Labor easily takes top billing in most conversation concerning berry production today. While this is a very big deal for us, what does it look like outside of this industry?
A lot of the same actually.
Trucking: In spite of rising demand for freight shipment in our strengthening domestic economy, trucking businesses are hurting for drivers. Under the heading “Who's driving?” the August 28 trucking industry analysis by ValueLine, a leading stock advisory service, describes that a “worsening driver shortage is the biggest news affecting the industry today”. Truck fleets will have to either lower driver standards, raise pay or consolidate with other companies to purchase access to more drivers.
Housing: Likewise to trucking, what should come under the heading “Who's building?”, the September 21 quarterly earnings call of Lennar Corporation, one of the largest builders of single and multi-family homes in the US, alluded to labor as “having become a limiting factor” in being able to build houses. This has to be really frustrating, because the prospects for builders right now are really good – employment is up, demand is strong and consistent and Millennials, long understood to be on the sidelines of the market, are starting to form households. Nevertheless, according to the call, the entire labor market has tightened and rapid growth in the housing market will be limited by available labor.
So, are the worker shortages we face in the berry industry simply a reflection of a larger, secular shift in the labor situation in the USA? Given the above examples, one could say maybe so.