TAKING THE WHEEL

In an effort to lure more employees into truck driver roles throughout its transportation system, Walmart is hoping its latest offer is one people can’t refuse.

Last year, the Bentonville-based retailer announced it was creating its own truck driver’s school to train interested supply-chain employees to become over the road drivers for the company. The 12-week program, offered in Dallas and Dover, Del., is taught by existing company drivers who have been trained as instructors through Walmart Academies.

And there’s more — upon completion of the program and attainment of a commercial driver’s license, employees are in line for some of the highest-paid private fleet jobs in the country. Walmart announced last year its drivers can now earn up to $110,000 in their first year, and veteran drivers can earn even more depending on tenure and location. Per Glassdoor statistics, that’s about twice the industry average.

The move is the boldest yet to address the truck driver shortage that has hampered the nation’s supply chain for years. The driver deficit hit a record high in 2021, with more than 81,000 driver jobs going unfilled, per Bob Costello, chief economist with the American Trucking Association. While focused marketing and rising pay have helped bring that number down to an estimated 64,000 vacancies in 2023, the future isn’t trending in the right direction.

Speaking to fleet executives at the ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition in October, Costello predicted if current numbers hold, the driver shortfall could reach 120,000 vacancies by 2031. To avoid this, the industry must find a way to hire 1.2 million drivers over the next decade to fill current jobs, replace impending retirees and keep up with growth.