Supply chain issues draw FTC’s attention

Supply chain issues became such a concern that the Federal Trade Commission decided to get involved.

Late last year, the FTC announced that it was launching an inquiry to see what is causing empty shelves and inflated prices at stores across the country. As part of the inquiry, the FTC is ordering nine large retailers, wholesalers, and consumer good suppliers to provide information on what may be causing the problems with the supply chain.

The orders were sent to Walmart, Amazon, Kroger Co., C&S Wholesale Grocers, Associated Wholesale Grocers, McLane Co., Procter & Gamble, Tyson Foods, and Kraft Heinz Co. The companies have 45 days to respond.

“Supply chain disruptions are upending the provision and delivery of a wide array of goods, ranging from computer chips and medicines to meat and lumber,” FTC Chairperson Lina M. Khan said in the news release. “I am hopeful the FTC’s new study will shed light on market conditions and business practices that may have worsened these disruptions or led to asymmetric effects.”

According to the FTC, the orders require the companies to detail the primary factors disrupting their ability to obtain, transport and distribute their products. It also will examine whether supply chain disruptions are leading to specific bottlenecks, shortages, anticompetitive practices, or rising consumer prices.

Issues with the supply chain dominated mainstream media headlines throughout the final months of 2021.

On Nov. 17, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee hosted a hearing titled “Industry and Labor Perspectives: A Further Look at North American Supply Chain Challenges.”

House T&I Chair Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., used the hearing to put a spotlight on the detention time problem in the trucking industry. Detention time is referred to as the time truck drivers sit at shippers or receivers waiting to be loaded or unloaded. Truckers often are not compensated for any of that time.

“For years, I’ve talked about detention time,” DeFazio said. “You get to a warehouse, and they say, ‘Get in that line over there.’ Five or six hours later, maybe you get unloaded. Maybe you’re out of duty time now. That’s your tough luck. It’s no skin off their back. It doesn’t cost them anything to make you sit there.

“They put the cost on the truck driver, and I’ve been trying to pursue this issue for quite some time.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has argued for years that there is not a driver shortage and that the issue is more of a driver retention problem caused by low wages and poor working conditions. LL