Utah Bands Together to Address Supply Chain Challenges

By Miles Hansen, President and CEO, World Trade Center Utah

As you drive by empty car lots or notice bare shelves at the grocery store, it’s clear to see that there are issues affecting our global supply chains. It’s been described as a “perfect storm” of forces, which have driven up shipping costs, created logistical logjams around the world, and threatened our collective economic recovery.

Interrupted supply chains are leading to unavailability of goods, price inflation, and job losses as costs for raw materials and finished goods rise and consistency of supply is lost. Many Utah companies have been greatly impacted by these shipping and logistical issues as well as cost increases that amount to prices that are three or four times higher than they were before the pandemic. The challenges are significant, but Utah companies are taking action together. Because the shipping delays have a number of causes, broad solutions are not obvious. The business community understands that building out more infrastructure and equipment, such as containers and carrier vessels, and training the necessary work force will take time. However, this doesn’t mean improvements can’t be made in the near term.

While infrastructure investment and policy adjustment, namely refining Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) authority, are important, these are longer-term solutions. In the short to medium-term, market forces appear poised to further drive pricing and service levels in ways that place companies and consumers in increasingly difficult positions. However, there

are ways in which industry and political leaders can make a difference now.

As shipping and logistical issues have mounted for companies, Utah’s business community has assembled an ad-hoc shipping coalition to discuss various challenges and look for workable solutions. In this vein, World Trade Center Utah (WTC) and others, including the Salt Lake Chamber and the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA), have been assembling case studies, including written narratives and shipping data, to be delivered to congressional offices, federal regulators, and other key contacts. After several conversations with such contacts previously, we feel this is an appropriate and valuable next step in helping Utah navigate the global shipping crisis. In fact, as a shipping coalition, Utah was the first inland state to meet with the FMC and the U.S. DOT’s Maritime Administration. We welcome any and all input from other companies that have been similarly experiencing these issues first-hand. Please provide any details.

WTC Utah is pleased to now have Shawn Christensen on the team as the Director for Business Outreach and Community Engagement in southern Utah.

Shawn joins us with exceptional experience in partnering with businesses, both small and large, most recently as the Director of Business Development for Ackert Inc., a software and advisory company that services corporate law firms. Prior to Ackert, Shawn was Vice President of Sales for Clearview Social and held various positions in sales and marketing at Hearst Communications.

Shawn received an accounting degree from the University of Utah and cheers wildly for the Utes football team. He also enjoys spending time at Washington County’s many golf courses.

Moreover, as Utah rallies together for action now, state leaders are also exploring structural ways to better position the state and region for the future shipping and logistics environment. Together with UIPA, the private sector is looking to establish an export-import alliance that will allow Utah companies to leverage improved infrastructure and collective bargaining to optimize the supply chain going forward. While the issues are global in nature, Utah is focused on the areas where we can make a tangible difference.