Why it matters: At the height of the supply chain crisis, transportation companies pointed to a shortage of truckers as a contributing factor. Truckers and labor advocates were quick to say low pay, poor working conditions and high turnover were driving the problem.
Now that shortage is easing, and possibly over.
“The driver supply flipped from shortage to surplus in early 2022,” notes a report from ACT, a transportation market research group.
Between the lines: The surge in hiring comes amid big increases in wages and demand for trucks to deliver all the stuff we’ve been buying for the past few years. Plus, some of the health constraints of the pandemic have faded.
Now that the stimulus checks are gone and prices are rising, driving a truck, in an industry with wage growth that easily beats inflation, looks appealing.
Employers “have been trying to hire like crazy ever since the pandemic-induced demand surge led to relative capacity constraints in the industry,” Andrzej Tomczyk, a research associate at Goldman Sachs, said in an email to Axios. “So it’s likely a reflection of some catch-up coming online.”
Axios Markets By Emily Peck and Matt Phillips · Jul 25, 2022
