MHD SUPPLY CHAIN
Omicron has led to challenging conditions for container transport operators.
RESILIENCE AND INNOVATION THROUGH OMICRON The omicron variant has tested the strength of the Australian Supply Chain over the past few months. MHD uncovers how industry professionals are prioritising staff retention and using the latest technology to counter delays and disruptions.
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ecently, Scott Morrison urged global business leaders and governments to tackle bottlenecks in global shipping and boost passenger flights in an effort to open international trade. Speaking of the increasing costs and inflationary pressures, the Prime Minister says critical supply chains are yet to recover from pandemic pressures. “The world needs a fast recovery, reminiscent of those in the 1980s and 1990s, not the prolonged sluggish recovery that followed the [global financial crisis] in the 2010s,” he says. “We need a greater collective focus on easing the constraints on international shipping and on the recovery of passenger flights. The lesson of these times is that supply chain resilience requires a new partnership between countries, governments and businesses.” Locally, new isolation changes were agreed to by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee –
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comprised of state and territory chief health officers – to keep close contacts of COVID-19 cases working in critical supply chains from having to isolate at home. Under the changes employees in the food logistics, manufacturing, transport, postal and warehousing industries will be allowed to leave quarantine to attend work if they are asymptomatic. “Workers will only be eligible to leave self-isolation if their employer determines that their absence from the workplace poses a high risk of disruption to the delivery of critical services or activities, and they are unable to work from home,” a statement from the Department of Health read. The new rules come after industry bodies called on governments to make rapid antigen tests available for the logistics sector, after some transport companies reported up to half of their staff were unable to work. Arthur Tzaneros, CEO of Australian
Container Freight Services (ACFS), one of the largest trucking companies for the country’s major ports and whose clients include Coles, Aldi, Kmart and Bunnings, says there was a 25-50 per cent shortage of drivers across the east coast during the first two weeks of January. On the sea front, The Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) director says omicron has led to the hardest conditions ever for industry players. Staff shortages, terminal congestion and significant competition to secure vehicle booking slots are combining to create the difficult conditions, according to Neil Chambers from the CTAA. “Container transport operators across Australia have reported to CTAA that they are experiencing between a five per cent to 20 per cent reduction in available staff, including heavy vehicle drivers, warehouse staff, forklift drivers, container unpack crews and administration,
