So, it is official. You will finish out the school year remotely, including digitally assessing and evaluating the academic and emotional needs of not only our students, but also the families that support them. The task is daunting and stretches teachers to their outer limits. But you will do it to the best of your ability and become a better educator because of it. You will do it because teaching is your passion, your purpose, and your students are worth it.
Your heart is heavy, but you understand. It is a small price to pay for keeping everyone safe and healthy. The schools are doing their part to flatten the curve. You only hope that others in the community will make the same sacrifices.
When this is over, teachers will do their part to help students overcome the limitations of remote learning for an entire quarter of the year. Teachers will meet their students where they are academically in the fall and begin the work of rebuilding a solid academic foundation, reteaching essential skills, and redeveloping trusting relationships. The schools will overcome this challenge and be better for having faced it.
Teachers, of course, are not the only people who have seen a change in their careers: some have lost jobs, some have had hours cut, and some are busier than ever before. One of the most exhausting professions today outside of health care is driving an over the road truck. Semi drivers, in fact, are working more hours, traveling more miles, and are delivering goods that are waited for by lines of people. From toilet paper and cleaning supplies to fresh produce and canned foods, it is the trucking industry that has been working around the clock to make sure that available goods are on the shelves for consumers.
Truckload Carriers Are the Lifeline American Consumers Need
As the nation battles the Covid-19 pandemic, the heroes we are seeing are found in some of the most unlikely places. Everyone knew, of course, that health care workers would be on the front lines of this battle, but not everyone likely expected the roles that the trucking industry would play. In a rapid response to making sure that grocery stores and other retailers get needed supplies, it should come as no surprise that these deliveries are coming so quickly that stores often do not know what will be on the next truck. Ready with all hands on deck, however, dock workers help unload everything from food to air filters for homes. And while spring may have been a time when trade show shipments would have been important a year ago, today, those shows are cancelled and every available truck is being repurposed to deliver essential supplies.
Truckload logistics managers are also part of the crews who are working overtime to help make the most efficient use of truckload carriers across the nation. Consider some of these statistics about the roles that truckload carriers serve in the country:
- In the last few years, the length of haul has declined, according to Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group. In fact, public truckload carriers report that the average length of haul has decreased 4% between 2011 and 2016. some of these statistics, however, may change following the months the nation battles this health crisis.
- In the past, the less than load (LTL) market is estimated at approximately $35 billion, but it will also be interesting to see how these truckload shipping rates change during this pandemic.
- During typical months, nearly 12 million trucks, rail cars, locomotives, and vessels move goods over the transportation network. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, and these numbers may increase as well.
- The value of freight moved is expected to increase from $882 per ton in 2007 to $1,377 per ton in 2040, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
- U.S. e-commerce revenue is about $423.3 billion and is steadily climbing. Whether is full truckload, LTL, or parcel, carriers are being forced to adjust to changes in the retail industry.
- Spending in the U.S. logistics and transportation industry totaled $1.48 trillion in the sample year 2015. That year, that amount of money represented 8% of annual gross domestic product.
