Yahoo/Business Insider.
America needs more truck drivers. -Yahoo/Business Insider. The country is short at least 30,000 drivers, according to the American Trucking Association. Truck driving has an incredible turnover rate, over 90% for the past nine quarters and 90% of carriers are having staffing problems. Truckers leave due to poor pay, harsh government regulations and better options in other industries.
My Comment:
I don't usually post economic news but since I work in a related industry I might as well post. I deal with truckers everyday at my job and this article is spot on. Most of the regular drivers I see are old guys who have been trucking for most of their lives. The young guys come once or twice and then I never see them again, for the most part. The government regulations are a huge part of it. Not only did the new health regulations disqualify a ton of drivers, they add on to the pressure to deliver product on time. Given the high stress levels of constantly driving in large cities, the large impact on social and family relationships and the immense amount of pressure drivers are under, it's not surprising that drivers do not last long. You can make decent money at it but considering the conditions many drivers are underpaid.
Of course not having enough truck drivers is a huge problem. Logistics is the lifeblood of the economy and if it starts to fall apart everything will start to fall apart. The only way i see to fix this is to either lower the pressure on drivers by decreasing the expectations for customers when it comes to speed of delivery or increase wages. Increasing wages seem more likely but it might not be enough.
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