The dairy industry is renewing calls to help ease the shipping crisis.
The National Milk Producers Federation and Dairy Export Council sent a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. They want the agencies to restart the Container Availability Report. They are also calling for more pop-up terminal yards and a “fast lane” for ag products.
Supply chain challenges cost the dairy industry $1.5 billion dollars last year alone.
The backlog is also impacting the nation’s rail lines, and that is posing even more challenges for grain shipments. USDA says that shippers have turned to the secondary market in order to lock in transportation that they need. Grain train speeds are down 6 percent, while origin dwell times are up almost a quarter.
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Dairy producers are feeling the brunt of supply chain issues
House introduces “SHIP IT” supply chain bill