Trucking is short at least 80,000 drivers, and as freight volumes rise, so too does the need for more workers behind the wheel. Many have retired because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and new drivers entering the industry have been slow to emerge because of backlogs in training and obtaining commercial driver licenses.
Those are the conclusions of American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello, who on Oct. 20 raised the estimate of drivers needed from 61,500 in his annual findings.
