We all know that driver shortage is a real problem, but after hearing from the American Trucking Associations president and CEO, Chris Spears, it is clear that there is an immense number of trucks but not enough drivers to drive them. The predicted need for 1 million drivers over the next decade is only to maintain our current economic demand. It does not account for any surges in population or potential shortages that could put everyone behind. The efforts that have been made are not meeting the demands of the industry and there needs to be “aggressive” steps taken to improve the outlook. A simple example of how this impacts our daily lives is the clear driver shortage we’ve been dealing with, paired with a fuel shortage that will have a rippling effect on the greater public and economic stability of our country. The pandemic is when truckers initially started to look for other jobs as COVID mandated shutdowns impacted the operations of the trucking industry. What is scary is that even with the pandemic there were drivers that maintained their routes and delivered essentials such as groceries, medical supplies, COVID-19 vaccinations and tests, and more. If there isn’t a concentrated effort within the next 5 – 10 years, it’ll be very difficult to continue life as we know it today.
