JOC Staff | Nov 06, 2012 9:26AM EST
American Trucking Associations recently released an analysis confirming that the trucking industry is facing a driver shortage that will likely worsen over the next decade.
The study found that 90 percent of for-hire truckload carriers cannot find enough drivers who are capable of meeting Department of Transportation requirements. It estimates that there is a shortage of about 20,000 to 25,000 drivers, based on roughly 750,000 trucks in the over-the-road truckload market.
ATA predicts that if current trends continue, the shortage could balloon to as many as 239,000 by 2022.
The investigation also found that government regulations, specifically the hours-of-service changes and the Compliance Safety Accountability program, will likely exacerbate the shortage.
