By Myra Adams – The Hill contributor

MYRA’S COMPLETE ARCHIVE IS HERE

Reposted from The Hill: Sept. 26, 2025

Often, after severe weather events or other disasters, grocery store shelves quickly empty and are not restocked immediately. During these times, people realize that trucking is the backbone of the nation. Trucks deliver nearly 75 percent of all freight, and when they stop moving, the country grinds to a halt. In less than a week, almost every grocery shelf will be empty, followed soon by all the essential consumer goods.

For these reasons, Americans need to be aware of the long-haul trucking crisis, its impact on our daily lives, and the cost of living.

The trucking industry reflects the overall state of the American economy, grappling with significant challenges, including worker shortages, integrating new technology, rising insurance and business costs, aging infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles. Long-term, the industry’s problems mirror dramatic generational societal shifts in demographics, workplace culture and immigrant labor issues.

Simply put, truck driving is a traditional, unglamorous job with little prestige, modest pay, few opportunities for advancement, and conflicts with family life. As a result, a significant gap exists between these perceptions and the industry’s vital role in keeping America moving. Meanwhile, trucking companies struggle to recruit younger drivers, who leave at unprecedented rates, with turnover reportedly exceeding 90 percent at the largest carriers.

Trucking industry demographics reveal the root of the current and worsening crisis, with an expected shortfall of 160,000 drivers by 2030.

According to a study by the American Transportation Research Institute, dwindling baby boom generation truckers, whose average retirement age was 62, along with Generation X drivers, aged 45 to 60, account for “62 percent of the trucking workforce.” The industry is alarmed that “only 20 percent of truck drivers are under 35, compared to 35 percent of the overall labor force. That suggests the younger generations are not as interested in trucking,” the study admits.

No wonder, because for decades, the entertainment industry and society at large have stereotypically portrayed truck drivers as rough-looking, pot-bellied, white males at the bottom of the social strata. Thus, it is rare for anyone to grow up saying, “I want to be a truck driver.”

Therefore, to attract younger drivers, the trucking industry must be rebranded and restructured as a well-paying career for both men and women, taking pride in a job that contributes to making America great. Read more..