By the end of the previous year, there was a demand for over 60,000 drivers in order to meet the
needs required in terms of freight service delivery. The information was issued by ATA through
a driver shortage report. Bob Costello claimed that the fluctuations in terms of driver shortage
had been a thing that has existed for over 15 years, but last year it shot up to an all-time high by
almost a 20% increase in comparison to the previous year.

Costello added the shortage is expected to drop a bit since there has been an improvement in
terms of attracting more people to the industry. He said that the shortfall should serve as a stern
indicator to carriers, shippers, and policymakers to make necessary improvements lest the
situation becomes worse. According to the report, to meet the demands over the next decade,
there will be need to hire 1.1 million new truck drivers, primarily to deal with retirements and
economic growth. If nothing is done, there will be a significant disruption in the industry.

According to the report, the greater threat lies in the over-the-road for-hire truckload market
where the drivers are often required to stay away from their families for quite a long period of
time. Costello reiterated about the same over a telephone news conference. ATA estimates show
that there are between 500,000 to 600,000 for-hire over-the-road truckload drivers. The major
cause for the shortage was the population of drivers moving into retirement and completion from
other employment sectors, and therefore, there is a need to attract more young drivers to the
industry.

There are certain factors that would attract more drivers and retain the existing ones inclusive of;
removal of barriers to young drivers starting careers, allowing for demographic diversity,
increasing payments and ensuring that the working conditions allow for more family time. The industry has had quite a struggle in attracting all the parts of the population as they usually hire minimal numbers of women.

FMCSA released a statement of a proposed rule that would allow commercial driver license
applicants to take the tests in states other than their official residence as it had been initially. The
rule will reduce expenses of the CDL application and is therefore expected to attract more
drivers. FMCSA is making an effort to run a pilot program to allow people between 18 and 20
years in possession of a U.S military equivalent to a CDL to operate trucks in interstate
commerce.