It was recently announced that Hanjin, one of the world's largest container shipping companies, basically closed up shop overnight. It has been compared to the "Arrow Trucking" shutdown disaster that took place years ago in the trucking world. Hanjin ships that were already in port were left moored to the dock, with no way to pay for fuel, port fees, or unloading charges. Likewise, ships at sea were left loaded, not able to pay port fees to enter.
This abrupt shutdown of such a large international freight shipper will no doubt make waves all the way through the U.S. trucking industry. While the port container haulers will most likely feel the brunt of the most immediate impact in the coming weeks and months, the entire nation's supply chain will eventually feel a ripple from this disaster. With some of this freight that is stranded being inbound holiday freight for the U.S., this year's typically busy holiday season may slow down a tad because of this.
Reuters reports that no assistance is being given to Hanjin from the South Korean government, where the company is based, but talks are underway for an asset “fire-sale” to other companies in the same business. As for those of us in the trucking community that in some way or another transport some of these goods, whether directly or indirectly, we can only hope that it gets sorted out soon. I know that I feel the ripple locally from port strikes when they occur here on the West Coast through the warehouses I deal with, which in terms of scale is a small in comparison to this.
Not only did the Hanjin ships transport containers, but they also had vessels for hauling bulk commodities such as ore and LNG (liquefied natural gas). With some 80 or more ships with over $40B of cargo still stuck out at sea, this may have a fallout felt by even the deepest reaches of the trucking industry, who otherwise would have thought themselves a safe distance from the effects. In the meantime, be prepared to weather the storm and plan in the coming months carefully, just in case this shapes out worse than experts expect. As a precaution, I too have geared my hauling towards the domestic products I haul to feel less of the impact from the import warehouses I load out of. As Louis Pasteur famously said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”