Who is ready for the weather to break? It seems every year we get a taste in March of 60’s then BAM!, right back to freezing. Hopefully the weather will start warming up for good very soon.
There are many things going on right now impacting our community and I would like to call your attention to two of them that are critically important.
Irving Park & York Road Closure
This month, IDOT took two weekends to close Irving & York to put up overhead beams for the Canadian National tracks. You'll remember that we warned everyone that if there were problems with trucks hitting those beams that IDOT would take drastic measures, including closing the intersection.
IDOT has closed the intersection.
All vehicles are being routed via Touhy Ave to Mannheim Road. IACAC, along with the CCBFA, are talking with the City of Chicago to find solutions alleviate the congestion.
We need your help to find solutions to pickup and drop-off congestion at airlines.
The economy's recovery has been great, and it means more air cargo business for everyone. However, the economy's recovery, plus West Coast port congestion, plus constructions in and around O'Hare have created a complete and utter mess trying to pickup and deliver cargo at airlines.
Police are sending drivers away whose trucks are backed up on Mannheim Road; it is not unusual to wait hours to pickup or drop off cargo. Lockouts are being missed, trucking companies are forced to pay overtime to their drivers and worst of all, service to the community that uses air cargo as an "expeditious" means of shipping is being affected.
We need your help.
Click here to read more and leave comments or suggestions.
We are planning to have a meeting with key stakeholders, including the City of Chicago, the CCBFA and, if necessary, CNS, the Airforwarders Association and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) who can help bring everyone to the table to find a solution.
March Madness Networking Draws 80+ Attendees
As we head into the Final Four weekend, three #1 seeds made it through, but everybody's brackets in the early stages were, to say the least, a wreck. I heard on ESPN that only one person in 11.3 million submissions correctly picked the first round outcomes.
I want to thank everyone who attended the event and made it a success.
April Luncheon Features Wally Deveraux of Southwest Cargo
For those who work with Southwest or who travel the trade show circuit, you know Wally very well. He is the Senior Director of Cargo & Charters for Southwest Airlines. Wally is one of the great people in the industry who understands the business and can articulate Southwest's position as they are growing and expanding their network domestically and internationally. That's right, Southwest flies outside the United States.
Given all the congestion and heartburn that we're facing at O'Hare right now, maybe taking a look to Chicago's other airport makes sense for our businesses.
Looking ahead: August Golf Outing, December Holiday...Luncheon(?)
As you may have noticed on the home page, the IACAC turns sixty years old this year. It has been a remarkable journey and the fact that the organization has remained alive and continuously operating for that long solely with volunteers is something to be proud of.
We've got our August golf outing scheduled and have already been soliciting sponsorships for holes and other things. If you're interested in being a sponsor, it's never too early to commit and get the advertising and messaging that comes with it. For more information, contact either myself or Mark Stoyas for more information.
In December, we're wondering whether or not we should step up our game in honor of this milestone. Some of the ideas being discussed are:
- Do we do a luncheon, or a dinner?
- Is it a more formal affair (something just short of black tie)?
- Do we do it in a hotel ballroom and open it up to a much larger audience?
- If we go the ballroom route, the tickets will be much more expensive, and will people still attend and support the event?
It goes without saying that we will be continuing our support of the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots drive as well as having our usual raffles of great prizes. Watch for a survey in the next month or two to solicit your feedback.