Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), an advocacy group for manufacturers of paper and wood products, said the organization supports the recently introduced SHIP IT Act as it would increase flexibility and reliability for the paper and wood industries.
“AF&PA is proud to support the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking (SHIP IT) Act to help alleviate supply chain constraints experienced across industries resulting from challenges related to the ongoing rail labor uncertainties," Brock said in a news release.
"AF&PA has long advocated for many of the key provisions in this bipartisan bill," Brock said in the release. We thank Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) for their continued support, leadership and commitment to crafting a multifaceted approach to build stronger supply chains in the United States.”
Johnson and Costa introduced the SHIP IT Act, which aims to address the U.S.’s truck driver shortage by offering incentives to recruit and retain drivers, adding flexibility for emergencies, and increasing shipping capacity, according to a news release.
“This legislation will provide more flexibility and reliability to the forest products industry for receiving products integral to the papermaking process,” Brock said in the release. “Reliable transportation helps deliver our essential products to their final destination faster and more efficiently.
"We look forward to working with our partners in the Shippers Coalition and on Capitol Hill to move the SHIP IT Act forward in the 118th U.S. Congress,” she added.
Johnson said after the COVID-19 pandemic Americans experienced many freight disruptions. Ocean shipping reform was addressed last year, and updates are needed for other parts of the supply chain. The SHIP IT Act will keep consumer costs down, bridge gaps and make it easier to ship products across the U.S.
The U.S. is facing a shortage of approximately 80,000 truck drivers, which has been negatively affecting supply chains, according to the release.
Truck drivers need to be recruited, trained and retained to keep the supply chain moving and best practices need to be updated, Costa said, the release reported. That is why the legislation was introduced, he said.
The Shippers Coalition applauded the SHIP IT Act, which its executive director, Sean Joyce, said is vital to strengthening the supply chain by lessening burdens on truck drivers, increasing shipping capacity, modernizing the CDL process, and allowing additional flexibilities during times of emergency, the release reported.
“The 80 plus members of the Shippers Coalition appreciate Congressman Johnson’s steadfast leadership on these issues and look forward to working with him to help this critical legislation become law,” Joyce said.
Teamsters' General President Sean O’Brien asked members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to oppose the bill, saying it does not address the root causes of supply chain issues and would jeopardize the safety of other drivers on the highways, Yahoo reported.
O'Brien said supply chain challenges and bottlenecks exposed several critical issues in the trucking industry. Poor working conditions, fly-by-night contractors and subcontracted motor carriers and rampant and illegal misclassification of drivers under labor law, are among those problems, he said.
