After the experience and lessons gained from hurricane Katrina and other storms, U.S. truck, train, and logistic companies were able to quickly get back online after the Hurricane Sandy.
One of the key drivers for the Northeast economy is expected to be the shipping business, which is expected to help the economic recovery. Those living in the northeast, many still without power and fuel, are in need of deliveries or relief supplies, lumber, machinery, and replacement vehicles.
Aftermath of the Storm
The people in the affected areas are relying on logistics experts for the shipping of a host of products including food, batteries, building materials, generators, vehicles, and whatever else is needed to assist in the recovery process. Even rental vehicles are in high demand to help with businesses catching up on time lost due to the storm.
Although delivery companies took a hit from Sandy, the volume of needed goods will make up for the lost time quickly. Major ports like New York and New Jersey are already back in action and are working to get caught up as well.
Learned Lessons
Previous storms, such as Katrina, have given valuable experience for quick recovery which has helped in the process of getting the northeast back on its feet. Transportation companies have been evolving through the storms to become more efficient in the cleanup and recovery process, which is crucial to their business and to people living in the areas hit the hardest by Sandy.
Once the storm had passed there were plenty of trucks ready to move the needed supplies, due to planning and experience. After the mess following Katrina, shipping companies started formulating processes for quickly and efficiently working through the problems caused by such storms.
Even with the emergency planning, Sandy showed transport companies some unseen issues that will be addressed in crisis planner updates. Issues such as not having power in places that are needed to help get things back to running, such as gas stations, will need to be brought closer to the point of impact, so that the much needed fuel can be pumped.
There were also communication issues when a cellular tower went down, which caused communication failures for half a day. UPS plans to deploy high priority call systems, that are managed by Homeland Security, on a larger scale.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those continuing to be affected and those assisting in the cleanup. Be safe out there.
