How Serious Is the Truck Driver Shortage Problem?
Posted on Thu, Feb 17, 2011 @ 09:17 AM
As we have written about before, demand for Class 8 trucks has been steadily increasing over the past six months. That’s great news for the trucking industry and overall economy, but as a result of this, more truckers are needed to drive the newly purchased trucks and there aren’t may not be enough qualified drivers to go around.
The shortage was in its initial stages before the recession started, and is due to an aging work force, a rebounding economy, and new federal safety rules and regulations create an even more disparate driver shortage, according to a recent article from the Omaha World-Herald.
As baby boomers age, they’re creating a lot of vacancies in this industry that just don’t get filled. The average age of the workforce has steadily been rising in the past few decades, from 34.8 in 1978 and, to 41.2 in 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With the aging workforce and less and less recruits coming with each new year, the industry will have to find other means to fill the gaps left by new retirees. With the trucking industry scheduled to see a 20% growth by 2015, 200,000 new drivers are needed by the end of 2011. But a higher percentage of the younger generation are going to college and joining the workforce in other areas.
On top of the age issues the government is also slapping on new safety regulations which limit hours of service as compared to years past. With fewer drivers and less hours that each driver is allowed to work, the problem starts to seem a bit more daunting. Even with these facts it is not quite time to panic. A brief shortage in drivers will only bring up costs for a short period of time until people are tired of paying $8 for a gallon of milk.
Just as the economy has almost naturally begun to come out of the recession, many believe truck driver shortages will naturally end as well. As long as there’s been an American economy, demand has almost always been met with supply.