Hurricane Katrina Relief

For those of you interested in ways to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina, Instapundit has by far the most complete list of links to charities and other resources for helping the victims of this disaster. Click the link and please take the time to browse through the very thorough list for an aid group of your choosing.

Meanwhile, the fallout from Katrina has impacted the transportation industry in many ways. In New Orleans, ocean containers and rail cars lie scattered throughout the flood waters like scattered toothpicks. My contact at Hanjin says that ultimately the railroads and steamship lines will end up footing the bill to locate all the missing containers and get them back on track once the flood waters recede.

In the rest of the country, freight companies are concerned that Katrina could drive up domestic transportation costs :

On Wednesday, transportation companies began reporting such tell-tale signs
as trucking firms refusing to drive into the Deep South for fear tight diesel
fuel supplies will strand them there.

And any day now the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to
begin hiring trucks in earnest to move supplies to stricken areas.
The
government pays so well -- at least twice the going rate of $1.50 per loaded
mile -- that many trucking firms will leap at the chance, local observers
say.

In other news, DHL/Danzas/AEI/Airborne/Deutsche Post is trying to locate employees impacted by the hurricane.

Friends and family members of DHL employees who have already made contact
with their relatives are also encouraged to contact DHL with information about
their relatives' current situation. DHL is requesting the following information:
-- Full employee name
-- Facility or work location
-- Assessment of
personal property damage
-- Emergency contact information
DHL has
established a relief fund matched by the company to which DHL staff nationwide
have been contributing to support fellow employees in the stricken areas. These
proceeds will be distributed to impacted employees based on individual needs.
Friends and relatives who wish to contribute to this fund may log on to https://onlinebilling.dhl-usa.com/hurricanekatrina/.

And of course, with New Orleans completely out of commission, sunk barges, and transport links severed, everyone is being forced to re-route shipments through alternate channels.

River traffic on the Mississippi has also been halted since Saturday, leaving valuable shipments of grain, soy beans, and other products languishing in limbo, raising questions about what will happen with this year's harvest.

And last, but not least, no surprise here, but Katrina is wreaking havoc with Wall Street, with retailers and transportation companies among those most affected.

If you have any other links or news of interest regarding how the logistics industry is being affected by Katrina, let us know.