We’ve been talking about the truck driver shortage in recent years, and it seems like this year is when the public at large is really taking notice.
Take, for example, the gas shortages. There are multiple factors involved, but part of the problem is that there are not enough truck drivers to transport the gas to the various stations across the country. That could mean that the problems will persist even after the pandemic ends and the pipeline starts up again.
According to this news report,
The National Tank Truck Carriers says that “upwards of one-quarter of trucks are sitting idle due to not having enough drivers. For context, that number was only 10 percent before the pandemic in 2019.”
The article continued to share that factors that were leading to the shortage before the pandemic are still a factor. In some cases, like aging drivers, the pandemic sped things up.
Economics expert Dr. Stephen Pruitt is a professor at UMKC’s Bloch School.
“It’s one of the oldest industries, and it turns out that the average truck driver is just about 50 years old,” Pruitt said. “Those people are retiring. A lot of them have, you know, were laid off during the pandemic and decided that (it’s a) great time to retire, not come back.”
Aging out has been an issue for a while now for the trucking industry. Older drivers are retiring, and younger drivers are not finding the good wages enough appeal to join the ranks, especially given other options.
Even within the same or similar industry, younger, and in some cases, even the older potential truck drivers are flocking to other related industries.
A rapid increase in e-commerce also means more drivers are needed, making the gap between supply and demand even greater. But it also means there is an increased need for last mile delivery drivers, which are shorter routes and almost never requiring overnight trips.
This Freight Waves article addresses the issue.
“Recent unemployment data showing that individuals are going back to work raises the question: Where did these truck drivers go?,” the article states. “The response might be as simple as two words: Final mile.”
Material Handling & Logistics gave their analysis to studies that tackle the truck driver issue.
“Trucking also faces competition from warehouses. Those workers are younger; 62% of warehousing jobs are filled by workers under 45,” the article states.
While most truck drivers are over age 45, most warehouse workers are under age 45.
And warehousing has a higher hire rate than truck driving jobs.
“For most of the last four years, there have been about two hires for every job posting,” the article reads. “This indicates that employers are able to fill these jobs via methods such as word-of-mouth referrals and local job boards, and don’t rely as much on job postings.”
Is your company affected by the driver shortage? Are you looking for quality final mile services? We can help with the second one, for sure! Give us a call and we can discuss how our offices in Northwest Arkansas and Central Arkansas can help you serv