Labor shortages push foodservice distribution employers to boost wages

Labor shortages throughout the U.S. logistics sector are pushing a jump in wages for workers in both warehouse and truck driving jobs, according to a survey released today by the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA).

The results show that warehouse workers now earn an average of $50,000, compared to $42,500 in 2020. And truck driver salaries average $79,000 compared to $70,000 in 2020.

Those changes are happening faster than normal, due to pressure put on logistics operations by a tight labor market as well as economic disruptions caused by the pandemic and supply chain delays, the trade group said.

In light of those conditions, IFDA created a supplemental compensation survey which followed up on its biannual cross-industry hourly compensation released in July. The new data is based on responses from 117 distribution companies providing data for 555 locations nationwide, of which 45 companies and 140 locations are foodservice distributors. The survey was conducted between June 1 and August 31.

In other results, IFDA found that 66% of foodservice distributors say they now pay above-market wages, in addition to offering incentive pay and bonuses for drivers and warehouse team members. They’re doing that because 50% of foodservice distributors say the labor shortage has worsened over the past three months, and 83% have experienced significant or extreme difficulty recruiting drivers, the group said.

Those trends echo similar reports on the post-pandemic labor market, such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA) recently saying that the nation’s current driver shortage of 80,000 truckers may double to 160,000 by 2030. Economists have also reported that very few people are looking for work, as shown by the U.S. jobless claims rate which fell in Septmber near an 18-month low point even as parcel carriers and retailers are launching annual job fairs to handle the holiday rush.