Trucking companies and training schools are pulling out all the stops in an effort to attract more drivers. Some are offering more competitive pay rates and full benefits packages; others are working to make the career more appealing to a broader pool of candidates (of the more than 3.5 million people who work as truck drivers, 90% are men and just 6% are women); and still others are experimenting with advanced technologies as a new way to offset the current shortage.
The truck driver shortage isn’t new, but the situation was exacerbated by the global pandemic. For 2018, the American Trucking Association (ATA) reported a total truck driver shortage of 60,800 in the U.S. At the time, that was a record high and up more than 10,000 from the prior year. Projecting out 10 years, the ATA was expecting the shortage to reach 160,000 by 2028.
