Remember to mark your calendars to join us from February 20 – 22, 2022 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida for what will be the 66th annual Food Shippers of America conference. Registration will start late Summer/early Fall, and more details on registration opportunities will be coming soon!

Please continue to take advantage of the industry information available on our website, in our eNewsletter, our bi-annual Food Shippers of America magazine, and on our LinkedIn page.

If you have any questions please contact Paul Newbourne, Executive Director, at executivedirector@foodshippersofamerica.org  or 847-302-1496 cell.

We have recently been made aware that a company, getmailinglist.com, was soliciting the sale of a mailing list to Food Shippers' members. Food Shippers does not make available, nor sell, any information collected as part of our conference or membership activities. We have reported this company to the Federal Trade Commission and request that if you do receive such a solicitation you please contact us immediately, at executivedirector@foodshippersofamerica.org so that we can notify the appropriate authorities.

Food Shippers of America is looking for FSA Members to feaure in our upcoming issues of the bi-annual Food Shippers of America magazine and monthly newsletter.

Tell us how you've weathered the pandemic and what your New Normal looks like. Perhaps how your company is wrangling the capacity crunch, or the best practices your team has crafted to ensure continued resilience and adaptability moving forward. We offer a unique opportunity for FSA Members to share with our readers their company's goals and successes, visions and innovations. 

If you would like your FSA Member profile to appear in our print and digital publications, please contact Food Shippers at media_advisor@foodshippersofamerica.org.

Thank you to all our members for your continued support!

Our current issue of Food Shippers of America magazine is also available in digital format, and include a host of industry information. Read features ranging from the impacts the ongoing global pandemic is having on the Food & Beverage supply chain, warehouse capacity, e-commerce and order fulfillment, and how driver capacity and employment continues to be a concern. In addition, FreightWaves analyst Kevin Hill will give us insight into the Spot Rate Market. Please click here for immediate access. 

Previous issues may be found in our association website archives, or by clicking here. 

Look for our Summer issue of Food Shippers of America magazine in mailboxes the first week of May!

Food Shippers is now accepting applications for the 2022 John J. Murphy Scholarship Program.
The scholarship program is open to any dependent of a current Food Shippers of America member. For more information on membership please visit our web site at Food Shippers of America.org. For additional information on the scholarship application process please visit our Food Shippers of America Scholarship page.

The top scholarship winner for the 2022 John J. Murphy Scholarship Program will be announced at the 2022 Food Shippers of America annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

FoodBev Media
Tyson Foods announced the official opening of its Humboldt, TN poultry complex, a 37,000-square-foot processing facility, and expects to hire more than 1,500 team members by 2023. The $425 million investment follows a $84 million expansion of its Union City, TN plant that added an additional 200 jobs to the Gibson County, TN region.

SmartWay is offering a webinar session on The Benefits of Freight Railroad Transportation Capacity, Safety and Clean Air on Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.  

Presenters:

• Peter Gilbertson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Anacostia Rail Holdings Company
• Justin Broyles, Vice President Commercial Development, R. J. Corman Railroad Group
• Jo Strang, Senior Vice President Safety and Regulatory Policy, ASLRRA
• Kathleen Martz, Affiliate Program Manager, Moderator

Join this event to learn a fresh perspective on transporting freight. SmartWay is hosting a special webinar with the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, to share information about America’s short line railroads and spark discussion on an alternative way to transport your goods.  Come join us for this special informative event.

Click below to register: 

FreightWaves/American Shipper
Asia-U.S. ocean shipping rates are still at all-time highs – with no relief in sight – and additional lanes, including the Europe-U.S. trans-Atlantic route for westbound trade, surged by nearly 50% between March 31 and April 9.

FMI-The Food Industry Association
A new report by FMI found that the retail food industry spent more than $24 billion on significant safety, workforce and technology investments during the past year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the abrupt changes in food shopping and consumption.

Transport Topics

In a series of fact sheets breaking down state-by-state the number of bridges and miles of roadway in urgent need of repair, plus other much-needed infrastructure upgrades, the Biden administration ratcheted up the push for its $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan.

Grocery Dive
As restrictions ease around the county, increases in dining outside the home may hail significant declines in grocery sales categories including meat, herbs and shelf-stable foods, according to the recent Grocery Vulnerability Index report by global market intelligence firm Numerator.

Food Industry Executive
A 2021 Food Trends report from creative, media and technology agency McKinney revealed that some of the largest food manufacturers in the U.S., including Coca-Cola, General Mills and Kellogg Co., are cutting marginal products and focusing in on core, in-demand items in response to changing social, technological and cultural trends.

Food Processing
The pandemic forced many food and beverage companies to scale back capital expenditures in 2020. But as vaccinations continue to rollout nationwide, 27 of 31 publicly traded food manufacturers reported they plan to increase capital spend by about 13% in 2021.

The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is making its monthly magazine, 3PL Perspectives, available to all FSA members and suppliers. Please click here for a view of TIA's April issue. 

For more information about any articles appearing in 3PL Perspectives, contact Chris Burroughs at burroughs@tianet.org

Supply Chain 247
Warehouse Execution Software (WES) has been much touted in recent years, often eclipsing the more mature Warehouse Management System (WMS) already in place. But many distribution center managers are finding today's fulfillment center and warehouse storage operations benefit from a combination of both.

Supply Chain 247
Needing to look outside its own walls for warehousing of materials, Wisconsin-based Denali Ingredients, supplier of chocolate coatings, sauce stabilizers and other ingredients for the dairy, ice cream, and bakery food service industry turned to a high-density storage solution. The pushback storage racks supported their FIFO inventory system while adding more pallet positions and fewer aisles.