Supply chains can be difficult to manage and temperamental at the best of times. But fewer weather hazards stress U.S. logistics like hurricane season. In the U.S, hurricanes and severe storms are most common through the months of June 1st through to November 30th, with peak hurricane activity between mid August and mid September.

So, unfortunately that means we’re quickly approaching this years’ hurricane season. As difficult as these times are, freight still has to move in these months. So it’s important that everyone involved in the movement of freight, i.e. drivers, shippers and carriers fully understand the impact of hurricanes, and how to work around and through them to avoid shipping delays and of course the number one factor, how to stay safe while doing so!

Before we get into the logistics talk, let’s take a look at the different categories of hurricane and briefly cover some basic facts about how they affect areas in their path. If you don’t live in an area that is affected by them frequently, then you might find this part of the blog useful.

What Do Hurricane Categories Mean? 💨🌪⛈🌊

Categorising hurricanes is done based on their sustained wind speed, and compared on the Saffir-Simpson scale. No other factors such as potential dangers or threats are taken into account, i.e. storms, rainfall flooding or tornadoes. Depending on the wind speed, will depend where a hurricane is placed on the scale of categories 1-5. So let’s take a look at the criteria for each one:

1. Catergory 1 – 74 – 95 mph winds, minimal damage to infrastructure, mainly to roofs and trees. Possible flooding in coastal areas.

2. Category 2 – 96 – 110 mph winds, extensive damage and potentially uprooted shallow root trees. Also power outages that can last several days to weeks.

3. Category 3 – 111 – 129 mph winds, extremely dangerous, major damage to structures, widespread power outages, potential flooding and areas could be without water supply for days to weeks.

4. Category 4 – 130 – 156 mph winds, extremely dangerous, catastrophic damage to infrastructure, snapped or uprooted trees, power poles down, these power outages can last weeks if not months and the area is likely uninhabitable for weeks to months too.

5. Category 5 – 157 mph winds or over, catastrophic damage, framed homes will be destroyed, total building collapses, fallen trees and power poles. Power outages will effect the area for weeks to months, most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks to months.

It’s important to note that even the lowest category hurricane is still extremely dangerous, and capable of significant damage and loss of life. So please stay safe!

U.S. States Affected Most Frequently By Hurricanes 🇺🇸

So, now let’s take a look at a list of U.S. states most frequently affected by hurricanes, these statistics were recorded between 1851-2023. However, this is not a ranking of severity historically, this is purely based on frequency.

1. Florida

Coming in at number one is Florida. This probably isn’t a shock to most, with 120 recorded hurricanes and 37 of which fell into category 3-5.

2. Texas

Between the stated time period, Texas comes in as second most affected state by hurricane activity. With 64 recorded hurricanes and 19 of which fell into categories 3-5.

3. North Carolina

Third up is North Carolina with a recorded 55 hurricanes, 7 of which fall between category 3 – 5.

4. Louisiana

Louisiana records 54 hurricanes, so only just behind North Carolina and 17 of these were between category 3-5.

5. South Carolina

30 hurricanes were recorded in South Carolina, 5 were deemed as categories 3-5.

6. Alabama

Alabama has recorded 24 hurricanes with 5 in categories 3-5.

7. Georgia

Our roots are embedded in Georgia, so we know the weather all too well. There are 22 hurricanes on record between the years stated, 3 between category 3-5.

8. Mississippi

Mississippi has recorded 19 hurricanes, with 8 being categorised between category 3-5.

9. New York

New York recorded 15 hurricanes, with 3 being deemed between categories 3-5.

10. Massachusetts

Massachusettes come in last place as it has seen 12 hurricanes, with 1 deemed category 3.

What Affects Can Shippers Expect During Hurricane Season?

Expect Shipping Delays ⌛️

Due to the severe weather, it isn’t just roads that are affected during hurricanes. Sea and air freight is also majorly disrupted. Ports will close, then once reopened we would typically expect at least a two day pile up of freight, leading to lengthy shipping delays. This combined with planes being grounded around the affected areas and road closures, it’s safe to say add in additional time to your shipments during turbulent weather conditions.

There is also the aftermath to take into consideration, we mentioned flooding, loss of power for weeks to months after the severe weather event, collapsed infrastructure, etc. This will have a huge impact on how freight is moved also, so closely monitor and discuss with your transportation provider what lasting impacts have been caused by the storm. This could avoid further shipping delays, when a reroute could be a simple answer.

Higher Shipping Costs 💵

After hurricane Idalia, outbound flatbed rates from Jacksonville jumped up $0.42 per mile (18% overnight). Due to the complexity, danger and capacity constraints following a hurricane spot rates reflect this and increase accordingly. Try to discuss and lock in rates, before the storm has been named, this could save you a few bucks when prices skyrocket during a weather event.

Capacity Constraints 🚛

Capacity constraints are a real issue during these times, for example during hurricane Harvey, commercial fleet activity fell 88% in Houston. With so few trucks on the roads, freight from Dallas to Houston saw truckload prices increase significantly from $2.40 up to $8-$10 per mile, a huge 350% spike in price. This really highlights the affect on supply chains, whether you end up paying heightened prices or simply cannot find available capacity, one way or the other there’s a negative impact.

Global Economic Impact 💰

Last year, 2024, we saw some volatile weather conditions. From wildfires to heatwaves, hurricanes and floodings to droughts. It’s estimated that these severe weather scenarios ended up costing companies globally upwards of $100 billion. This includes costs associated with transportation disruptions, production delays, inventory losses and increased procurement expenses. Most drastic weather conditions have a negative effect on our economies, preparing and budgeting as much as possible for these unexpected costs is super important, if you live or ship through active hurricane areas.

Procedures To Follow For Smoother Shipping During Turbulent Weather Seasons

Keep Up To Date & Aware 💨

The Hurricane Centre is a fantastic place to regularly check updates on tropical weather patterns and anticipated paths of travel, in the case of severe weather, like hurricanes. This organization tracks storms before they’re even named and can predict paths of travel two weeks before they make landfall. Like the title of this section says “keep up to date”, don’t just check for an update once before shipping and be done with it. Hurricanes can change direction until landfall, so check regularly and where necessary adjust plans for your freight.

NOAA & DOT Data Feeds 🛣⛔️

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) can feed data directly into a TMS (Transportation Management Systems) so route planners can see road closure polygons in real-time and act accordingly. These closure polygons look like red or orange polygons, highlighting an area which mean “active hurricane or tropical storm alert”. If you’re new to these updates, hovering over the symbols in the TMS will show a text alert. Check that your carrier is implementing these proactive strategies.

Monitor FMCSA Emergency Declarations ⏰

The FMCSA often waivers certain regulations when emergency situations are declared. For example, hours-of-service rules can be waived for delivering relief to affected areas. It’s useful to know this if you ship medical, food, or fuel supplies, as you can check with your carrier if they’re willing to fulfil longer and potentially more dangerous deliveries.

Diversify Carriers 🚚

If you move freight through or near an area that could be hit by a hurricane with a local trucking company, (don’t forget we listed out the most common hurricane prone areas above), then make sure you have a back up transportation provider on standby. We cannot recommend enough that you also tee up a large national broker, ones that have trucks and connections across the country. In the situation that your first carrier is sidelined by an evacuation order, you can find alternative solutions through your back up provider. The best part? you won’t have to frantically last-minute bid on rates either.

Always Have a Contingency Plan 📑

Once you’ve diversified your carriers, that’s step one. But by building in a two-step contingency plan you can stay well ahead of shipping delays in a hurricane scenario. The second step of a contingency plan could look like staging product and as soon as storms begin to be monitored then you can divert fast-selling SKUs to a 3PL further inland and trans-load into dry trucks. The moment winds drop below 30mph, those pre-loaded trucks can roll in convoy to beat the inevitable post-storm capacity crunch.

Thoroughly Protect Your Shipments With Extensive Insurance Policies 📃

When taking out insurance on your freight shipments or when working with a carrier and using their insurance policies, ALWAYS check that the contract covers your goods in the case of delays, damages or missing goods caused by the affects of a hurricane.

Every contract will have a “force-majeure clause” which is French for “superior force” or “unforeseeable events”. Meaning in legal contracts, it’s a clause that protects parties from liability when events outside of their control make it impossible or impractical to meet contractual obligations. In this example, a hurricane which could be deemed an ‘act of god’. Within this, also check that flooding, and water damage from storms is covered, a lot of carriers general insurance policies don’t cover water damage, so if yours doesn’t either then it’s a good idea to add this cover.

Clear Communication & Real Time Visibility Are KEY!📱

Whoever you decide to trust with your shipments, be sure to ask them for live milestone updates, pick up, in transit and arrival. This could be through a TMS or a simple text. Now, communications don’t need to end there, also ask for geo-fenced alerts, if the truck transporting your goods enters a county that is under hurricane watch, then you will receive that information in an update. This heads up buys you some time to inform customers (although the consignee can also be included in the updates), adjust schedules and discuss re-routes with your freight partner in an attempt to avoid further shipping delays.

Cargo Prioritization  🚚

Determine the most critical shipments you have and prioritize their movement before the storm hits. This might cause you to have to reschedule shipments, and depending on the severity of the storm and route through the affected area you need to take, you might even need to temporarily put a halt on non-essential shipments altogether.

How Can We All Support Those Affected In Hurricane Season 🙏

This blog isn’t all doom and gloom. Severe weather events like these bring people and communities together to support one another. There are tons of charities and transportation companies that organize round ups of essentials and their transportation to the areas badly affected by severe weather. Whatever you can donate, any little helps to these causes if we’re hit by any severe weather this year (🤞 hopefully not). For example during hurricane Helene, Valdosta was hit pretty badly and one of our very own workers bravely offered to drive a truckload of goods that we managed to round up from people and businesses donations in the local community. We were able to get these supplies to Valdosta and support the locals who had lost so much. We’re so lucky to work with such a caring, and generous team!

How Can PEI Help Domestic Shippers? ❤️

If you ever find yourself in the path of a hurricane, your number one priority needs to be yours, and your loved ones safety, that goes without saying. Let us do the worrying about anything freight related. In fact, we share the same number one goal being safety, we prioritize; the safety of our workers and helping with aiding those affected by the hurricane. Alongside this we also try our absolute best to keep your shipments on track and to their destination in a timely manner with minimal shipping delays and hiccups along the way. Because at the end of the day, we’re experts in emergency, urgent, critical shipments and like we mentioned earlier, freight doesn’t wait. Non-essential freight can be pushed back for sure. But emergency supplies to the affected area need to get there somehow.

So, takeaway message, when you put into play some of our actionable tips, i.e. monitor forecasts, stage inventory, prepare contingency carriers and well-documented contingency plans, you give your freight the best chance of undisrupted travel during the hurricane season. Please remember, that even a category 1 hurricane/storm can be extremely dangerous, so look after yourself and your loved ones!

 

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