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Gregory Tuthill is chief commercial officer at SeaCube Containers. In that position, he leads the global sales, marketing, and trade teams. He brings over 30 years of industry experience to this position. Prior to working at SeaCube, Tuthill was senior vice president and chief operating officer for CMA-CGM. He also held various positions, including head of operations, at APL, and several executive positions during his 16 years at NYK Line.
Tuthill served in the United States Naval Reserve as a commissioned officer and holds a U.S. Coast Guard third mate's license. He has obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the State University Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, N.Y., and earned a master’s degree in financial economics from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He also holds a certificate in financial analysis from New York University.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 00:00
Preventing foods from spoiling in transit. The latest on a potential strike at UPS. And professional skills lag in the post-Covid workplace.
Pull up a chair and join us as the editors of DC Velocity discuss these stories, as well as news and supply chain trends, on this week's Logistics Matters podcast.
Hi, I'm David Maloney. I'm the group editorial director at DC Velocity. Welcome.
Logistics Matters is sponsored by Travero Logistics. Travero Logistics is an experienced, Midwest-based freight brokerage firm. They have a national network of trusted carriers ready to meet your freight transportation needs. Visit Travero.com and let their experts find you a solution. That's T-R-A-V-E-R-O dot com.
As usual, our DC Velocity senior editors Ben Ames and Victoria Kickham will be along to provide their insights into the top stories of this week. But to begin today: it is estimated that 1.3 billion tons of food are lost or wasted annually worldwide, with much of it coming from food that spoils during shipping. How can we better protect foods from spoiling while they are in transit? To find out more about the problem and some possible solutions, I recently spoke with Greg Tuthill, the chief commercial officer at SeaCube Containers. Here's our conversation.
Welcome, Greg, to Logistics Matters. Thanks for joining us today.
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 01:34
Thank you, David, I appreciate you having me.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 01:37
For those who may not be familiar with SeaCube Containers, can you describe a bit about your company and what you do?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 01:44
Sure. SeaCube was established about 30 years ago. We have over $4 billion of assets under management. We have a total fleet size of about 1.5 million TEUs, and primarily our services are related to equipment leasing, container leasing, which includes refrigerated containers, dry containers, gen[erator] sets, and specialty equipment. We also do financing.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 02:08
Very good. Today, we're going to be talking about food shortages, and of course there are food shortages in many parts of the world. How serious is the problem, and how much does food wastage contribute to that food shortage problem?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 02:21
It's pretty serious, and I say that only because we do a lot of research on food waste mitigation, because it's tied into our products and services. So, if you look across the globe in any given year, relative to the total food source, there's about a 30% food-waste ratio. So, what does that mean in terms of tonnage? And you can certainly do more research based on some of the stats that are available now. It's about 1.3 billion tons of food that gets wasted every year, and so, to put that in kind of a relative scale, again, that's, you know, that's a significant amount of food waste, but it also is about 30 to 40% of the total food supply, so, pretty significant.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 03:11
That is a very significant number. How much of that is lost in transit, and possibly do you have even numbers for what's lost in transit within North America?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 03:21
Sure. So, that particular figure is total wastage, so about 25 to 30% of that 1.3 billion tons is wasted due to transport or transfer of food sources to final destination.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 03:39
Are there particular types of foods that are most vulnerable to being lost during transit?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 03:45
Typically, the more sensitive cargo commodities are subject to spoilage. And so, what I mean by that is, not necessarily frozen-food transport, but mostly chilled, with controlled-atmosphere type cargo conditions. So, some of the commodities that are tied into spoilage would include melons, berries, strawberries, any type of lettuce-type product, including kale, avocados, and things like that. So, again, highly sensitive to the cargo condition during transport, and very, very specialized in terms of making sure the cargo atmosphere or environment is managed properly.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 04:32
What happens to all that food that is spoiled during shipment? Does it all have to be thrown away, or can can it be reused in some way?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 04:39
Unfortunately, a lot of it is going into landfill, which is the worst part of the story here. However, there's a heightened awareness, including there's more development through the G20 discussions about food-waste mitigation solutions, so they are trying to go ahead and develop solutions where there could some reuse, recycling, and even composting, which would be better than landfill. Landfill does present some other implications such as producing methane gas, which is also not a[n] environmentally friendly way to go ahead and destroy food from a waste-mitigation standpoint.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 05:19
Right. Why do foods go bad during transit? Is it because we're trying to ship it too far? Is it due to improper handling and transport? Shipping delays? What are some of the main reasons why you have spoilage during transit?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 05:33
Few primary reasons or causals for food destination failure outcomes. One would be improper loading: machine failure, wrong cargo-condition management, monitoring, or adjustments. And the other is, it could be just a matter of having the product not be in a state where it was able to be preserved before it's even shipped. So, what I mean by that is, the food, before it's even loaded, could be going through a high-respiratory type state, which means it's already starting to decay pretty rapidly before it's even shipped. So, those are a few things. I mean, there's many others, but I would say those are the primary.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 06:22
What can food shippers do to safeguard their foods during transit? There's — are there ways of guaranteeing that, or monitoring it?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 06:29
One advancement that's really helped, David, in terms of making sure that there's better outcomes, less failure, or fewer failures is the technology application of food transport, specifically on the refrigerated container transport mode. So, that has helped in a couple of different ways. One is the monitoring visibility. Remote management of the cargo condition and atmosphere and environment has certainly helped. There's also a big advancement in early-warning diagnostics, whether it's machinery failure before it actually occurs, or wrong setting, wrong temperature settings, humidity, adjustments, things like that. So, all that can be done remote now, and that has really proven to be a benefit in terms of trying to go ahead and mitigate the failures in terms of having bad outcomes on the destination side.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 07:27
Are there other tools and technologies available to help mitigate some of this, beyond what you already mentioned?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 07:33
One other advancement, and it's not new technology, but it's been around, but the technology has certainly progressed over the years, and that's controlled atmosphere. And controlled atmosphere inside a container when you're moving perishable or refrigerated commodities includes adjusting the oxygen and CO2, and even including some nitrogen injections in the cargo space that basically slows down the ripening process. So, what that does, it slows down the respiratory process, which certainly has helped with longer transit-type distribution moves, and also it certainly has helped trying to preserve the outcome of that perishable commodity.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 08:20
What's sort of the return on investment in some of these technologies when you weigh the cost compared to just throwing food up because it spoils?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 08:30
The payback period for any of these type of applications is very, very short compared to the potential claims or damage to the cargo, which could result in you know, several hundreds of thousands of dollars of waste, so anyone or any shipper that starts to invest in the technology is yielding some very, very significant returns and experiencing very short payback periods.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 09:00
If you're experiencing such short payback, why aren't more people adopting these kinds of technologies, then?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 09:05
Well, I would say that they are, that the adoption rate has accelerated. I think one particular implication or challenge has been the fleet of refrigerated containers is almost 4 million TEUs, so that's a lot of equipment that's in circulation. To adapt the container with new technology does take some time, because you have to take the container out of circulation, have it installed, have it tested, and then put it back into the field. So, most of this is trying to migrate current fleets into a more advanced technology-type environment, and then the retrofit process is taking some time. So, I think we'll see that accelerate, only because all new-production containers, for the most part, are coming equipped with some of this technology.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 09:56
And is most of the supply chains that these products are flowing through equipped to be able to handle these kinds of technologies and new types of containers?
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 10:06
Yes, most all if — yeah, most all of the machinery today is equipped to either have technology applications tied into the controllers or the machinery, and the data feeds are becoming more standard and there's some initiatives underway to have more management cooperation across different platform providers, and device application providers as well, to make sure there's open technology to make sure that that certainly addressed
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 10:40
Great. Well, hopefully some of these technologies will help to reduce that amount of food wastage that we have. That's the hope.
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 10:46
Yes, I certainly hope so, and I think we're seeing some pretty good progress so far in terms of what this new technology is doing to help us with food mitigation.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 10:56
We've been talking with Greg Tuthill, the chief commercial officer for SeaCube Containers. Thank you, Greg. Appreciate you being on our podcast today.
Greg Tuthill, Chief Commercial Officer, SeaCube Containers 11:02
Thank you, David. I appreciate the opportunity to be on the show.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 11:11
Now let's take a look at some of the other supply chain news from the week. Ben, there are a number of labor issues affecting supply chains right now. Port strikes in Canada, a strike at Yellow Freight, but nothing looms as large as a potential of a Teamsters strike at UPS. Can you share the latest on what's happening there?
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 11:30
Yeah, I'm glad to, and you're right, as a backdrop, it's been a busy summer for labor issues, and another one, of course that we saw was West Coast ports. You mentioned Canada, but we saw L.A. and Long Beach and all up in California, the longshoremen were looking for a new contract. So, we have a similar thing now where the Teamsters are looking for a new contract working for UPS. Well, while the port issues were more of a middle-mile arrangement, of course, UPS is really a last-mile flow, so this is really something that could touch on consumers and retailers more so. For one thing, UPS is the nation's largest parcel carrier by revenue, and experts say that competitors — FedEx, the postal service, the increasing number of regional last-mile delivery firms — all together, they just don't have the bandwidth to absorb the UPS volume if the Teamsters do go to strike, if contract, renegotiation doesn't work out. Also, we're talking about a really large number of workers, about 330,000 full-time and part-time people. Those are drivers and warehouse workers. What they're looking for is less variability in UPS's pay scale. They have a discretionary scale that flexes salaries depending on market rate. Also, they're looking for higher wages for part-time employees, of which, I think it's about half of that number of 330,000. However, those negotiations broke down completely a few weeks ago, on July 5. Fortunately, we just heard two days ago, on Wednesday, that they agreed to return to the bargaining table, but they're running out of time, since that contract for the workers expires at midnight on July 31.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 13:17
So Ben, as long as we can avoid a strike, then we won't see much disruption to our supply chains, right?
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 13:23
Well, not really. Just the possibility of a strike has already caused many changes for shippers, carriers, and retailers. That's because they need to have reliable plans for inventory deliveries. There's a statement on this issue by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, RILA. They put it in these terms: "Uncertainty is like kryptonite for supply chains." So, we're seeing retailers preparing contingency plans already, and that's especially because we're in the ninth inning of the traditional summer rush, where they're stocking up for back-to-school sales; some of those have already been done, and soon enough for the winter holiday peak. So, moving all that inventory happens now. Other changes we've already seen is that FedEx has been encouraging the shippers who might wish to switch their volumes away from UPS to FedEx to do that as soon as possible instead of waiting till the last minute, and that would help ensure more reliable service. And on the other side, UPS has actually been training its non-warehouse and -delivery personnel to cover some of those jobs just in case. I don't have any estimates about how effective that would be. So Spencer Shute — he's a consultant with Proxima — he pointed out that even if UPS and the Teamsters do agree to a last-minute contract, as I think everybody hopes, it will almost definitely include those wage increases for workers that we were talking about. That will likely force other parcel companies to raise their salaries to a competitive rate in order to keep their workers, and so all those carriers will, of course, pass the increases on to shippers and retailers, and ultimately to us consumers. So, however this turns out, it's looking like we'll I'll probably feel some change.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 15:11
Well, let's hope a settlement's reached before a walkout does occur and ends upending a lot of our parcel industry.
Ben Ames, Senior News Editor, DC Velocity 15:18
Fingers crossed.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 15:21
And the pandemic forced a lot of people to work from home, and now that they're returning to the office, employers are finding that many workers don't know how to act properly in a work setting. Victoria, you wrote this week about some research into this issue. Can you share some details?
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 15:36
Absolutely, Dave, yes. And that's exactly right. So, it seems that a changing work environment, and actually declining interpersonal skills are combining to create some headaches in the workplace, as you mentioned And actually, companies are responding with training programs that are designed to create a more professional, respectful office culture. This is according to a recent ResumeBuilder.com survey, which was released earlier this month. The company analyzed responses from more than a thousand business leaders across a range of industries, and that included warehousing and distribution, transportation, and manufacturing, and they found that 45% are responding to problematic office behavior by providing etiquette classes for employees. Another 20% said they plan to implement adequate etiquette classes — excuse me — by 2024. About a quarter of the respondents said their companies have no plans to offer such classes, and 10% said they were unaware of their company's plans to do so. Still, as I said, the majority are either conducting these office etiquette classes or they plan to do so sometime in the next six months. The survey found that three years of remote or hybrid work and school are at the root of the problem, and that Gen Z, the youngest employees in the workplace, are most in need of this professional skills training.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 16:56
That's very interesting, Victoria. What are the problematic behaviors that companies are dealing with, and what skills are most in need of improvement?
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 17:04
Well, the biggest problems organizations say they face are inappropriate dress and inappropriate communication in the office. And the top three skills companies say they'll address in their office etiquette classes are making polite conversation, dressing professionally, and writing professional emails. Anecdotally, the respondents said workers need help understanding that certain discussion topics are discouraged in the workplace. They mentioned religion and politics in particular, and that it's important to take others' beliefs into consideration and to treat people equally and fairly. I actually spoke to Stacie Haller, who is chief career advisor at ResumeBuilder.com, about all this, and she said she really wasn't surprised at the rise in demand for office etiquette training, which is something that's been around for a while, by the way. But she wasn't surprised given the workplace changes that have occurred, or that did occur during the pandemic, and you know, now that people are swinging back to in-person work. But she said she was encouraged to learn that for those companies who are offering the training, nearly all of them — about 99% — said the classes have been successful, and she said she thinks that bodes well for the future of work because it gives companies an opportunity to build their internal culture. I asked about differences in vertical markets as well, to see if anything stood out for logistics and supply chain, but there really weren't any. Haller indicated that this problem is pretty much across the board, and she said something interesting, I thought, and I'm quoting her. She said, "If Gen Z is working pretty much in any office environment, wearing gym shorts, the company's going to take action." So, just some interesting office culture issues that we're seeing.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 18:45
That really is, and I guess it can't be casual Friday every day.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 18:49
Right.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 18:51
Thanks, Victoria.
Victoria Kickham, Senior Editor, DC Velocity 18:52
You're welcome.
David Maloney, Editorial Director, DC Velocity 18:54
We encourage listeners to go to DCVelocity.com for more on these and other supply chain stories. And check out the podcast Notes section for some direct links on the topics that we discussed today.
And again, our thanks to Greg Tuthill of SeaCube Containers for being our guest. We welcome your comments in this topic and or other stories, you can email us at podcast@dcvelocity.com.
We also encourage you to subscribe to Logistics Matters at your favorite podcast platform. Our new episodes are uploaded each Friday.
Speaking of subscribing, check out our sister podcast series Supply Chain in the Fast Lane, coproduced by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Supply Chain Quarterly. The current series is on transportation tech. Check out Supply Chain in the Fast Lane wherever you get your podcasts.
And a reminder that Logistics Matters is sponsored by Travero Logistics. Travero Logistics is an experienced, Midwest-based freight-brokerage firm. They have a national network of trusted carriers ready to meet your freight transportation needs. Visit Travero.com and let their experts find you a solution. That's T-R-A-V-E-R-O dot com.
We'll be back again next week with another edition of Logistics Matters. Be sure to join us. Until then, have a great week.
Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:
- SeaCube Containers
- UPS and Teamsters will return to the bargaining table next week
- Mere possibility of UPS driver strike rattles logistics industry
- Professional skills lag in post-Covid workplace
- Visit Supply Chain Quarterly
- Listen to CSCMP and Supply Chain Quarterly's Supply Chain in the Fast Lane podcast
- Listen to Supply Chain Quarterly's Top 10 Supply Chain Threats podcast
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