Though a new apprenticeship program required by Congress might help 18-20 year old drivers finally be able to drive outside their home states, the new teenage truck drivers might not be enough to assuage the supply chain backlogs nationwide. With the U.S. having a historic 800,000 truck driver shortage in 2021, it’s unclear if this new initiative will be enough, not to mention the time it will take to train these younger drivers to safely drive the roads — a hard task in itself. Read more…
Despite “unprecedented supply chain disruptions” in 2021, the shipping industry was still able to make enormous strides toward a “decarbonized and sustainable global supply chain.” It was increased customer demand for green transport that helped the industry achieve the incredible milestone of its first container vessels running on carbon-neutral “green” methanols. Expectations are not only for such initiatives to continue throughout 2022, but to even be increased. Read more…
Due to the struggle to move goods during the Covid-19 pandemic, “companies are bracing for more steep increases in shipping and logistic prices” over the next year. Compounding issues, strong demand and tight capacity will continue to persist due to the lack of reprieve of inflationary pressure. Todd Bushman, a logistics executive at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, says that the industry is “preparing for the worst.” Read More…
Since May 2020, the U.S. has added 800,00 jobs in the warehouse and transportation labor force, outshining the pre-COVID numbers by a 3% increase. With many workers learning to make peace with emerging variants, one of the biggest obstacles now becomes the oncoming tightening of financial conditions, as the Federal Reserve may need to rethink their “highly accommodative monetary policy.” Read More…
With U.S. and Canada both possibly enacting vaccine mandates, cross border trade may be crimped even further than it was with trucking firms expected to lose drivers. Though drivers have so far been exempt as “essential workers,” new mandates may impact up to 30 percent of the workforce, which can have a dire domino effect on factories nationwide. Read More…
Some truck drivers as young as 18 are now being allowed to make interstate trips, a move made by the White House to help assuage the nation’s supply chain headache. Though this new law may help chip at the 80,000 driver shortage, many safety advocates are raising safety concerns. Read more…
Truck drivers are receiving mixed messages on the vaccine mandate that is set to go in effect nationwide. In November of last year, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said truck drivers, due to the isolated nature of the position, should be exempt from the mandate, but the reality of the exemption is yet to be known as Walsh has not followed up on the topic since. Read more…
The so-called “Great Resignation” has finally made its mark on the bus driver industry, with even rising wages and signing bonuses not doing enough to lure the applicants who are fleeing to commercial delivery services with better pay and flexibility. For a workforce that was already suffering before the pandemic, COVID-19 has made hiring even harder, especially with the average age of a bus driver (over 50) skewing towards a higher risk population. Read More…
A tight labor market compounded by COVID-19 infections has seen states across the board see a shortage of snowplow drivers. Local towns and cities are finding it hard to find the applicants willing to be on call 24 hours a day, have a commercial drivers license, and possess the other unique qualifications required of the position. The high vacancy rate is forcing employers to become more proactive to fill the dire shortage of workers. Read More…
The pandemic has “opened up Pandora’s box” in the trucking industry, as drivers become far more picky with jobs, preferring proximity to home over pay. Training and testing for CDL licenses slowed down significantly during the pandemic, exacerbating an already significant shortage of candidates for these positions. The average age of a truck driver in the U.S. is 46, an underlying demographic challenge worsened by drivers’ fear of getting sick. Read More…
