America needs tens of thousands of new truck drivers. But for how long"
At the same time industry leaders estimate at least 50,000 more truckers are needed to curb labor shortages and currently keep freight moving across the country, there are growing worries that automated vehicles could displace millions of driving-related jobs. Those concerns surfaced in Congress during a House subcommittee hearing on emerging transportation technology earlier this month and are echoed in a study released today by the International Transportation Forum.
Noting that more than 4.4 million American jobs are related to driving, of which trucking jobs comprise about 2.5 million, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) warned about the potential for autonomous advances to sucker-punch employment. She said the potential job losses are 36 times greater than the 121,000 jobs shed by the coal industry over the past three decades. The International Transport Forum, a global think tank with 57 member countries, underscores the potential disruption. Researchers found automated trucks could reduce the demand for drivers as much as 50 to 70 percent in the U.S. and Europe by 2030, with 4.4 million of the 6.4 million professional drivers on both continents rendered redundant. In short, the ramifications could be devastating.
Without entirely dismissing those concerns, others temper the alarm. David Strickland, former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and current chi...