农产品行业面临的供应链挑战比以往任何时候都多。但是，任何挑战背后通常都蕴藏着机遇和解决方案。对于农产品行业来说，情况也是如此。也许最大的供应链挑战是卡车和司机的可用性。农产品旺季加剧了卡车短缺。农产品易腐烂，许多运输农产品的卡车必须配备冷藏车（冷藏装置），以运输对温度敏感的货物。在旺季，配备冷藏车的卡车司机供不应求。

疫情进一步加剧了疫苗供应紧张，因为农产品行业还必须与医疗和制药行业竞争卡车，而医疗和制药行业也需要冷藏车来运输新冠疫苗。

但是，不仅卡车供应不足，司机也短缺。联邦汽车运输安全管理局 (FMCSA) 要求司机必须年满 21 岁才能在 州际贸易中驾驶商用机动车。大多数州对州内贸易的规定更为宽松 ，18 岁的年轻人可以驾驶商用车辆。联邦汽车运输安全管理局意识到司机短缺的问题，因此启动了一项试点计划，以研究允许 21 岁以下司机在州际贸易中驾驶商用机动车的可行性、好处和安全影响。

卡车和司机的短缺、冷藏车运力的进一步紧缩以及疫苗配送对冷藏车前所未有的需求，都大幅推高了卡车运输成本。在某些情况下，这些成本导致卡车运输成本超过了运输货物的成本。

The FMCSA’s Hours of Service (HOS) regulation has also tightened the supply of available trucking. The HOS law states that a trucker can drive for 11 hours in a 14-hour consecutive window. After this point, a ten hour rest is required. The produce industry recently caught a break, however, with the recent 150 Air-Mile Hours of Service Agricultural Exemption. This exemption pertains specifically to the trucking of raw agricultural commodities. According to the FMCSA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement Director Joe DeLorenzo, “Any of the time that takes place working within that 150-[air]-mile radius is not counted toward the driver’s hours of service … that includes empty miles driven to a pick-up point, it includes loading time, and it includes the time driving with an agricultural commodity within a 150-[air]-mile radius of the source.” Return trips to the source are also covered under the exemption.

This exemption provides some much needed flexibility for the already constrained produce industry. One way shippers and receivers can benefit from the exemption is to consolidate smaller loads from multiple growers in the same grower area. Provided all of the growers are in the 150 mile radius, the time spent going to the different growers would not be counted as part of the maximum driving hour window. Using a local warehouse can also help combat the driving hour limitations. Consolidation and local warehousing is often critical when receivers are faced with uncertain demand in the new COVID-19 world.

In this new environment, tracking, tracing and real-time data are also more critical than ever and allow receivers and shippers to better plan for the flow of produce coming in. Temperature data loggers can help shippers and receivers take quick action when temperature excursions occur and better ensure that the cargo arrives as fresh as possible.

In all areas of the supply chain for the new COVID-19 world, the costs of providing sanitization and personal protection equipment (PPE) such as masks in order to create a safe and comfortable working environment have increased labor costs and have provided additional challenges to the produce industry. There have been further disruptions throughout the industry due to working illness and social distancing requirements. These additional challenges make it increasingly likely that companies will look to invest in increased automation and robotics in order to be more resilient in times of crisis. Indeed, robotics is already used in food processing activities involving uniform tasks, such as packaging and quality control. In a recent Gartner survey, 87% of supply chain professionals said that their companies are planning to invest in resilience in order to better adapt during abnormal times.

新冠疫情导致的后果包括人们更多地在家办公，以及对数字化和电子验证的依赖增加。疫情加速了这些技术的采用，并将导致它们在食品供应链中的使用增加。农产品行业可能会受益于区块链技术的质量验证以及出口认证、物流和食品配送的数字化程度提高等技术。这些技术很可能继续作为供应链中不可或缺的一部分存在。

对食品加工自动化等技术的投资应有助于农产品行业的从业者降低成本，并在危机时期更好地管理潜在的劳动力脆弱性。种植者和接收者也很可能密切关注自动驾驶卡车和其他车辆的未来发展。

参考：

《巴伦周刊》：“如何为下一次全球冲击做好供应链准备” https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-to-prepare-supply-chain-for-the-next-global-shock-51617887181

FMCSA/注册/商业驾驶执照/CDL 21 岁以下飞行员https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/commercial-drivers-license/cdl-under-21-pilot/faq-program-background

FMCSA 法规/服务时间https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-of-service

FMCSA 法规/服务时间/ELD 服务时间 (HOS) 和农业豁免https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/eld-hours-service-hos-and-agriculture-exemptions

食品供应链弹性和 COVID-19 大流行：我们学到了什么？https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cjag.12279

NAPTWG：制定交通运输最佳实践http://www.naptwg.org/documents/naptwg_produce_trans_best_practices_1-12-12.pdf

Next Exit Logistics：关于 150 航空英里服务小时农业豁免的新指南https://nextexitlogistics.com/new-guidance-on-the-150-air-mile-hours-of-service Agricultural-exemption/

Trucker Nation，“卡车司机的 ELD 规定是什么” https://truckernation.org/eld-mandate-for-truckers