As members of the logistics industry scramble to address current industry shortfalls, some companies are stepping up to help provide a way forward. To better understand that outlook, we turned to Freight Hub Group, a leading logistics company based in Miami and South Florida. With strong guidance from its CEO, Luis Lopez, the company is providing information on what to expect in the time to come.
About the company
Freight Hub Group is a provider of storage and shipping options around South Florida. It offers an extensive range of drayage solutions servicing the Port of Miami and Port Everglades. Its full-service yards have the capacity to store over 450 containers and have a full complement of industrial-level tools on hand to handle drayage needs in a timely and efficient manner. This level of service has helped make the company a leader in its industry, with Inc Magazine singling it out as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.
The company’s shipping offerings include full truckload services and less-than-truckload services. Long-distance shipping encompasses the entire continental U.S. with a variety of dry trailers, refrigerated trailers, and rail routes to best serve a customer’s needs. Local shipping includes van and trailer services as well as event handling in the South Florida area. The company’s trained staff of drivers are specially trained to handle shipments including liquor, sensitive chemicals, and other hazardous materials. The company offers TSA-approved airport transfers and provides local pickup and last-mile delivery for goods of a range of sizes.
Company founder
One of the reasons the company serves as a high-quality source of information on the state of the logistics field is the extensive experience of its founder, Luis Lopez. A longtime veteran of the industry, he first began working in the area through connections made while golfing for his high school’s team. That experience gave him the opportunity to view first-hand how logistics were handled and also gave him a chance to see the ways in which things could be improved. This became especially relevant for the future entrepreneur when he analyzed the ways in which hazardous materials were handled — an area that would become a focus in his later business endeavors.
The CEO has also become known as a thought leader in his field through his ability to predict and shape the industry via his unique insights into its operations. Known as the “Freight Guru,” he has long provided others with the benefit of his experience in the area through blog posts, speaking engagements, and professional correspondence. His foresight in the field has contributed to his company’s fast ascent to the top tier of the industry and has also helped inform his decisions to develop TruckHub, the company’s proprietary tracking and management platform.
Immediate impacts
In information put out by the CEO and his colleagues, the company helps to inform logistics professionals and the public as to the state of current supply chain concerns. These details help to paint a more complete picture of the toll the virus is taking on logistics and, by association, the world at large. Since so many other industries rely on logistics professionals to deliver their goods to their final destinations, this information can provide a litmus test for the strength of the economy as a whole.
Due to current times, the CEO has relayed that current estimates show 75% of companies are reporting supply chain disruptions. In addition, 40% of companies don’t have a backup plan in place for these kinds of disruptions. As a result, many experts are estimating as much as a 30% drop in the global shipping market at present. This has been reflected by the large increase in the number of blank sailings — sailings that are canceled by their carrier — with the month of March alone reporting 100 such cancellations. With these types of numbers, it is inevitable that supply chains would experience intense slowdowns and disruptions.
Moving forward
Since no one is truly certain about the direction the global pandemic will take in the coming months, Luis Lopez and his team at Freight Hub Group have advised an approach that is heavy on planning for a range of eventualities. For instance, one item they advocate for consideration is the reality of when a vaccine may become widely available. While some experts say a vaccine may be ready as early as fall 2020, others warn that the process of developing and mass-producing the vaccine could take much longer.
Having a plan in place for each of these possibilities allows a company to be better prepared for whatever reality eventually comes to fruition. This means that leaders should be considering their ability to retain their workforce in various scenarios, as well as their ability to cut down on costs where possible. The company also advocates for taking a look at personal expenses and eliminating or reducing whatever may be unnecessary for the time being. By reducing expenses in the short term, a company may be able to better weather any unexpected twists to the new global reality as it continues to unfold.
As uncertainties remain around the immediate future, many people are turning to experts in their respective fields to gain a better understanding of how to move forward. To this end, information from Freight Hub Group and its CEO, Luis Lopez, has become an invaluable resource for many as they seek a better understanding of how supply chains are reacting to current times. For more information in this area, the company maintains numerous channels for disbursing its ideas to the public, such as its blog and social media presence. Look to those channels in the months to come for a better understanding on this pandemic and the economy as it emerges.
