An interesting gloom-and-doom narrative has been circulating media outlets that asserts the freight hauling industry suffers a pay shortage, not a lack of CDL holders. While it’s easy to interview disgruntled workers in any sector or play on the negative elements of a job, one 25-year-old Gen Z trucker has a point. However, it may not be the one he’s trying to make about the ills of trucking.
“If you ask any trucker, it’s kind of like a broken record,” Clayton Atkins, who has worked as a trucker for three years. “It’s not a trucker shortage. It’s a pay shortage.”
Atkins reportedly told interviewers about the pronounced loneliness he experienced as an over-the-road (OTR) trucker. He explained how he lacked human contact and some days didn’t talk to a soul until his wife got off work. He did try phone calls and other means of electronic communication.
“It’s definitely not what I expected when I got into it,” Atkins reportedly said.
The upstart CDL holder’s experience was consistent with what causes 35 percent of newly-minted truckers to quit within their first 90 days. Sometimes called “early leaving,” not everyone is prepared or suited for the daily lifestyle of a long-haul trucker. Although Atkins indicates the 80,000 truck driver shortage stems from low pay, many of the facts don’t fit that narrative.
For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates the median salary for heavy and tractor-trailer drivers was $47,130 per year and $22.66 per hour in 2020. Non-government statistics in March, 2022, point to significantly higher salaries and hourly rates.
Some platforms report that the current national average has risen to $59,684, more than $12,000 since the BLS data. Online information also notes that truckers in the 25th percentile now make slightly more than the BLS median, and experienced truckers in the 90th percentile can anticipate pulling down $89,000 on average. Those pay rates are a driving reason why the BLS reports the average monthly gain for trucking industry jobs hovered around 5,400 since the beginning of 2021. The February trucking industry total was 1,549,100 and companies cannot hire people fast enough. Atkins’ own reasons for earning a CDL appear to have been driven by good pay as well.
“My oldest brother had been a trucker for about six to eight years at that point,” Atkins reportedly said. “They have a nice house, nice cars, four-wheelers, boats, all that sort of fun stuff.”
Rather than quit the profession, Atkins made a change to a position that better suited his expectations and lifestyle. He no longer goes weeks away from home. Instead, he hauls freight between Louisiana, Florida, and his home state of Alabama. The regional routes allow him more time at home and the connection with family members he seemed to need. Were the salaries actually as bad as he made them sound, it’s safe to say Atkins would have quit trucking. But his point about salaries still may hold true. Like other members of Generation Z, trading a localized lifestyle for OTR trucking may cost freight carriers and fleet operators a premium. Salaries are rising quickly, more people are entering the workforce and, yet, the truck driver shortfall continues to grow. Gen Zers may force companies to ramp up salaries and benefits even higher in the coming years to attract more long-haul truckers.
Sources: businessinsider.com, zippia.com, thetrucker.com
Leave a Comment