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…
The surging omicron variant has put a massive “dent” in the roster of many snow plow drivers, with some states failing to fill over 75 percent of the positions needed. Hiring auxiliary workers has become an obstacle, as many of these drivers not only need a commercial driver’s license, but also need to be able to jump into a plow truck at a moment’s notice. Even with the safety allure of a socially distanced profession, employers are finding it extremely difficult to find enough applicants. Read More…
Jobs such as truck drivers and warehouse logistic workers saw a nearly triple digit increase of postings in 2021, yet vacancies remain “through the roof.” Even with over 41 percent of employees looking to find a new job in the first half of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to throw employers for a loop, “as there’s a lot of unknowns still,” and applicants will continue to maintain an abundance of leverage. Read More…
Despite surges in the number of workers in logistic heavy regions, job openings in transportation and warehousing have nearly tripled. Even with signing bonuses, high starting salaries, and flexible schedules, logistic businesses are struggling to bring on and keep workers amid “the tightest labor market in years.” With so much competition, the pricing power has fallen into the hands of the employees. Read More…
