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
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