Demographic Trends Pose Major Challenge for Trucking Industry

A new study focusing on demographics shows that the trucking may be in for a rough patch, given the industry’s disproportionate dependence on employees 45 years of age or older, many of whom will retire in the next 10-20 years.

Complicating this is a sharp decrease over the past 20 years in the number of younger drivers that make up the industry, particularly those 35 and under.

The sobering news, observed by many but now documented in more detail, comes from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization.

ATRI has released a white paper that highlights a challenging future for the trucking industry based on demographic data and a dramatic shift in the age of the industry’s driver workforce. The findings document implications for the ongoing driver shortage.

“The average age of our current driver workforce is 52 and we’re noticing fewer and fewer younger individuals applying for jobs in recent years,” said Keith Tuttle, Founder, Motor Carrier Service, Inc. and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee.

“If the industry doesn’t collectively figure out how to recruit younger drivers, we may not have anyone left to haul freight in the coming decades. With more and more of the nation’s freight being hauled by trucks now and in the future, this is a piece of the puzzle we have to solve,” Tuttle added.

The report discusses the issues impacting the industry’s ability to attract younger drivers, and offers solutions to the problem including an increased vocational presence for the trucking industry and closing the gap between high school and CDL eligibility.

A copy of the white paper is available at www.atri-online.org.

Category: Driver Stuff, Featured, General Update, Management