Defining Moments: Are We in This for the Long Haul?

By Tra Williams

Every industry has defining moments, windows of time when near-term opportunities and transactional successes obscure an entire population’s ability to think strategically and anticipate long-term, unintended consequences. It happens the same way every time. The window always opens with industry pros sprinting toward low-hanging fruit and snatching up unheralded victories. Unfortunately, the sprinters learn all too late that it isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. They were so focused on winning the first mile that they now cannot finish the race. So focused on the battle that they lost the war. Their early celebrations are eventually marred by an industry-wide economic implosion. In their mad dash to grab quick and easy dollars, they fail to realize that they stand atop a house of cards. The dotcom boom and subsequent collapse in the late ‘90s, along with the real estate boom and eventual collapse in the mid-2000s, are both shining examples of our curious and tragic propensity for shortsightedness and immediacy.

The trucking industry is currently facing such a defining moment. Absolutely everyone in the industry has been aware of the driver shortage for decades. It’s not news, or at least it wasn’t until COVID revealed to the nation that we as an industry have been shortsighted. That we were too busy sprinting toward dollars, too focused on the first mile in this marathon. The whole nation now knows that the reliability and consistency of over-the-road transport is a house of cards… and the wind is starting to blow.

There is no quick or easy solution. America needs 1.1 million new professional drivers in the next 10 years. That’s 110,000 per year or about 350 per day. And that number, taken straight from the American Trucking Associations’ website, does not include the Class B drivers needed to sustain the concrete, waste management, or food and beverage delivery industries... not to mention school buses.

So, what do we do? How do we avoid the economic implosion that inevitably follows in this scenario? The answer is multi-faceted.

First, we must embrace that there is a cultural and generational divide. COVID created enormous demand, which could easily translate into thousands of new drivers and companies. But because we haven’t properly managed the perception of our industry in the eyes of the public, ambitious and entrepreneurial-minded Americans don’t see the trucking industry as ripe for start-ups. As industry professionals, it is incumbent on us to change that narrative. We must reveal to businessminded innovators that trucking isn’t a low-skill, low-wage career. It is, in fact, quite the opposite.

Next, we must invest in the future of the industry, and that means investing in people. Every CDL license-holder in America who wants a job already has a job. That means every dollar spent on recruiting is not an investment in the industry, because taking drivers away from other carriers does not solve the problem. Twelve hundred drivers retire in America every week. So every week, recruiters are fishing in a smaller and smaller pond. The only solution is to restock the pond, and that means investing in entry-level drivers. Imagine the tremendous influx of drivers that would result from investing all those dollars into training instead of wasting all that money on recruiting.

Once we have changed the narrative and attracted and trained more talent, the next step is to address the fragmented nature of our systems. Fully 97% of all trucking companies in American have fewer than 20 trucks. That means thousands of small companies individually seek insurance coverage each year, and they all pay the price for our lack of collaboration. There is tremendous and growing support for lowering the interstate driving age to 18, but this accomplishes nothing if we are unable to secure coverage for entry-level drivers. How on earth are we to bring in fresh talent if underwriters require two years’ experience? Insurance has dictated minimum experience requirements for far too long, and they have made billions off our refusal to collectively bargain. We must advocate for our industry and work together.

Finally, once all of this has been achieved, it must be sustained. None of us will live forever, but the industry will. No matter what we do or how hard we work, it will mean nothing if we don’t identify, nurture, and empower future leadership. Succession planning is the industry equivalent of creating dynasties. It is the difference between Band-Aids and stitches, between treating symptoms and curing disease. If we want to seize hold of this industrydefining moment and ensure that it serves as a watershed event for future generations, then we must treat the next generation of drivers and trucking leaders as the most important people in the industry…because they are.

Tra Williams is the Owner and President of FleetForce Truck Driving School, which has locations in Winter Haven and Bradenton, Fla. FleetForce is a member of FTA.