Who’s Driving That Truck?

ATRI ⏤ the American Transportation Research Institute ⏤ just issued its research paper: “Evolving Truck Driver Demographics: Issues and Opportunities.”

And, well, the commercial transportation industry finds itself in a familiar, yet no less serious, pickle.

First, some numbers from the report:

• The United States relies heavily on truck drivers, as they moved roughly 72.6 percent of the nation’s freight (by weight, in 2022).

• Since 2011, truck drivers alone have accounted for approximately 2.2 percent of the workforce.

• In 2024, 3.58 million people were employed in truck driving roles, with some 57.6 percent of them working as tractor-trailer truck drivers.

• The remaining drivers primarily operate in local, last-mile, or direct-to-customer roles.

So far, so good. Right? Not exactly.

For example, “During moderate to strong economies, nearly every motor carrier will decline profitable revenue loads due to a lack of truck drivers; this reality creates a ‘de facto’ driver shortage that is not easily addressed by motor carriers alone.”

Other challenges include an aging driver pool, women accounting for only 4.1 percent of truck drivers, the average truck driver age now at 47 years old, and a faster pace of retirements.

So far, pretty bad, Right? Again, not exactly. Over the next select entries, we’ll dig into the downsides and upsides of the industry’s always-fluid driver situations ⏤ that’s situations, plural, because there are always variables that complement and compete.

Autonomous Trucking. Former Foster Youth. Justice-Involved People. With so many current and potential ways to get deliveries from point A to point B, there’s always friction among the actual competition and whatever’s on the horizon.

That said, NATCO’s success with driver acquisition and retention is still hiding in plain sight. We always emphasize clear communication, and we always treat our drivers with the respect and the appreciation they deserve.

Part of that approach is rooted in our rich history in the transportation industry. Cori Eckley — VP of NATCO’s operations since 2005 — represents the fourth generation in the family business. The value of transportation drove Eckley family dinner conversations then as surely as it drives Cori’s business strategy today.

Watch this space, and we’ll show you how that Eckley dinner talk has contributed to transportation.