American Trucking Association, the trade association which represents many large carriers in the trucking industry, has been saying for years that there is a shortage of truck drivers. At last count, ATA estimated that the industry was short about 60,000 drivers. But during the current economic and freight lull caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, even ATA admits that the “driver shortage” is over… but not for long.
ATA has cited the alleged shortage of drivers as a reason in favor of a great many pieces of legislation they’ve been advocating for over the years. Longer and heavier trailers, reducing the interstate CDL driving age to 18, easing driving training requirements, and many other legislative battles have been fought using the driver shortage as a weapon.
Of course, while ATA maintains that the driver shortage is real, even the federal government says that it doesn’t exist. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published a paper last year which debunked the claim and theorized that the “driver shortage” was a means of keeping driver pay low.
In fact, a BLS economist, economics professor, and researcher backed up that theory by saying that the fundamental laws of economics apply to trucking the same as every other industry. If there was a shortage, new drivers could be found simply by offering to pay them more.
Still, ATA chief economist Bob Costello maintains that after freight volumes rise again, the driver shortage will return.
“The fundamentals of why we had a driver shortage did not go away,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello told Transport Topics. “Demographic issues, age, gender, lifestyle issues. But, for the moment, what has changed is the demand side of the equation has fallen significantly.”
Source: ttnews, truckersreport, truckersreport, truckersreport
Whenever things open up, I imagine we’re going to see 2017-levels of freight volume again.
You should probably not bet your last dollar on it. This so called great economy has been built on consumer debt. I suspect people will be changing their habits in many ways going forward.
I agree.
I don’t see it. Some people will wise up and save, but the vast majority will not.
The savings rate of this country just had a percentage spike greater than any other time, even of 2008 to2009.
I’ve always been a great saver from my youth. My wife and I bumped it up again and will be entirely debt free in 8 weeks, except for a house payment. 15k retired then which was a business expense. I parked it and haven’t worked in 2 months. Life is good and will go on.
who cares dude wtf man…
That’s BS every year that I’ve been driving there has been a shortage, supply and demand if true we driver would be much better plz stop the BS
There is not nor has there been a driver shortage; it has always been the ATA companies buying trucks by the 500 or 1,000 lot. Then they have a hard getting warm bodies into the seats – and if they do, they don’t have enough freight for these drivers and they sit, then they quit. And frequently, the companies broker out their cheapest freight, and there are O/Os either stupid enough or desperate enough to take it – leaving even less freight for the company drivers to haul.
You look at an ATA company yard and see all the empty trucks – that is why they cry “driver shortage”.
ATA includes companies like Werner, England, Crete, Schneider, JB Hunt, Stephens, Swift.
Hell let’s not forget the cheap pay for student drivers. When I got my cdl threw Schneider national I was paid 28 cents per mile. These large companies are treating new drivers as their slaves. We also had too unload our own trailers for like 2 dollars a hour or if we hired a lumper which was like pulling teeth we where stuck paying majority of the bill
What there is an acute shortage of is qualified drivers. Yes, the pay drives Economics. I have turned down over 10 jobs because they want to pay me .42 cents a mile. I would rather do something else
I’ve done the same thing. Ya gotta make it worth getting out of bed for.
Let’s agree, there is an acute shortage of qualified drivers.
I agree. But I also agree that you get what you pay for. Companies used to compete for good drivers but now, they’re working hard to see what they can get away with.
I agree, there’s definitely a drivers shortage………of good companies to work for.
Most all above is right & the fact, driving time, on duty time. Is all you get paid for. Gone from home live in a truck, 3 day’s, or a week or two or more. You don’t get much if any thing during this time. Your darn sure not with family or your best friend’s. Good driver’s is a needed trade. I know many plant worker’s making $125000 a year with out much overtime. Yes in plant’s they have to be very careful, like US. They are home every night. TK’S Don T.
So sick of this BS. They cry driver shortage. When it’s all by design cry driver shortage = new hires to trucking= low pay.
A shortage of new drivers coming out of driving school they can pay low wages to maybe. They don’t want good experienced drivers because they know better than to put up with low pay and being treated like slaves. It’s always the biggest worst companies that they question in matters like these.
If they would let the lot lizards go back to work, then more drivers would go back to work.
SIMPLE
HELLO….There is NO driver shortage, the feds proved it. The big companies wash out drivers to keep pay DOWN, damn driver please wake UP!
Are there some loads not delivered because not enough trucks to deliver them? I don’t think so. If big companies buy too many trucks to fill them with drivers because their pay rate is low- it’s THEIR problem.
There has never been a driver shortage. It has been demostrated that not enough people want to work for low wages, in the trucking industry. It’s simple if you really need drivers, the solution is very simple, pay them enough for them to stay, or become your employee. They don’t do that, they either wanna pay you pennies or just plain don’t pay you (with thier fake lease purchase programs). What ATA wants is to run trucking as walmart, or any other big chain store, by head count, yes the more workers you got the more work you can do, to achieve that you simply pay pennies. Now the difference is that Wally doesn’t need qualified workers, trucking does. So to conclude if you want qualified workers then you need to pay for a qualified worker. Of course 90% new drivers quit within months, cause they are underpaid, so the cycle keeps repeating. Why will I want to work OTA and get paid as a cashier? Yes I get paid more than a cashier but only cause I work more, by the hour I get paid less. All in all no shortage just shortage of paychecks.
Your all correct, except the 1 or 2 comments. Not only are the large carriers trying to monopolize the freight sector, proven by the HOS ELD REGS, advocated by the lobbyist for the railroad sector. Do you remember when the megas really started up with the piggyback game with the railroad. It was the same time megas started going AOBRD’s. Combination of investor’s and CEO’s petcentages increase while cheaper drivers are kept in the seats of the companie’s liquidible assets. Their stock pile of trucks. Empty seat, no return on investment. Filled seat, expenses are covered and margins increase. Equipement is the asset and drivers are the liability. Dang it, got long winded. Time to Ride
What also needs to be considered is that no new drivers are entering the workforce right now because driving schools are closed and states aren’t offering driving tests for licensing.
The problem, as always, is easy to identify. A little trickier to fix the problem. The problem…stupid people driving trucks, stupid people managing trucking companies, stupid people working at shipper/ receivers. EXTREMELY stupid people in Congress!!
The fix….?????
Inverse relationship between manual transmissions and truck drivers.