Trucking Needs Government Actions Now

The precipitous fall-off in trucking capacity needs to be remedied by government actions at the state, local, and national levels. Yes, I know some people say the ebb and flow of market conditions will level-set what’s needed. I disagree and here’s why.

Traditional economic cycles sometimes fall off and shipment levels drop. Smart truckers prepare for the inevitable and have resources available to keep operations running, in extreme cases sometimes just to weather the economic storm and survive.

These days they call that shipment level fall-off a “freight recession.” But here’s why it is different this time: Immigration actions, tariffs, and the tightening of driver safety enforcement all add a strong extra downdraft to the economic challenges.

Drivers. As the economy expands, we’ll soon face a shortage of qualified professional drivers. The pipeline of workers choosing that profession is running dry. As carriers shut down, some drivers will choose other professions. Older drivers will cycle out and fewer young people want to drive.

A skilled driver workforce cannot be turned on and off like a faucet. What we need now are more grants, low-cost loans, and incentives targeted toward training the next generation of professional, well-paid, and skilled drivers.

It takes time. Without those actions you will see inevitable capacity limits, which will limit the coming economic growth.

Technology. An impressive range of new technologies are available that impact efficiency, sustainability, shipment handling, and visibility, which will help carriers, and by extension, shippers.

The challenge? All of that is very expensive. In tight times, small and mid-size carriers and owner/operators postpone investments that will drive future efficiency and growth just to survive. Can resources be made available to prevent that bitter choice?

Action. There are programs available to help trucking companies and future drivers now. But those programs and government commitments were set at a level far below what is needed to maintain a modern, sustainable, and efficient trucking sector. Those resource levels are just not adequate to handle the challenges of today and, most importantly, of tomorrow.

Lack of future capacity will be an economic chokepoint in the very near future. State, local, and federal leaders should lean into this need and put resources on blast. Now.