How Real is the US Truck Driver Shortage? (Steve Viscelli, Political Sociologist, University of Pennsylvania)

Steve Viscelli is a political sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania where he studies freight transportation and autonomous trucks. He's also the author of the book "The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream" in which he explains how long-haul trucking went from being one of the best blue-collar jobs in the US to one of the toughest. His current book project "Driverless? Autonomous Trucks and the Future of the American Trucker" explores self-driving trucks and their potential impacts on labor and the environment. Steve has appeared on CBS News 60 Minutes and most recently on an episode of the Lex Fridman podcast. In this episode of The Logistics Tribe, Steve talks to our host Jonah McIntire about the following topics: - Steve's views on the common narrative that the truck transportation industry in the US is about 80.000 drivers short and that the shortage is only getting worse because many drivers are nearing retirement age - The problem of getting people into the profession vs. keeping people inside the profession - What the reasons are that a lot of drivers are leaving the trucking profession and what they are leaving the profession for - What Steve thinks about various initiatives from the current US administration, for example the "under 21 program" - What the wage and working conditions are really like in different segments of the truck driving business - How real is the infamous 80.000 driver shortage number? - How driver training programs work and how they need to be improved - Potential solutions to the various structural problems in the industry - What role existing and new technology can play - Why drivers are still paid by the mile and what problems arise from that approach - Why the driver shortage is a very "convenient narrative" - What influence can transportation procurement professionals play in improving driver conditions - and more Helpful Links: Steve Viscelli's website: https://www.steveviscelli.com/ Steve Viscelli's podcast episode with Lex Fridman: https://youtu.be/a3Wpy6gE4So Jonah McIntire (Hoste) on LinkedIn: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/jonahmcintire Boris Felgendreher (Founder of The Logistics Tribe) on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/borisfelgendreher/ Our great supporters GreyOrange: https://www.greyorange.com/ BVL Webinar “How flexible automation helped Jysk cope with the unexpected peaks during the pandemic and support their ecommerce growth” on Feb 24, 2022: https://bvl-digital.de/webinare/sendeplan/how-flexible-automation-helped-jysk-cope-with-the-unexpected-peaks-during-the-pandemic-and-support-their-ecommerce-growth/