How a US government shutdown could affect the logistics industry

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As the prospect of a federal shutdown in the US becomes increasingly likely, with the Sunday deadline looming over lawmakers, a fascinating – and unintentionally hilarious – article in Freightwaves asks how that will affect the federal agencies covering the country’s supply chains. In essence, it goes like this: the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), already facing a mounting backlog of shipper-carrier disputes, will basically shut, with 94% of staff expected to be furloughed; the same with its rail equivalent, the Surface Transportation Board; MARAD and the Federal Railroad Administration will see between a quarter and a third of their staff furloughed… but the agencies covering US road traffic, such as the FMCSA, will carry on as normal.