Alert: California Trucker Protests

Location California

Description In response to state law, AB5, regarding the limited use of independent contractors, classifying them instead as employee drivers, a group of California truckers staged a demonstration this past Wednesday, July 13th, near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. While port operations were not interrupted, traffic jams were recorded in the surrounding area.

Following suit, a similar demonstration is planned at the Port of Oakland on Monday, July 18th and is expected to last three days. As seen in the LA/Long Beach demonstrations, truckers will likely be blocking terminals and/or staging slow rolls leading to traffic delays.

Sensitech will monitor the developing situation in the U.S. and provide updates as needed.

Recommendation The Sensitech^® Supply Chain Intelligence Center (SCIC) recommends that logistics and security professionals ensure security protocols are up-to-date and in line with industry best practices for both in-transit and warehouse operations.

The status of routes and border crossing should be confirmed in advance, planning accordingly for possible delays. Also, in order to mitigate criminal attempts to exploit cargo at rest, we suggest reconfirming delivery appointments in or around affected areas and planning for secure parking locations in the event a shipment will have to stop for an extended period of time. Communication between drivers and shippers needs to be firmly established and regularly maintained during shipments over these periods.

Covert GPS tracking and active monitoring of high-value shipments are highly recommended, as they have proven to be the most effective protocols to both mitigate in-transit theft and facilitate successful recovery of stolen product.