Trucking payrolls have rebounded from early pandemic lows when efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19 shut down much of the economy. New trucks, trailers and other equipment are in short supply, further limiting the movement of cargo. The American Trucking Associations, one of the largest trade bodies, estimates the industry is some 80,000 drivers short of the workers needed to keep goods moving freely this year-up from an estimated shortage of 61,500 drivers before the pandemic.

The shortfalls are pushing up transportation costs and delaying deliveries for retailers and manufacturers already coping with disruptions ahead of the holiday peak.Ī line of trucks travel south on Interstate 95 in New Jersey. Meanwhile, the broader labor shortage has left openings for other blue-collar jobs that compete with trucking, including in local delivery operations, construction and manufacturing. Factories and warehouses are also short of staff to load and receive goods. The surge of goods has created logjams at loading docks and port terminals, gobbling up scarce trucking capacity and making drivers’ jobs even harder. The freight backup has intensified longstanding strains in the industry over hours, pay, working conditions and retention. Yet many fleets say they can’t hire enough drivers to meet booming consumer demand as the U.S. Trucks haul more than 70% of domestic cargo shipments. Wagner, a 53-year-old former Marine from Lena, Ill., who drives for Quality Transport Co., a small trucking operator based in nearby Freeport.Ī critical, often-overlooked link in the supply chain is emerging as a stubborn choke point in the freight-backlog mess: trucking. “I sat overnight and still never got loaded,” said Mr.

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