Safety incidents among our membership have shown a significant, nearly 16% decline over the past nine years, according to the recently published 2020 Membership & Safety Report – with only one incident per 8,841 shipments.
Results from the annual survey carried out by researchers John Dunham & Associates emphasize your continued commitment to safety and prove we’ve had another extremely positive year in terms of productivity and performance.
The report shows that NACD members generated over $32.04 billion in sales in 2019, traveled more than 420 million miles, and safely delivered product every 6.5 seconds.
“The number of incidents remains very low, and from a safety standpoint overall, it was once again a very good year,” says Managing Partner John Dunham.
“Sadly, there were two fatalities within the membership, but our report suggests these were not due to specific problems or faults; they were unfortunate accidents,” he insists.
“When dealing with chemicals and equipment in an industry such as this, bad things occasionally happen. What is important is that we learn from this and make sure it doesn't happen again.”
Each year, NACD commissions this independent study to highlight the safety and performance metrics of our membership. Questionnaires are sent out in February with the results published during November’s Annual Meeting.
Safety remains the cornerstone of our Responsible Distribution program and is central to NACD’s ethos that protecting our employees, communities, and the environment is paramount.
These latest figures show that member companies made an incredible 4.84 million shipments totaling 33.3 million tons in 2019 – equivalent to about seven tons per shipment.
The average value of these shipments was down to $6,615 compared with $7,976 the year before – and they also traveled shorter distances, averaging 86.8 miles rather than the 98.5 miles seen in 2018.
This may suggest a shift in buying trends, perhaps with customers looking to source more locally, although Dunham notes that distributors opening or moving their facilities even closer to target markets and customers could be another possible explanation.
While the value of participating in the Responsible Distribution program is clear in terms of safety and performance, the report also shows that firms each saved around $3,600 last year because of their membership.
“Of course, while this is good news, the main reason for being a responsible distributor goes well beyond saving money through lower insurance and cutting other costs,” says Dunham.
Find out more about the survey and the latest report at https://www.nacd.com/about/membership-safety/.
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