The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released a white paper that highlights a challenging future for the trucking industry based on demographic data and a dramatic shift in the age of the industry’s driver workforce. The findings document implications for the ongoing driver shortage. ATRI’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that the trucking industry is disproportionately dependent on employees 45 years of age or older, many of whom will retire in the next 10-20 years. Complicating this is a sharp decrease over the past 20 years in the number of younger drivers that make up the industry, particularly those 35 and under. The report discusses the issues impacting the industry’s ability to attract younger drivers, and offers solutions to the problem including an increased vocational presence for the trucking industry and closing the gap between high school and CDL eligibility. (Author/publisher)
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