Currently there is a shortfall of approximately 100,000 CDL drivers in an industry with little or no strategic and operational plan on how to meet this short fall. This driver shortage is expected to grow as a result of economic demand, attrition, dismissal and insufficient entries into the workforce.
Over the next decade, the trucking industry will need to hire a total 890,000 new drivers, or an average of 89,000 per year. Replacing retiring truck drivers will be by far the largest factor, accounting for nearly half of the required new driver hires (45%). The second largest factor will be industry growth, accounting for 33% of new driver hires.
According to The American Trucking Association (ATA), the truck driver shortage currently stands at 100,000, a figure that they expect to increase to 174,000 by 2026.