait times, optimize container yard management, and accelerate container turnover.
Rail capacity enhancement: Strengthen rail infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, optimize scheduling, and ensure rapid inland container movement.
Road transport management: Optimize trucking routes, reduce congestion, improve efficiency, and guarantee timely container delivery.
Information sharing: Establish unified platforms for real-time data exchange across supply chain segments to improve transparency and predictability.
Automation adoption: Implement automated technologies—including smart ports, warehouses, and transport vehicles—to enhance efficiency and adaptability.
Through these collective measures, we can build stronger, more resilient supply chains that provide durable foundations for global economic stability.