US trucker shortage deepens

The US transport sector reports that vaccine mandates have intensified a long-term shortage of truckers in the United States. Website Producer reports Jon Eisen of American Trucking Associations as saying:

“There’s no question that the vaccine mandates between the United States and Canada right now are creating difficulty.” 

However, the underlying shortage is nothing new and is only deepening. In 2019, there was a shortage of about 60,000 commercial truckers in the US. During the pandemic that has grown to about 80,000. The problems stretch beyond the number of truck drivers. Many warehouses are short-staffed due to Covid-19 worker absences, so truckers often must wait longer when loading or unloading. That further reduces the effective driver pool.

The current border issue exacerbates the existing problems affecting almost all US commercial goods transport. About 74% of domestic US freight is moved by truck, according to the ATA.