b'10American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comInvasion of Ukraine whacksTEMPERATURE-CONTROLLEDLOGISTICS TRI-ANNUALNorthwest seafood exportsBy Tad Thompson, AJOTWhenRussiainvadedTheseafoodprocessors Ukraine, reverberations wererequest to USDA notes that, feltthroughouttheworld.forWestCoastshoreside Unimaginable disruptions wouldprocessors, export challenges be impossible to summarize.andtradebarriersresulting Among victims, unimag- from the conflict in Ukraine inedbymost,wouldbethehas impacted more than 30% seafoodindustryofcoastalofthehistoricalmarketfor Oregon, Washington and Cali- Pacificwhiting.Somecom-fornia.panies have relied on Ukraine In January, the West Coastmarketsformorethan60% Seafood Processors Associa- of their whiting sales. While tion asked the USDAs Agri- whitingisseenasalower cultural Marketing Service tocostoptionrelativetoother pursue Section 32 purchasesspeciesinUkraineandis (or bonus buys) of certainstillverymuchindemand, West Coast seafood products.thelogisticsofdelivering Suchsupporttookplaceinproduct to these markets has 2021and2022tohelpthatmadehigh-volumeexport industry recover from marketextremelychallengingand conditionscreatedbythe(WHACKScontinued on COVID pandemic.page 20)COVIDs impact on sea-food sales is a small wonder, consideringtheprocessors associationstatementtothe USDA:Restaurantsales account for an out-sized por-tion of the total value of sea-foodproductssold.Recent reports indicate that pre-pan-demic, the value sold through restaurantswas70%ofthe total value of seafood sold by U.S. processors.Now,ayearafterRus-sias assault on Ukraine, fisher-manandseafoodprocessors in the Northwest have taken even greater hits. Steele said the frozen fish is shipped to Ukraineintemperature-con-trolled ocean containers.Based in Astoria, Oregon, the eight-member West Coast SeafoodProcessorsAsso-ciationisledbyExecutive DirectorLoriSteele.Steele tells AJOT the request to the USDAwouldinvolvethe purchase of Pacific hake, oth-erwise known as whiting, askeeping supply chains well as pink shrimp and rock-fish. Whiting is her member-ships the bread and butter.We are asking for USDAand ed economies is in dn drive.Keeping Supply Chains American Journal of Transportation Half Page 8x 10 .125 10/14/22this year to buy five million poundswhitingfor$18.5 million.Thiswouldmove surplus inventory due to the loss of these markets. Title:Pub: Trim Size:Bleed Size:Close Date: W ar iNu kraiNes cuttlesh akeM arket Welcome to done.Steele tellsAJOT, War 20077-NCP_KeepingSupplyChains_AJOT_8x10_K1 NC Ports 20077 InDesign CC 4Cin Ukraine has really brought in a challenge for our export market. Ukraine is the big-gestexportmarketandthe biggestbuyerofPacific hake.So,thewarandthe conflictandthechallenges ofgettingproductintothat country-andthelossClient:Job #: of App:Colors: File Name: demand in that country - has really had a huge impact onMoving fast. And going the extra mile. Thats what drives us. At NC Ports, we provide us. Beyond slashed sales to Ukraine is an ongoing Rus- technology that makes on-port navigation smoother and personalized service that helps you sian embargo of U.S. seafoodbreathe easier. We do a lot more than move fast. Because more is what moves you. products. Those are two of800.213.4430 // NCPorts.comour biggest markets for whit-ing that weve lost in the last few years.22037_20077-NCP_KeepingSupplyChains_AJOT_8x10_k1.indd 2 9/14/22 4:36 PM'