America Needs Truckers

America has lost 1,544,700 trucking jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. There are 30,000 less truckers on the road now compared to July 2023. Demand has not waned and this will undoubtedly contribute to supply chain slowdowns.

The trucking transportation sector has been declining steadily for the past four months, based on data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We saw how terribly governments treated truckers amid the pandemic, deeming them essential employees but forcing them to forego their medical autonomy. The average age for a driver is between 46 to 60 and there is a prominent age gap within the industry.

The New York Times released a piece in 2022 claiming that the issue is based on the truck driver lifestyle that entails long weeks or months on the road and often sleeping in your truck. I have a friend who is a trucker who often calls his truck a prison on wheels. As one driver told the New York Times: ““The lifestyle probably is the first thing that smacks people in the face,” he says. “You know what it does to you. You’re thinking about it all the time. We’re tired. Our bodies are starting to go. Our bladders have been put to the test. And no exercise. We end up with all types of heart and other health ailments. You can’t truly fathom what it’s done to you.”

Regulations have caused an increasingly challenging environment for drivers. These regulations also differ by state, with many drivers wishing to avoid certain states altogether. Trucking is lumped in with warehousing in most government data. Warehousing jobs rose 10,700 last month to 1,794,900. However, that was the largest spike in employment since March 2022. Transportation and Warehousing as a collective now has an unemployment rate of 5.7%, up from 4.8% the month prior.

Around 72% of American freight is moved via trucks. The US Census Bureau states that there are 3.5 million truckers, with 8.4 million people employed in trucking related positions suck as laborers, operators, and sales workers.

Simply put – people no longer wish to begin careers in the trucking industry. This presents a major problem as the median aged driver is not far off from retirement, but people are leaving the industry in droves beforehand.