Driver Deficit: Who will drive the future? |
Posted: November 16, 2018 |
Driver Deficit: Who will drive the future?
When it comes to recruiting tomorrow’s driver workforce, the industry must “look at it from a holistic standpoint,” says Phil Byrd, chief executive officer of Bulldog Hiway Express and former chairman of the American Trucking Associations. “One solution won’t solve the problem.” Not given its size: Trucking needs 890,000 new drivers over the next decade – an average of 89,000 per year – to replace retirees and keep pace with growth, according to ATA. An aging workforce and fewer younger entrants will make meeting that challenge difficult at best, experts say. In the long-haul segment that faces the biggest workforce struggles, drivers on average are 49 years old, 93 percent male and primarily white, and most have been driving for 20 years or more. Compare that to the overall U.S. workforce, where the median age is 42 and about half are female. At the same time, trucking is failing to bring young people into the industry: From 1994 to 2013, trucking’s share of 25- to 34-year-olds dropped by more than half. Given that 45 percent of drivers are expected to retire in the next decade, focusing recruiting efforts on trucking’s traditional demographic will not meet the industry’s long-term needs. Operational changes, such as driver-friendly shorter hauls to meet rising e-commerce demands, and technological changes – such as automated transmissions, safety systems and autonomous trucks – likely will help the industry’s workforce woes, but they won’t fill the ever-widening gap. To do that, the industry must attract drivers from other demographics – women, young people and minorities – and build a sustainable workforce. Unfortunately, diversification efforts to date have met with limited success. Best regards autodoc.co.uk
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