Study puts data behind truck driver shortage

Rising competition for truck drivers and pressures from the pandemic are complicating the commercial trucking landscape, opening the door for new solutions to a long-discussed problem in transportation and logistics, according to research from third-party logistics (3PL) services provider Coyote, released this week.

The research examines the extent and shape of the commercial truck driver shortage in the United States and aims to put data behind the issue.

“Is the U.S. logistics industry facing a dire shortage of commercial truck drivers?” the researchers ask in the opening pages of their report, titled Drivers Wanted: Using Data to Understand the Commercial Truck Driver Shortage. The research examines carrier challenges, job posting trends, demographic issues, the competitive landscape, and complications from the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to understand the broader issue of a driver shortage and offer ways to potentially solve the problem. Some study highlights include:

• New competition from warehousing has had a major impact on commercial trucking. While heavy and tractor trailer trucking has seen around nine new job postings for every hire, warehousing sees two hires for every one job posting, according to the report.
• As a result of Covid-19, overall demand for trucking was down 38% in 2020 (compared to 2019), but so was the requisite interest in these jobs, according to the report.
• Nearly 4 million job postings require a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), according to the research. By removing barriers to entry, such as helping new recruits get a CDL, firms can more effectively attract young workers to help replace the aging driver workforce, the authors wrote.

Coyote conducted the research in cooperation with labor market analytics firm Emsi.