A truck driver is someone who makes a living by driving a truck (also commonly known as a trucker, teamster, or driver). The truck can range anywhere from large semi-trucks, buses, box trucks, and dump trucks. Daily routine involves transporting goods and other cargo all over the country from point A to point B. Recently there has been a significant decrease in truck drivers. This is caused by multiple factors, including that the trucker lifestyle is not well balanced, the trucker is required to spend a lot of time on the road away from family, and the CDL (Commercial Drivers License) department stands by a 21 year minimum age limit. These three factors have contributed to a shortage of truckers, which in turn has also resulted in increased truck driver wages and an increase in consumer transportation cost.
CAUSE OF SHORTAGE
Being a trucker is not an easy job. Right now there is a shortage of 48,000 truckers. Imagine pushing 70+ hours of driving each week, multiple nights away from your family, and sleep deprivation. Only some of the things you might experience while working on the road. If you think you can adapt to this lifestyle then being a trucker could be a great job for you! It’s tough, but can also be pleasant in other ways. It provides time to think, listen to books, meet different people, and see the states from the road.
Family is extremely important, but as a trucker, there are cases where you leave the family for weeks at a time. Although, truckers know taking a longer job on the road will pay more, for some it’s just too much. For most, the benefits can outweigh the costs of spending some time away from family, but definitely not everyone.
A typical trucker is an older middle-aged man about 40-55, you won’t see very many women or young drivers. The main issue being a minimum age requirement of 21. This is leaving a gap of three years where high school graduates can find different career paths. If it was possible to lower the age requirement of truckers by one or two years it may help increase the number of workers entering the field. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it shows that in July of 2018 the highest percentage of unemployed age groups are men and women between the ages of 16-19.
EXTERNAL AFFECTS
Now that there is a high demand for shipments and lower supply of truckers, we have seen an increase in trucker wages. This should (in theory) help to attract more people in the industry. However, this increase in wages (by 7.8 percent), back in 2016, also affects consumers. Mainly because the shipping industry is expanding. Companies like Amazon and FedEx send out over 1 million packages a day and must start paying higher shipping costs. In turn, we’ve seen retail prices go up and stores that can’t keep their shelves stocked.
SHORT RUN
Wages will increase and we may see more people applying to become a trucker. This will likely stop the shortage of employment in the industry. Consumers may experience higher fees and retail item prices but nothing strong enough to drive them out of business.
LONG RUN
If the increase in wages doesn’t bring enough workers back to the table it will definitely affect consumer’s everyday lives.
Think you have what it takes to become a truck driver?