The shortage of truck drivers has steadily increased and has been a blow to the trucking industry. This causes elevated pricing on freight services, such as a car carrier’s cost to ship a car. Many problems can be prevented with the better treatment of delivery drivers themselves and a development of the career.

Although there is an increasing demand for truck delivery, the number of drivers has steadily decreased. With the addition of 32% more freight jobs in the last six years and the deteriorating desire to become a truck operator, the job is becoming increasingly demanding.

Older workers are retiring, and expectations of new protocols cause many novices to turn away from the career. Especially problematic new regulations include Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) which will be the standard by the end of 2019. These devices replace paper logging and filing but these ELDs trace and record the trucker’s precise location and time. This may be useful if something happens to the driver and he or she requires aid or vehicle transport, but usually, this causes depersonalization with the truckers and a loss of trust. Another regulation includes schedule protocol. This federal time allotment for truckers establishes an 11-hour cap on a 14-hour day. This dissuades many newcomers from trucking because of the lack of freedom and a cut of hours since most drivers prefer to work more for themselves, rather than a faceless company.

This lack of miles and hours takes away a lot of the interest in trucking. Without the freedom of making one’s own hours and deciding when and where to take a break, the prospect of working away from home doesn’t attract many potential employees.

This calls for a change in the trucking industry: simpler routes, better pay and greater benefits.