Autonomous trucking looks like it could become a commercial success earlier, propelled by a driver shortage that the american trucking associations puts at 60,000 a year for semi drivers. The average age of a working truck driver in the u. The road transport industry is the backbone of the economy and plays an essential role in peoples daily lives. To keep pace, some truck fleets are considering further doubledigit driver pay increases later in the year.
The lifestyle is one thats sedentary and often lonely, with little home time and demanding hours. The fuel shortages for vehicles will start running out. Female truckers could be the solution to the semitruck driver shortage. To ease trucker shortage, trump team considers dropping. Amazons ability to attract semitruck drivers is leading fleet providers to rethink their strategies, as they try to grapple with worsening driver shortages across the industry. A quick guide to the state of truck driving in canada. Facing a critical shortage of drivers, the trucking. Nearly every period of economic growth is accompanied by a driver shortage, including the recovery that began in 2009. According to an american trucking associations study, over the next decade, the trucking. The trucking industry has faced a shortage of drivers for years, but the problem is compounded now with baby boomer retirements, increased freight demands and a high turnover rate. As recently reported in usa today, there is currently a severe shortage of trained truck drivers to deliver manufactured goods to sales points. Still, with the need to move more than 10 billion tons of freight every year, the u. Furthermore, trucking has one of the highest turnover rates of any industry at about 90 to 100 percent.
The truck industry is taking stock of an alarming trend a severe driver shortage. But insiders said its getting worse for companies looking for semi drivers. Kedzie says there is great career opportunity in the industry, with currently well over 100,000 positions related to the trucking industry in wisconsin. Some companies are raising pay to attract more people to.
Senator todd young, a republican from the state of indiana. A nyone following the driver shortage saga for the last two decades might think trucking has been crying wolf. Self driving trucks will impact the trucking industry forever. Amid trucker shortage, trump team pilots program to drop. But truck drivingthe method by which over 70 percent of all freight tonnage is moved, with nearly everything sold in america at some point rumbling. The american trucking associations, or ata, estimating a shortage of between 35,000 and 40,000 drivers, with new drivers entering the profession slower than older drivers are retiring. Trucking industry struggles with growing driver shortage. Truck driver shortage analysis american trucking associations. But many carriers havent changed their ways, and its no longer truckings dirty little secret that truck driver takehome pay can be as. The electric tesla semi has been, in part, ballyhooed for its semiautonomous driving options. Addressing the truck driver shortage with legislation. What is the solution for the truck driver shortage.
The transportation of goods and services is crucial to economic success, but the number of semitruck drivers is in decline, which is effecting. Bigrig truck driver shortage worsened by coronavirus marketplace. The driver shortage has been going on for years, with baby boomers retiring and few millennials willing to endure hardships such as being away. Truck driver shortage is on course to double in a decade. Theres a shortage of bigrig truck drivers in the u. Truck driver shortage slows trucking industry and it could. Even so, trucking companies, especially truckload carriers, often have great difficulty finding, hiring and keeping drivers. Because of the limited number of people entering the trucking industry, this helps fuel the demand.
Depending on where the driver lives, the base income will vary due to the locations cost of living. He has proposed the developing responsible individuals for a vibrant economydrivesafe act. Us truck driver pay to rise more than normal in 2019 william b. Driver shortage in trucking industry getting worse. The truck driver shortage is expected to hit 63,000 this year, according to the american trucking assns.
Next, the average age of a truck driver in the usa is 55 years old says the american trucking association. The common feeling is that this current capacity crunch is. The american trucking association, a trade group that represents fleet owners, said annual truckdriver salaries rose between 15 percent and. A shortage of truck drivers that has been simmering for years has reached a full boil, causing anxiety from small factories to the fed. Majority of truck drivers are only home 12 times per month for very short periods. Dire driver shortages in us trucking companies could hit consumers. Approximately 60,000 drivers are needed to meet robust demand for trucking services, and that may be a conservative estimate. The truck driver shortage is poorly understood, poorly defined and overlabeled as a problem, donald broughton, principal and managing. According to a new report from the american trucking associations ata, the industry. Cnbcs kate rogers reports on how the trucking industry is pulling out all the stops to attract more workers, especially women, to fill its labor shortage of about 51,000 drivers. The new study understanding the truck driver supply and demand gap was conducted by transportation consultants. The driver shortage is one of the many trends shaping the modern trucking industry. The shortage is perplexing because it hasnt mirrored trends in other industries. Hardly a day goes by without the driver shortage coming up in conversation.
It will discuss why this is such an important issue, using statistics to highlight the history and current scope of the problem. No container or straight truck or trailer moves without, at some point, a truck driver. All stereotypes that female truck drivers are facing with is due to the fact that male truck drivers and some trucking company owners think that female truck drivers cannot face easily. While a truck driver shortage is one reason factoring into truckload carrier capacity issues, there are many other problems that affect the ability for a motor carrier to supply adequate equipment and manpower to haul freight across continental north america. The bill would make it legal for truck drivers under 21 years of. The trucking industry needed tens of thousands of drivers even before the coronavirus hit. Although trucking companies were well aware that they can make a difference, especially these days when the trucking industry is facing truck driver shortage. Amazon is luring semitruck drivers away from fleets. Representative mike gallagher strapped on the action 2 news gopro on saturday and took an hour ride. While the shortage is not new, it has recently become a serious threat to the continued growth of our national economy.
The job pays a middleclass wage, yet few people want it. This article will detail the ongoing shortage of truck drivers in the united states. The united states and colorado are facing a truck driver shortage, a daunting economic prospect as the vast majority of goods in the country are transported over the road. It remains the top industry concern, according to the american transportation research institutes annual survey yet. During the past 15 years, the trucking industry has struggled with a shortage of truck drivers. What are trucking companies doing to solve the driver. However, a commercial drivers licence, or cdl, is required to drive a semi legally in and out of state. House republicans introduced a bill in march to lower the commercial truck driving age to 18 for anyone driving.
Bad press, high demand and a lack of skilled labor has led to a yearlong truck driver shortage, and it doesnt show signs of stopping. Truck driver shortage and forecasts 2019 i am zeus. Professional bus and truck drivers are the industrys. Like trucking, construction work has long been considered a reliable middleclass job, and the industry has boomed as the country has come out of the recession. Trucking has the opportunity to be a lucrative career. The truck driver shortage is one of the biggest issues the north american trucking industry faces today. Trucking industry struggles with growing driver shortage more than 70 percent of goods consumed in the u. With the trucking industry in the throes of a severe driver shortage, fleet owners understandably might feel more like they are in the business of recruiting drivers rather than the business of. Shortage of drivers causing a crisis in transportation.
The shortfall was first documented in a 2005 report. The canadian trucking alliance says in canada, the labour shortage could reach 48,000 by 2024. Us truck driver pay to rise more than normal in 2019. Female truckers could be solution to semitruck driver. Trucking industry seeks clarity on driver classification issues. Driver shortage ripples across trucking industry wsj. Truck drivers are in demand because many people do not want to become a truck driver as a first reason. The shortage could be upwards of 100,000 or more, seaport global. Even with bonuses and benefit sweeteners, the shortage of truck drivers is so severe that congress is considering lowering the age for statetostate truck drivers to 18 from 21. The average turnover rate for trucking companies large and small is 96% per year. Most recently the ata estimated that the trucking industry ended 2018 with a shortage of more than 60,000 truck drivers. The shortage of professional truck drivers in the canadian forhire trucking industry is escalating more rapidly than industry analysts previously thought, according to a new study prepared for the canadian trucking alliance. The driver shortage has certainly help boost driver compensation which has been long overdue.
There appears to be a shortage of qualified professional truck drivers because drivers are leaving the industry and searching for. Shortage of semitruck drivers hits wisconsin the advancetitan. After all, with each economic uptick since at least 1998 has come panic over the lack. The present shortage of qualified truck drivers, the less than adequate driver wages, the long list of stringent rules and regulations, the implementation of electronic log books, combined with the overcrowded roadways on the major routes, truck driving in canada certainly is not as appealing as it once was, a few decades ago. Trucking industry struggles to fill driver jobs youtube. A shortage of drivers tops the pending implementation of the federal electronic logging device mandate as the biggest trucking business concern, according to an industry trade group. Is the truck driver shortage really as bad as it seems. The growing shortage of truck drivers has gotten the attention of u.