Logistics experts are busy considering ways in which their supply chains can be redesigned so as to avoid the kind of congestion that has brought international goods movement to a virtual halt at major ports. But in the meantime, the system is crying out for some form of immediate relief.

Keeping rail freight moving in the bustling Northeast Corridor is a difficult task in the best of times. And even tougher in a pandemic.

U.S. importers and exporters are bracing themselves for the possibility of a strike — or, at the very least, a damaging worker slowdown — by dockworkers at West Coast ports, as management and labor seek accord on a new longshore contract.

The only certainty in logistics is that uncertainty will grow, opening the door to innovative and adaptable companies to emerge as industry leaders.