U.S. Foods (USF) drivers are reporting continued shortages at the warehouse in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  When asked why so many orders are wrong or delayed, drivers recount stories of skeleton crew warehouses filled with new hires that have been fast-tracked into their jobs.  One driver told me that USF is now shipping in pickers and drivers from other facilities around the country to help.

Unfortunately, that influx of help is not enough.  USF is facing the sad fact that so many of its drivers are leaving for the more comfortable seats of other company trucks.  Companies like Amazon, Black Horse Carriers, and UPS.  I was told that one driver has been with USF for 19yrs.  He starts at Walmart next week.  These drivers are leaving for those companies in search of better hours, smaller loads, and, in some cases, the freedom from loading and unloading their trucks.  USF is countering with $15,000 signing bonuses. Will that solve the problem? Or does the company need to develop better working conditions and standards?

USF Allentown needs to do a lot of soul searching. In the meantime, there seems to be no end in sight to these delivery problems.  All that we can do is hope that things get better soon and continue to pick through our orders searching for wrong or missing items.  Outside of driving the trucks ourselves, it’s all we can do.