The trucking industry needs a solution to its labor shortage. It may not have one though, because there's a good chance it has been blessed with two.
In late 2014, the American Trucking Association published a report on the labor shortage. The "Truck Driver Shortage Analysis 2015" went over past examples of downturns in labor, and examined how much worse the issue could get without a solution. The report explained that in 2014, the driver shortage was 38,000 and that by 2024 it could increase significantly to 175,000. The analysis concluded that the industry would have to hire at a rate of 89,000 drivers per year for a decade to reverse the shortage.
There are a number of setbacks to achieving this goal, such as baby boomers retiring and strict safety requirements. Despite the obstacles to 890,000 new hires in ten years, there may be ways for trucking operators to achieve the goal and reverse the shortage.
Immigrants find steady work in commercial trucking
There has been an influx of immigrants in the trucking industry in recent years. Harsharan Singh, who came to the U.S. from Punjab, India, was interviewed by the Los Angeles Daily News. Singh started as a truck driver years ago, and has seen the increase in immigrant truck drivers firsthand.
"I got my license back in 2009, when I came from India. Now, a lot of people from Romania, Yugoslavia, China, Japanese, Russians are coming into this business," he told the media outlet.
The female minority could prove a major asset
It's not just immigrants who offer a solution to the labor gap, though. Female drivers may also help trucking operators fill the empty seats behind big rig steering wheels. Right now, just 6 percent of truck drivers are women, according to Trucks.com. However, with the well of qualified drivers seemingly drying up, it could be time to turn to women to save the trucking firms. Stephanie Klang obtained her commercial trucking license over 35 years ago, and believes that women are just as suited for the job as men.
"There's still a perception that it's a man's job," she told the trucking news site. "But trucking is 95 percent confidence, and 5 percent skills. It's not physically strenuous."
The trucking industry may be in the midst of a crisis, but in people like Singh and Klang it has two potential solutions: immigrants and women.