Recently, sports fans around the world were treated to a rare charity sporting event, simply dubbed, #TheMatch. Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning took on Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson setting the Twitter world ablaze. These iconic sports heroes/rivals battling against each other with plenty of trash talking and hilarious commentary from Charles Barkley, kept fans glued to their TVs and devices. If that wasn’t enough, NASCAR made its return and according to Charlotte Business Journal, “starved sports TV fans pushed viewership to 6.32 million people — the largest audience for a non-Daytona 500 race on Fox in three years.”
As the country starts to open up in a phased approach, fans are hopeful the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, PGA, UFC, WWE, MLS, WNBA, WPS, WPGA, ATP, and WBL will start/continue their seasons. But what fans truly hope for is the ability to root for their favorite teams from the stands. Home or away, it doesn’t matter as long as they have a live look at their teams competing. And once professional sports return, expect college, high school, and amateur sports leagues to follow suit. So, how does this tie into the freight world?
The sports industry is roughly a $420 billion (US only) industry. Once it starts running at full speed, freight shippers within the food & beverage, CPG, retail, and chemical space should expect some bruising blows if they are not prepared to meet intensely high demand. Think about the sheer magnitude and volume of products shippers will have to account for that need to fill a concession stand, fan shop, bar, restaurant, apparel store, and most likely due to COVID-19, sanitizing stations and a rigorous disinfecting scheduled. Think of all the surrounding bars, restaurants, and stores just blocks from the arena, field, or stadium of play that will see heavier than usual foot traffic and increased demand for products & supplies. As expected with all of this pent-up demand, carriers will no longer find themselves operating at a loss. Taking a sports analogy, “momentum will shift.” The historically low rates that came with the first half of 2020 will soon rise in the second half of the 2020. It’s now shippers who will have to play defense and strategically find a way to absorb the blow of high rates while meeting the intense pressures of demand.
As a large, diversified, forward thinking transportation provider, RPM’s unique ability to flex up or down, leveraging our 30,000+ carrier network, allows us to handle market volatility and fill capacity quickly for our customers. Our flexibility allows us to bring true efficiencies to the supply chain and meet demand while keeping costs low. Our team’s experience within food & beverage, CPG, retail, and chemical, allows us to move faster and communicate the shippers needs more clearly than other providers. Additionally, RPM provides full visibility & transparency with our shared TMS, so customers can track & trace in real-time. Our TMS, facilitates streamlined communication—single point of contact for our customers and carriers and centralization allows us to quickly and efficiently communicate via phone, email, documentation, etc…This real-time view also allows RPM’s specialists to help identify gaps in the supply chain, improve efficiencies, reduce empty miles, and create a tailored solution for our customers to find the best strategies that will move their freight quickly and efficiently.
Most professional leagues have not set a specific date as to when they will resume play, though rumor has it, sports may start/return as early as July. It’s also possible that if the pandemic returns in the Fall, sports and many other businesses may once again temporarily shut down. The need for flexibility and reliability is paramount during these uncertain times. If you would like to see how RPM can work with you, please visit RPMmoves.com and connect with a sales representative.