Driver Shortage

Embark is working to make the self-driving future a reality, and while most of the spectacle has been around passenger vehicles, Embark believes that commercial trucking, the backbone of the U.S. economy, stands to reap untold benefits by deploying autonomous trucks, particularly during the “long haul” stretches.

According to American Trucking Associations quarterly report, the turnover rate at truckload carriers surged in the second quarter of 2017 possibly reflecting a tightening market for drivers.

Anyone that wakes up each day in a logistics job that centers around moving freight is more than aware of the fact that there is a significant truck driver shortage. That is nothing new; in fact, it is far from it. But that does not mean the driver shortage is viewed as a “whistle by the graveyard” or “nothing to see here” approach. In fact, it is and needs to be the opposite. This comes into full view when taking...

When you consider that the average age of a trucker is 56, you realize it’s high time to up efforts to recruit and retain younger drivers to address the driver shortage and ensure a future for this profession.

A recent stretch of low motor carrier driver turnover rates appears to have come to an end, according to data issued this week by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

For the first quarter, ATA reported that the annualized turnover rate for large truckload carriers with more than $30 million in revenue headed up by 3% to 74%, which the ATA said is at a “near-historic” low point and down 15% annually.

Analysts expect automated trucks to proliferate in the next five to ten years, leading to significant job losses in the process, but the problem is the numbers do not clearly back up the predictions.

Starsky Robotics wants to solve the primary logistical challenge for the trucking industry by taking drivers off the road and target long haul services, which is primarily highway driving with short trips from the exit to the final destination.

In 2015, American Trucking Associations estimated that for-hire trucking companies had nearly 50,000 fewer drivers than they needed, the shortage was less severe in 2016, but the trade group expects it to worsen in coming years reported the Wall Street Journal.

To address these findings, the industry will need to develop a program that specifically targets younger generations of workers with appropriate messaging, including the benefits of a career in trucking.

The ATA said that the second quarter turnover rate at truckload fleets with more than $30 million in annual revenue dropped six points to 83 percent, which ATA said is its lowest level in five years going back to the second quarter of 2011.

In an effort to help buyers of freight transportation and logistics services to better understand the required best practices in order to be a shipper of choice for their carrier partners, non asset-based third-party logistics (3PL) services provider Transplace said this week it has rolled out a Preferred Shipper Checklist.

“The cargo has been discharged, but we are still looking for an available a trucker.”

Data issued by the American Trucking Associations today shows that the annualized driver turnover rates at large truckload fleets remains high.

According to a new analysis by the American Trucking Associations, the shortage of truck drivers has grown to nearly 48,000 and could expand further due to industry growth and a retiring workforce.