Guest: Chris Shimoda of the California Trucking Association on AB5; The FRA rules on train crew size; Supply chain disruptions might have been worse than we thought

Jul 29 2022 • 26 mins

Our guest on this week's episode is Chris Shimoda, vice president of government affairs for the California Trucking Association. He is here to discuss California's Assembly Bill #5, better known as AB5. Until just a couple of weeks ago, the law had been tied up in appeals since it was passed in 2019, but it could soon go into enforcement. Essentially, it redefines contract workers' status in California. The problem for supply chains is that it forces many independent drivers to be considered employees of the companies they service - whether they want to be or not. Most of the opposition in the industry has been from owner-operators who want to remain independent to run their own trucks. Shimoda also discusses the potential impacts of proposed environmental regulations in California that would force trucks with internal combustion engines off the state's roads as early as 2024. He speaks with Senior Editor Victoria Kickham.

The Federal Railroad Administration has proposed a regulation to require a minimum of two operators in each railroad locomotive cab. It's a controversial regulation, as with today's safety systems many railroad operators feel it is redundant to have a second operator in the cab. The government says it is intended to further secure safety on the rails.

This past year was marked by supply chain disruptions. A new study now shows that those disruptions, year over year, may have actually been worse than we thought. The study examined 400 different types of disruptions across more than 100 million sources of information. It revealed a huge increase in disruptions during the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. We reveal what types of disruptions were most common.

DC Velocity's sister publication CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly offers a podcast series called Supply Chain in the Fast Lane. It is co-produced with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The second season has now launched and focuses on supply chain digitalization. Go to your favorite podcast platform to subscribe.

Articles and resources mentioned in this episode: