(Editor’s Note: In conjunction with the KFIA meeting, a hospitality suite was hosted by Robinson Lumber Company, New Orleans, LA and Houchens Insurance Group, Lexington, KY.)
Lexington, KY–The Embassy Suites here served as the host site for the Kentucky Forest Industries Association’s (KFIA) annual meeting, attended by approximately 365 guests.
The multi-day event was packed with informational sessions with topics ranging from infrastructure and carbon markets to issues pertaining directly to the Kentucky lumber region. For example, Tom Inman, president of the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc., addressed Hardwood training initiatives, followed by Darren Morris of the University of Kentucky Forestry Extension, who updated attendees about the White Oak initiative. Dana Lee Cole, executive director of the Hardwood Federation (HF), led two sessions. One was an HF update and the other was an informative presentation about the Real American Hardwood Coalition promotion.
Another issue addressed at KFIA was Trucking Availability and What to Expect in the Future, by David Guess, executive vice president of Safety and Insurance with Usher Transport Inc.
His address was four-pronged and included comments about:
•Driver shortage
Guess shared these comments with National Hardwood Magazine: “The driver shortage isn’t necessarily anything new to the industry. Many companies, such as the one I represent, have faced a driver shortage for at least 20 years as far as I can recall. In fact, I don’t recall our operations manager telling me, ‘Dave, stop hiring all those drivers’ during the time I worked as a recruiter. Conversely, I think today there’s a greater focus on the driver shortage due to the focus on labor shortages throughout every industry. Now, however, ‘truck drivers’ have gained quite the notoriety in their level of importance to, not just the trucking industry, but to every industry that relies upon truck transport, especially within that final mile of production. Is there a driver shortage? Yes, no question about it, and will it ever improve? That question leads into the avenues of attracting new drivers.”
•Avenues to attract new drivers into the industry
Guess noted: “Yes, we have several initiatives within our industry to try and attract, and more importantly, retain new drivers. One such initiative is through the NextGen Trucking campaign. www.nextgentrucking.org/
“A long-time industry colleague and friend, Linsey Trent serves as the founder and CEO of this organization. Their aim, in short, is to get as many young people – high schools – interested in careers in logistics as possible through a host of platforms. More information about their mission can be seen on their website.”
•Electric trucks, specific to the industry
Guess commented: “Jokingly, as someone who represents the petroleum transport industry, we’re not likely to see electric trucks donning our parking lots anytime soon. On a more serious note, our industry has embraced electric vehicles as part of the overall infrastructure of how goods and services are moved and delivered. The problem with electric trucks, in, say, the logging industry, is the availability of infrastructure for recharging. From brief research of my own, I found that many logging companies welcomed electric vehicles as long there was ample capacity for recharging those units without having to completely rebuild things.”
•Driverless trucks, in general
Guess stated: “And lastly, I mentioned driverless trucks at KFIA. Again, as a petroleum carrier, the thoughts of unaccompanied fuel transporters raises quite a few eyebrows in any audience. Fear seems to be the overarching theme when it comes to driverless trucks. The issue is not so much the technology as it relates to the truck as much as it is the infrastructure in place for highly advanced trucks to function. IE: are the lines and mapping of highways and roads so great that we could solely depend on those in feeding the guidance systems? Is our current satellite imagery for GPS accurate enough to subside fears that driverless trucks may malfunction? Those are just a few of the very basic common fears I hear throughout the industry when the subject comes up.
“My brief speech/presentation is not an endorsement or criticism of any one particular industry, business, or motor carrier, but solely the collective opinion of my 30 years’ industry experience.”
Regarding the KFIA, it was organized in 1965 with a discussion among industry leaders concerning the lack of communication between the industry, government and educators. Over 50 years later, KFIA continues to be a strong voice for the forest products industry.
Learn more at www.kfia.org.
