JSO Officer Adam Boyd - Top things to know about the trucking industry US economic growth is reliant on the trucking industry. Transporting freight and keeping supply chains moving is dependent on truck drivers. Consumables are trucked to market in 65% of cases. Over $700 billion was generated in annual revenue by trucks in 2017, according to a study by the American Trucking Association (ATA).
According to JSO Officer Adam Boyd, the trucking industry employs 3.5 million drivers. Truck drivers have a difficult lifestyle, as they spend a lot of time on the road and days away from home. Due to this, the long-haul driver industry is having a hard time finding and keeping drivers. Demographic shifts are also affecting it. Truck drivers, on average, are 55 years old, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The retirement age of many drivers is approaching. A shortage of over 50,000 drivers is estimated by the ATA as a result of these factors. By 2026, this number will increase to 175,000. Fleet operators are developing driver incentive programs as a result of the shortage of drivers. In the next ten years, technologies such as blind spot monitoring, automatic transmissions, braking assistance, and variable cruise control will become more common. Electric trucks are also on the rise. In the end, experts believe that fully autonomous trucks will emerge in four waves. In the first two waves, trucks will form a line and mimic the behavior of a lead truck by speeding, braking, and steering automatically. In the beginning, a driver will be in each truck, but within 4-5 years, a driver will only be needed in the lead truck. Driverless platooning will be mainstream in a decade, and trucks will be fully autonomous. The technology development will certainly reduce the operating costs of the trucking industry and will drive further development of advanced driver assistance systems, even though some disagree with the timeline. According to JSO Officer Adam Boyd Jacksonville, the industry has been working to comply with the Department of Transportation's ELD regulations for the past two years. In addition to improving driver safety, ELDs automate the process of recording driving hours.