‘Remember When We Honored Driving as a Worthy Public Service, Like Policing and Firefighting?’
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Around Labor Day, the time of year when Americans honor the workforce in all its job types and places of employment, I challenge you to think about the men and women who help make our economy’s supply chain a reality.
It’s a fact … Drivers are a true driving force of our economy.
Think of it like this: Half of all the company transportation managers and CEOs in America could suddenly stop coming to work … and we’d probably hardly notice the impact at first.
The men and women rolling down the road, though? If half of them stayed home, we’d miss them pretty quickly!
Do you like milk on your corn flakes? Good luck getting it if the trucks aren’t rolling. It’s the same story for almost every commodity that we use every day, and for every purpose imaginable.
I’ve been working in the transportation industry for a half-century now, and it’s pretty special to live in a place like this – in West Michigan – where we still appreciate (with a parade!) the “driver piece” in our complex economic jigsaw puzzle. I hope you had a chance to take in the Truck Parade; if not, maybe next year you can grab a lawn chair to join in the fun and make that big rig blow its horn just for you!
I know more than a few drivers who would appreciate it.
(A note about ‘The Road Ahead’: Soon, I’ll blog much more about drivers, our Zip Xpress “Road Pilots” concept, and the need to further professionalize the tough jobs at the heart of supply-chain transport.)
‘The Road Ahead’ Holiday-edition blog by Mike Dargis
