Author of The Prepper’s Water Survival Guide and The Bug Out Book
Have you ever thought about how fast things could go sideways in America? What if we went 5 days without trucks moving supplies across the country? Have you considered how JUST ONE THING could change the world as we know it?
The video below has been around for several years, but if you haven’t seen it in a while, it is worth watching again.
Think for a moment about what would happen if the trucks stopped running. The trucking industry is the lifeblood of this country, and according to this, it would only take 5 days without trucks for all hell to break loose.
Watch.
In only 5 days without trucks, everything would change.
In only five days, with only one component of our economy missing, we could be without medication, food, gasoline, and sanitation. We would be unable to travel great distances easily, as airports would close.
Think about it:
- No toilet paper.
- No laundry detergent.
- No fresh fruits and vegetables.
- No fresh milk.
- No garbage trucks picking up waste and no way to get to the dump.
- The banks would close.
- No parts would be available for things that need repair.
- We couldn’t refill prescription medications.
- No gasoline would be available.
Panic would erupt.
It’s that easy for all hell to break loose. Five days without the regular delivery of supplies and our country could devolve into chaos. And if it was longer than 5 days without trucks, the initial panic would be a G-rated movie compared to what would come next.
We live in a just-in-time society.
Most retail stores no longer stock up on food but have a “just in time” ordering system that relies on regular shipments.
Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory refers to an inventory management method whereby the goal is to have inventory readily available to meet demand, without having any excess quantities on hand. With this approach, merchants can hold minimal stock supplies while ensuring stock-outs don’t happen during peak selling periods. Balancing the goals of avoiding stock-outs while minimizing inventory costs is at the heart of JIT. (source)
If those shipments aren’t coming in, then the shelves will be bare in very short order. People will see the store getting more empty, and this will compel them to buy everything they can get their hands on until there is truly nothing left.
People live a just-in-time life, too.
Most folks grocery shop once a week, and some hit the store every couple of days. Aside from preppers and people who live by the pantry philosophy, many Americans couldn’t get by for more than a week without a trip to the store. Most folks no longer produce. They just consume. They’d be lost if they were forced to suddenly produce after a lifetime of consumerism.
Imagine if the stores were empty because of a transportation shut-down. What would those biweekly shoppers do? They’d be in really bad shape, that’s what. And that is when desperation would kick in.
We’d see an uptick in crime as people who were desperate to feed their children committed acts they would never have imagined before. We’d see a surge in criminal behavior as others realized that there were no first responders to stop them. It would be the very definition of all hell breaking loose.
The vulnerability and dependency of many Americans is truly astonishing, and most of those people don’t even realize they are at such great risk.
You can prepare for this.
So, think about it. What are the things you personally buy each week? Maybe now is the time to build yourself a shelf-stable stockpile of the important items like milk and eggs. Maybe you need to focus on building your pantry before something happens to make that impossible.
This “one thing” is the transportation industry but there are other “one things” that could cause utter destruction. The vulnerable power grid, a massive cyber-attack that shut down banking…the list of “one things” could go on and on.
Think about how susceptible you are to a shutdown in industry and make an effort to change that. Start growing food. Start stockpiling. Start producing instead of consuming to insure yourself against this type of disaster.
I work in a grocery store and we don’t have the room for 2 days worth of trucks let alone 5. A single truck load will fill the back end, cutting off movement from one end of the back to the other wich is a huge pain in the rear literally and figuratively, and it stays that way until night stock loads it on the shelves. The warehouses have more capacity, but they’re not much better off than we stores are as they operate in jit mode too.
And then you have the trucks, if there’s no fuel, or safety concerns keep truck traffic down to guarded convoys only, well, you can guess how things are going to look in America at that point.
@Josh, that’s true. I have a brother-in-law that’s a produce manager at a local grocery store. There’s little room in the back, and he receives 3 trucks a week to keep his area stocked up. And being in a rural area would probably hurt getting trucks in after one day.
During the 2018 truck drivers’ strike in Brazil, which lasted 8 days:
Toilet paper: finished in 5 days
Soap powder: it’s over. Sanitizers in general ran out fast
Fresh fruits and vegetables: over
Fresh milk: here in my city it’s not over, because there is a dairy factory, as well as small producers
Garbage truck collecting garbage: they continued to work, as there was fuel reserved for public/official vehicles, vehicles, ambulances…
The banks: continued to function
Part would be available for items in need of repair: for immediate use, some were gone. and prices went up
Prescription drugs (medicines): vehicles for transporting medicines and perishable food were allowed to travel
Gasoline available: finished in less than 2 days. Many people used 96º GL alcohol as fuel
Gas: finished in less than 2 days
I think that this should be a wake up call to diversify how produce and stock is moved, as well as upgrading infrastructure areas such as electric trains (suitably protected of course) and investing in green energy, as if you don’t need coal for energy and every house can produce some of its daily through solar panels, as well as a large majority of the population owning hybrids or electric cars, then people could still cook, drive and light up their homes.
But unfortunately, too many people are stuck in thinking that gasoline and diesel are the only usable fuels. Think about it: you car can act as a faraday cage in a lightning storm, so why can’t you just modify your car so that it can survive an emp (If that’s what you’re prepping for)?
People should move from “the good old days” and into the 21st century, where fuel is not getting any cheaper, self sustainability no longer requires a fuel hungry generator, and advances in hydroponics and greenhouses means that even people living in the arctic circle can grow their own food (Iceland actually grows bananas in the middle of winter using renewable geothermal power).
Technology isn’t just making people’s lives easier, it is also making leaps and bounds into what is plausible for the everyday person to do. So don’t call technology “a waste of time”, call it the wonder that can set you free from energy companies, expensive organic food items and from buying expensive fuel.
Miss Daisy…
Always think a 1000meters or more, ahead of the “herd” (choose the subject matter) …yeah, its overly worn advice (I know)..but it’s likely to contribute to your survival & those dependent upon you one day.
Methinks survival, per the worst SHTF scenario …will entail a form of (almost biblical) trust among like mind people, struggling to persevere, in a situation reeking of violence / despair / depravity / starvation & ungodliness.
..one cannot expect to succeed w/o benevolent / sympathetic back-up…funny, how everything defaults to the origin
of the transition from..a roaming prehistoric hunter-gatherer life-style (see pre-neolithic era, maybe)….to that of the basic foundation of cooperation, resulting in the birth of civilization.
..simply consider the (possible) likelihood that we suddenly wake-up one morning & discover ourselves deprived of 21st century technology…(i.e.) no electricity, no comms, no medicine, no food deliveries etc….etc.
..war-gaming such a scenario will rock you to your core!!!! …and the likely outcomes per such, can / will debase
one’s humanity…and that’s per the intelligent folks here!!!
One can only guess, what the unprepared, hedonistic types will undergo / endure, once the SHTF . ..(deep sigh)…
Such a choice…yes!?!?!
…hold fast to your heart, those whom you trust & him (GOD) who nourishes such…’cuz in the end…that’s all we’ll have to depend upon……..!!!
As I live in England no not sure this would happen as all the supermarkets overstock all of their products, except fresh produce .
This is an excellent work on this:
http://energyskeptic.com/2016/when-trucks-stop-running-so-does-civilization/
and here a video
Alice Friedemann: When The Trucks Stop Running – YouTube
Video for When+Trucks+Stop+Running▶ 44:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EKmNgvUw3k
If America is all running on JIT trucks, why are all the JIT trucks waiting for a dockdoor to open?
I know managers in the grocery biz in lg supermarket chain in the S.E.. They said trucks come in Mon-Fri and when hurricanes hit, it takes a week or more for some items to hit the shelves as trucks won’t come in during these storms. We get enough food to last thru the storms. Unless it is severe, most restaurants remain open. Few people stock up for more than a week at a time no matter where they live. Ones I talked to said a friend or relative passed and most their preps were thrown out by heirs and rest was donate or sold. I knew several preppers near me (dec) whose sons did likewise. Most of us have no extra space for volumes of water, food- cans or buckets, etc. incl. myself. Sooner or later people will run out of food if an emp hit. Since we are way past retirement, we are not too concerned today, because a disaster (trucks not delivering, emp etc) never happened in our lifetime. When we left another state some time back, we sold off most our preps like a grain mill and dehydrator, canned long term foods, all money wasted.
It is still important, although it was wasted in some older people’s cases (because though on the brink, it didn’t teeter over in their lives)- everyone must strive to teach the younger generation the old ways regardless. If I hadn’t learned how to sew by hand, cook from scratch-including how to substitute this for that in lean times, wash clothes by hand, learned what products work for all everyday chores and how to make my own soap and cleaning products… well, I’d have been screwed. I was born into a destitute life, and while I didn’t live that way for most of my adult life — when financial disaster struck my family, I knew how to handle it. Now that part is over, but we should always remember to be prepared. BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT–THAN TO NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT. Extra Toilet paper, Laundry and laundry supplies, hygienic supplies, most 1st aid items, dish soaps, and the list goes on … they keep forever anyway. I’m in my 40’s and I survived and will survive again if anything happens again.
Between the GIANT header across the top, the social media links across the bottom, and the advertising along the right side there is a very small area to view and read the article. What an irritation.
Pray tell, why would banks close because of a truckers strike?
Why would first responders fail to show up because of a truckers strike?
Other than that the article was quite interesting.
Banks would close because they had no money. They get delivery’s every couple of days. First responders would fail to show up because there would be no gas for their vehicles.
Of course this scenario will impact the United States, we depend immensely on truck shipping and distribution of goods across all states.
Truck drivers are essential for the transport of goods across the country. Without them all of the services would have to stop.
Great take on our economy’s and our very own lives so dependent on truck shipment and their hardworking drivers.
Lived in Puerto Rico a few years back. There was a strike where all the truckers joined in. Basically, for like a week you couldn’t get gas for your gas because practically all gas stations didn’t have any. Truckers are part of the backbone of any country.
Don’t forget about the freight trains, too. A lot of them carry the trailers for the trucks.