The United States and Canada share the longest international border (at 5,525 miles) and the strongest bilateral trade relationship (with nearly $2 billion exchanged every day) of any two countries in the world. In fact, the U.S. is by far the dominant point of origin for goods imported into Canada, with China a distant second. A key reason for that strong relationship is the relative ease of transporting goods from one country to another via truck, which is supported by more than 120 land ports-of-entry lining the border.

On January 22nd, the U.S. government issued a rule that requires truck drivers entering the country to be fully vaccinated. Notably, this applies to Canadian and Mexican truck drivers that are heavily involved in the cross-border flow of materials and products to and from the U.S. The impact of the new rule could have consequences for many shippers and supply chains that rely on cross-border trade.

Mexico became the top trade partner of the U.S. for the very first time in 2019. Though the title went back to China for 2020, Mexico took the crown again throughout the majority of last year. Adding fuel to the fire that is growing trade throughout North America is the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which went into effect in July 2020. The strength of trade between the three nations may become even stronger due to the challenges seen during the pandemic.

The challenges at the ports and with strained capacity on the road have many shippers seeking alternative solutions. And given that 57% of the respondents in the 7th annual State of the North American Supply Chain Survey experienced delays with their truckload moves in 2021, it makes sense to see a surge in interest for air and rail services.

One of the biggest misconceptions of the driver shortage is that it refers to all truck drivers in general. While there is a continued need to fill driver positions of all types, it is the over-the-road positions that are the hardest to fill.

In the 7th annual State of the North American Survey, 76% of our respondents said they will ship more this year (an all-time high for our survey). We also gave shippers a list of 20 different services and asked them to select the ones they used in 2021. All but one service saw a slight decline in use compared to 2020. Ninety-six percent of respondents said they used less-than-truckload (LTL) services in 2021. That marked a 2 percentage point uptick from the previous year.

During the first year of the pandemic, online shopping surged as more consumers sought an alternative to crowded marketplaces. According to Digital Commerce 360 (DC360), e-commerce sales experienced an astounding 32.4% year-over-year growth in 2020. Last year, however, the widespread availability of vaccines and periods of lower COVID-19 cases led more shoppers back out into the brick-and-mortar environment.

In late 2021, we asked shippers to participate in our 7th annual State of the North American Supply Chain survey. The purpose of the survey is gauge the challenges that shippers faced over the course of 2021, and to gain a better understanding of what they believe will be their biggest challenges in 2022. 

The seventh annual State of the North American Supply Chain Survey was conducted in late 2021. The goal of the survey was to gauge the challenges that shippers faced in 2021 and to gain a better understanding of their outlook heading into the new year. More than 1,800 shippers across a wide range of industries shared their input and experiences.