Categorize this report as "no bad news here....yet".

I have a close friend (call him "Bill") in a major midwest city who is the terminal manager for a regional trucking company. Bill's trucks haul chemicals in 5000 gal tankers (caustic soda, trichlorethylene, ammonia, various alkalis and acids, etc). I asked him today how things were going and specifically if any evidence of the bug had shown up.

Bill told me he hasn't seen any evidence of disruptions in his business. His business is on the delivery side, supplying chemical products to regional industries. The chemical product originates in manufacturing plants down south, is shipped to his off-load terminal via barge, transloaded into his tankers, then delivered to the end user. Suppliers include DuPont, ICI Americas, and Hercules, and I think I'll not name the end-user industries for obvious reasons.....

Bill told me that prior to New Years, many of his customers "stocked up". Those pre-positioned stocks are now used up, and his trucks are rolling on normal delivery schedules. One local plant (a major manufacturer) has a standing delivery order of three truckloads a day of whatever it is they use, and that hasn't changed. On the supply side, he's noted no disruptions either in barge deliveries or from the sources of supply.

From an IT perspective, he's seen no glitches in any sector of his business that he can point to and say "that damn bug". Invoices have been correct, payments are being made, orders are being taken (and tracked), the faxes, phones, and transponders are working, and drivers, mechanics, and staff are getting paid. His quote: "We're seventeen days into it, and if it ain't showed up by now, I don't think it's gonna." To which I reminded him of Yogi Berra: "It ain't over 'til it's over, and it ain't over yet."

For you pollies who are gonna ask "but can you trust his word?", the answer is an emphatic yes! You see, we have a mutual background in Special Forces, and bonds formed in war are never broken. At least, not in our outfits. So pollies, you can just KMA.

Anyway, I thought this report might be helpful. It's another piece to the puzzle. But I'm still keeping my preps, and continuing to lurk in the country. I watched a glorious sunset this evening (no chemtrails), and counted about a dozen deer in our south field right at dusk. Said a little prayer, and thanked Deity for not dropping the other shoe just yet......

From rural Georgia, I'm still

-- Craig (sofpj@netscape.net), January 17, 2000

Answers

Craig, Thanks. That's encouraging at least.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), January 17, 2000.

Another excellent post in that it covers the supply chain a few links in each direction, plus the IT that manages deliveries, billings etc. What then do you mean, Craig, about Anyone dropping shoes? I never heard the first shoe. No Shoes, nor Socks dropping anywhere. A bit of pocket lint I'd say; and nothing more.

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-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.tree), January 17, 2000.

Great post Craig. Does your friend realize that the world is run by mainframes, which could take some time to drob their bombs?

-- Earl (earl.shuholm@worldnet.att.net), January 17, 2000.

I took a drive through a petrochemical industrial area today -- very interesting and impressive -- and saw exactly the type of facility you describe. Obviously a distributor, located near the waterfront to be supplied by barge and/or small tanker, the property was dotted with various holding tanks; on one side was a plaza for loading of tanker trucks, and talk about a multiplicity of pipes and hoses. The loading area resembled a long toll plaza, which could accommodate perhaps 10 trucks at a time in separate "berths." One large tanker-truck was loading at the time, a shiny chromed tanker. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary around the entire industrial area.

-- Harbor Guy (HarborGuy@OnThe.Waterfront), January 17, 2000.

Mara, what is encouraging? The fact that craig told us that nothing has happened, or that this moron is still hoping and praying that something will occur to justify his pathetic preparations.

-- Mr.Sane (hhh@home.com), January 18, 2000.

Craig, nice uplifting post, thanks.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 19, 2000.

Good info. Thanks.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 20, 2000.