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to a clear delivery is critical. They are expecting shorter and
shorter transit times and [setting] tighter delivery windows.
We have to have the technology in place to deliver on those
expectations ... to realize that dream of
pure transparency to their shipments.”
Technology is important, but without
drivers to move the freight, the industry
will see increasing challenges in main-
taining, much less growing, capacity.
Even as autonomous truck technology
advances, meaningful impact from driv-
erless trucks on capacity is years away,
carrier executives say.
For now, driver recruitment and
retention remains a universal concern
and challenge. A recent analysis by the
American Trucking Associations threw
this challenge into stark relief: If current
trends continue (of more drivers reaching retirement age and fewer younger
drivers replacing them), the industry
could face a shortage of 160,000 drivers
by 2028.
Bottom line: While demand for trucking capacity will
continue to ebb and flow in cycles, drivers will be the con-
stant chokepoint. And that makes shipper-carrier relation-
ships that much more crucial.
Many carriers are tackling the challenge head on. C.R.
England operates five driver training
schools as well as a “finishing” program
for advanced training. Over the past
year, it has implemented focused driver
support initiatives and given its drivers two pay raises collectively totaling
$30 million annually—the biggest driver
pay increase in its history. “We’re doing
much better on driver availability now
than [we have] in a number of years,”
notes Ron Hall, C.R. England’s vice president of equipment and fuel. As of late
July, the company had 6,523 professional
drivers, about 300 more than at the same
time last year.
Old Dominion also operates an
in-house driver training school that
takes dockworker candidates and provides them with education and hands-on
training to become truck drivers. Last year, the company
graduated 575 newly minted drivers from the program,
which mostly fulfilled its needs for additional drivers as its
