The trucking industry is estimated to have a shortage of nearly 80,000 drivers. While the problem is expected to get worse before it gets better, industry groups are trying to pave the way for more people to get a commercial driver’s license. The Ottawa Cooperative Association, which moves grain and fertilizer in Eastern Kansas, lost many of its truck drivers during the pandemic. Fuel manager at the Coop, Judd Perry says COVID kind of kicked the baby boomers out, and a lot of them drove their trucks, and there isn’t anyone to replace them. Perry says a Federal rule change that standardized training for commercial driver’s licenses is making it harder for the co-op to train employees in-house. Even the co-op employees that have passed the training and have their licenses, often get signed by bigger companies.
One of the industries most affected by the driver shortage is agriculture. Ag businesses and organizations are trying to help attract more drivers to trucking. The Ottawa Cooperative Association offered its own scholarship of $6,000 to be divided between four high school seniors this year. They only had one applicant. In its recent report, the American Trucking Association cited lifestyle as one of the many reasons for the shortage. Some groups are pushing for policy change, such as lowering the Federal age limit that keeps truckers under the age of 21 from being able to drive across state lines, as well as advocating for infrastructure that would decrease traffic delays. As Perry says, truck driving takes a special person.
