MISSOURI — We’ve heard a lot of supply chain problems during the pandemic. Well, now the Missouri Governor is asking a local man to help find a fix in the “Show-Me” State.
It’s Dustin Quesenberry, a longtime employee and now VP at CFI.
“It’s from agriculture, to retail, to textiles, building materials, it’s really across the board, where we see the supply chain issues today,” said Quesenberry.
But Dustin Quesenberry is hoping to change that. He’s been appointed to the Missouri Supply Chain Task Force.
“And the objective is really to see how we can help improve the supply chain challenges that exist today.”
Quesenberry lives in Webb City and has more than a dozen years under his belt at CFI. He knows labor challenges are one big reason for supply chain issues in trucking.
“Today, the American Trucking Association estimates about 80,000 drivers short in the trucking industry alone, and they’re forecasting that to be closer to somewhere around 160,000, to double by the year 2030.”
The task force is in the information gathering stage and that’s not limited to the road based deliveries.
“From trucking to rail, to air and then one forgotten most often is river. There’s about 500,000,000 tons of freight that move annually on Missouri river ways,” said Quesenberry.
He isn’t sure what the eventual recommendations may be, just that the state is committed to addressing supply chain issues.
“What I can tell you is that by Missouri signing this executive order, we’re putting forth the leadership and resources to say that we want to be a part of the solution here and help try to identify any improvements that may exist.”
The task force was just created in December. But, they hope to have some concrete suggestions to share with the Governor this summer.
