Challenges facing the logistics industry have been making headlines since the news of COVID-19 reached the United States in early 2020. While many of these crises followed the statewide emergency lockdowns, the severity of existing challenges has also been magnified. The U.S. truck driver shortage is a prime example.

This issue has been a hotly debated topic for decades. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) first raised concerns in the 1980s. More recently, the ATA reported that, “the trucking industry needs an additional 60,800 truck drivers immediately;” they also expect this number to “grow to more than 160,000 by 2028.”

The trucking industry in the United States generates upward of $800 billion annually. As consumer expectations of nearly “instant” delivery continue to grow, manufacturers and retailers are looking for reliable ground transportation to support their ecommerce operations. The debate about the driver shortage is based on the expe