TIA Daily COVID-19 Update: April 9th

As TIA continues to monitor the situation surrounding COVID-19 and it’s impact on the 3PL and transportation industries, here is your Daily Update for April 9. As a reminder, you can find all the latest information, resources, guidance, and news from TIA’s COVID-19 Response Center.

Make sure your employees receive critical industry news and updates – such as these Daily Updates – to keep your company healthy in these challenging times. Please contact [email protected] with a list of employees in your company to ensure that everyone benefits from their TIA Membership and has immediate access to crucial TIA resources. You may also log in to the website at www.tianet.org to update your staff listing.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE:
As TIA remains in constant communication with Congress, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Executive Branch to ensure that the joint Treasury Department and SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is appropriated money, we want to hear from you to see how your experience was in applying for – and receiving – relief funds.

Please assist TIA in understanding your individual process in receiving federal relief from the Coronavirus pandemic that has affected our health and economy so greatly. This survey is 100% anonymous and you will not be asked to submit any personal information. This survey will help us in better assisting you and measure key data metrics from our members to better represent you and your interests on Capitol Hill and with the Administration.

TIA UPDATE:
In the past couple of days, we’ve seen some interesting reports as to why we experienced shortages in the early shelter in place days.

The Washington Post reported that Americans have spent $1.4 billion on toilet paper in the past four weeks, a 102% increase from the same period last year, according to data collected by ILI, which tracks retail sales based on the product barcodes.

So why a shortage? To start, not knowing how long the crisis would last, people simply panicked. The Washington Post also noted that we are also using significantly more toilet paper at home because we are no longer using it at work, school, restaurants or other public places. This increased home use has created supply displacement.

The same number of people have the same need for toilet paper, but the industry is not set up for a wholesale move from work and school to home. Home toilet paper is softer, packaged in smaller rolls, and is made and distributed by different companies than the jumbo rolls seen in offices, institutional settings, and public restrooms. The industry is, however, adapting – just like the rest of us.

The Supply Chain Analysis Network (SCAN) reports that nationwide, an average of 34% of daily calories are consumed as “food-away-from-home” and in New York City, that average grows to 50% of daily calories. So, again, when Americans are suddenly forced to eat those calories at home, it puts undue pressure on the supply chain. The SCAN report looked at food distribution in the New York to Washington, DC area and found that the allied trucking industry has quickly adapted to the changing market and is meeting the demand.

NOËL PERRY UPDATE:
Wednesday showed a welcome drop in new cases in the U.S., bolstering the case that we have reached – or are just past – the inflection point for new cases. That means two important things: First, we are roughly halfway through the crisis at 32 days, indicating that full relief should occur in early May. Second, as the numbers subside, look for a gradual relaxation of economic strictures. Note, however, that the number of new deaths continues to rise, given the lag between case discovery and deaths.

We hope for an inflection in new deaths per day in three or four days. Importantly, even as the U.S. approaches 2,000 deaths per day, those deaths yet occur in only one of 22,222 citizens. Each death, of course, is a personal tragedy. However, the epidemic remains ranked in the middle of recent epidemics in the combination of contagion and mortality. See Exhibit 2 for that comparison.

Results in 2020 remain well behind the worst-case scenarios commonly cited in the press. As you look at that exhibit keep in mind that is uses a logarithmic scale.

Europe, clearly well down from its peaks, took a pause Wednesday as several important countries apparently found new cases not documented over the weekend and early in the week. Such gyrations are to be expected. France is typical of the volatility of the metrics. However, in that case, France was to the good side Wednesday with a major reduction in new cast count.

TIA VIRTUAL LUNCH & LEARN UPDATE:
We had two excellent Virtual Lunch & Learn webinars this week, covering the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program on Tuesday and FMCSA’s Response to COVID-19 this afternoon. Both sessions had more than 100 participants, which we’re thrilled about!

Be sure to register for next week’s session “COVID-19: Managing Sales in a Changing” on Tuesday and “Before, During & After: Financial Preparedness for Your Business During COVID-19” on Thursday.

We’ll be back tomorrow with COVID-19 updates and information that came through overnight.

Please enjoy Louis Armstrong & Billie Holiday’s “New Orleans.”