Often, after severe weather events or other disasters, grocery store shelves quickly empty and are not restocked immediately. During these times, people realize that trucking is the backbone of the nation. Trucks deliver nearly 75 percent of all freight, and when they stop moving, the country grinds to a halt. In less than a week, almost every grocery shelf will be empty, followed soon by all the essential consumer goods.
For these reasons, Americans need to be aware of the long-haul trucking crisis, its impact on our daily lives, and the cost of living.
The trucking industry reflects the overall state of the American economy, grappling with significant challenges, including worker shortages, integrating new technology, rising insurance and business costs, aging infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles. Long-term, the industry’s problems mirror dramatic generational societal shifts in demographics, workplace culture and immigrant labor issues.
Simply put, truck driving is a traditional, unglamorous job with little prestige, modest pay, few opportunities for advancement, and conflicts with family life. As a result, a significant gap exists between these perceptions and the industry’s vital role in keeping America moving. Meanwhile, trucking companies struggle to recruit younger drivers, who leave at unprecedented rates, with turnover reportedly exceeding 90 percent at the largest carriers.
Trucking industry demographics reveal the root of the current and worsening crisis, with an expected shortfall of 160,000 drivers by 2030.
According to a study by the American Transportation Research Institute, dwindling baby boom generation truckers, whose average retirement age was 62, along with Generation X drivers, aged 45 to 60, account for “62 percent of the trucking workforce.” The industry is alarmed that “only 20 percent of truck drivers are under 35, compared to 35 percent of the overall labor force. That suggests the younger generations are not as interested in trucking,” the study admits.
No wonder, because for decades, the entertainment industry and society at large have stereotypically portrayed truck drivers as rough-looking, pot-bellied, white males at the bottom of the social strata. Thus, it is rare for anyone to grow up saying, “I want to be a truck driver.”
Therefore, to attract younger drivers, the trucking industry must be rebranded and restructured as a well-paying career for both men and women, taking pride in a job that contributes to making America great.
Similar workforce shortages are plaguing most traditional physical blue-collar jobs that require workers to leave home and report to work every day, part of the previously mentioned generational shift.
The American Transportation Research Institute study found that “younger truck drivers have different job priorities. They look for stable career paths, a healthy work-life balance, good company culture and stronger training. Researchers recommend that motor carriers adjust their job offerings to attract these younger drivers.”
However, all those “different job priorities” translate into higher transportation costs that we pay at checkout. Of course, higher wages would help address low retention rates among young drivers, but there are a host of working condition issues, some of which go beyond larger paychecks.
In June, there was a discussion panel, “Where’s the Next Generation? Addressing the Talent Pipeline Crisis in Trucking,” sponsored by The Inside Lane, an industry newsletter. Key challenges included weeks on the road, a shortage of truck parking, overtime pay, and, often, unpaid wait time at shipping and receiving facilities.
One of the panelists was Lewie Pugh, a trucking industry expert and executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). Not afraid to speak honestly, Pugh said, “Our industry needs to do a lot of self-reflection and self-repair.” He addressed the modern issue relevant to many traditional jobs, “‘My generation was willing to put up with a lot … We never said, ‘Enough is enough.’ I don’t think younger people are going to put up with that. They want better work-life balance.”
Certainly, work-life balance will continue to dog the industry. Still, many people are desperate for jobs, which highlights the issue of immigrant workers. An industry once dominated by white employees now has increasing numbers of Hispanics, comprising 23.3 percent of drivers. Blacks account for 18.3 percent of drivers, with Asians at 4 percent, and Indians are a growing segment, especially Sikhs.
The problem is that language barriers and uncredentialed illegal immigrant drivers contribute to accidents. In July, authorities placed the blame for a deadly Florida highway crash on a Sikh driver. Fueling the already contentious immigration debate, last month, President Trump paused issuing visas to foreign truck drivers.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.” That last phrase is debatable, since fewer citizens are attracted to the industry.
Days later, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “threatened to withhold millions in federal highway funding from states” that don’t require truck drivers to be proficient in English, acknowledging the Trump executive order signed in April.
The abundant supply of eager immigrant labor presents management problems for the trucking industry and the broader American economy, as does integrating new technology. For trucking, it’s a future without drivers.
The promise of self-driving or autonomous trucks could transform the industry by eliminating the driver shortage and those nagging work-life balance issues. Language barriers, visa requirements and long hours would be in the rearview mirror.
An industry survey predicts that self-driving trucks will be on the roads in 15 to 25 years. But first, the technology must be perfected and new federal regulations implemented. Inevitably, trucking will be revolutionized, along with the entire economy, as machines increasingly replace humans.
Trucking should be a more front-burner issue because people are alarmed by their grocery bills, but don’t usually connect the trucking crisis to rising costs. Recently, I have noticed more empty shelves at various stores, and when I ask about an item, I’m told “the truck hasn’t arrived.”
This all-important industry reflects both current and future national economic and social problems, as well as exciting new opportunities. But one could also argue that the deepening trucking crisis represents a nation in decline.
Myra Adams is a political and religious opinion writer who served on the creative team of two Republican presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008.
