Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 8/7/19


Slower economic growth and a slight increase in supply will cause a shortage in truck drivers to ease slightly by the end of this year, but the combination of a tight labor market and an aging driver population will keep the shortage near its peak of 60,800 drivers in 2018, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The driver shortage poses a problem for the entire supply chain because 71.4% of all freight tonnage is moved on the nation’s highways, ATA notes in its latest examination of the issue that it began documenting in 2005.

“The increase in the driver shortage should be a warning to carriers, shippers and policymakers because if conditions don’t change substantively, our industry could be short just over 100,000 drivers in five years and 160,000 drivers in 2028,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a news release announcing the report’s release.

The report details the factors that contribute to the shortage. Among them are an aging driver population, increases in freight volumes and competition from other blue-collar careers. It also outlines potential market and policy solutions. Though the report covers the entire industry, the bulk of the shortage is in the over-the-road for-hire truckload market.

“The trucking industry needs to find ways to attract more and younger drivers,” Costello said. “Right now, the average age of an over-the-road driver is 46 years old, and almost as alarming is that the average age of a new driver being trained is 35 years old.

“Whether by removing barriers for younger drivers to begin careers as drivers, attracting more demographic diversity into the industry, or easing the transition for veterans, we need to do more to recruit and retain drivers,” he said. “That includes increasing pay, which happened at a brisk pace last year, to keep pace with demand, addressing lifestyle factors like getting drivers more time at home, and improving conditions on the job like reducing wait times at shipper facilities.”

To meet the nation’s freight demand, the trucking industry will need to hire 1.1 million new drivers over the next decade — an average of 110,000 per year — to replace retiring drivers and keep up with growth in the economy, the report states.

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