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Driver shortage trucking's top concern for fifth straight year

Updated Oct 25, 2021

Screen Shot 2021 10 24 At 11 47 19 AmFor the fifth year in a row, the driver shortage has topped the American Transportation Research Institute's (ATRI) annual Top Industry Issues report, a survey of more than 2,500 carriers, commercial drivers and other industry stakeholders.

Unlike 2019 and 2020, where margins between the driver shortage and the No. 2 industry issues were much closer and the driver shortage earned just 28.6% and 26.4% of the total share of votes, respectively, the driver shortage totaled 47.4% of the total share of votes in the 2021 survey.

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“The contributors to this [driver] shortage are endless,” said Rebecca Brewster, ATRI president and COO during an educational session Sunday at the American Trucking Associations’ annual Management Conference and Exhibition in Nashville. “Growing freight demand, the shift to e-commerce that leads to more local jobs that is hurting the over-the-road driver recruiting, an aging workforce and we are not backfilling with younger individuals that we need to account for those driver retirements.” Brewster added the pandemic also has created a backlog in driver supply from training schools and state licensing agencies that were temporarily shut down.