Hurricanes & Transportation

The first part of this report looks at data before and after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.

Then we dive into true cost and volume impacts experienced by Zipline Logistics customers.

In the second half of the report, we look at 2018 hurricane predictions and share advice that shippers can use to prepare for another tumultuous storm season.

In 2017, hurricanes had a massive impact on transportation capacity and spend.

To better understand that impact, Zipline Logistics compared data prior to Tropical Storm Harvey with data after the event.

Key Findings

• Market surcharges due to hurricane activity were the costliest of added fees in 2017 with a total cost of $673,000.91. Data shows that the Average Cost Per Load after the 8/26 hurricane went up by $159.58, or 11% and that the Average Cost Per Mile increased by 15%.
• 915 fewer loads moved after the hurricane (date of 8/26/2017) when compared to previous four-month period. This tells us that people were holding on to shipments that would typically have moved into key areas like Florida, Texas, and surrounding states.
• Looking specifically at Florida, there was an 8% drop in volume and 3.4% drop in spend. This shows that for shipments still moved, rates were higher.
• Hurricanes brought prolonged delays. Looking at the data, we can see that average transit days went from 2.65 to 2.95, which is an increase of 10.17%.

2018 Hurricane Season & How to Build a Resilient Supply Chain

When monumental disasters hit the country, transportation and supply chain networks echo the impacts for months afterward.

Download the report to find out the predictions for the 2018 season and advice shippers can use to build a more resilient supply chain.