WASHINGTON — President Biden touted a plan Monday to improve jobs in the trucking industry with higher pay and better working conditions.
Truckers move 72 percent of goods in America, according to the Biden Administration, but turnover in the industry averages 90 percent.
While trucking costs grew more than 20 percent in 2021, due partly to a surge in demand for goods during the pandemic, there weren't enough truckers to keep up. The combination helped contribute to gridlock in the supply chain.
Many truckers operate as independent small businesses, who bear the burden of leasing, gas, insurance and maintenance costs themselves, Biden said. An MIT study showed truckers spend 40% of their workdays waiting to load and unload goods, hours that are typically unpaid.
"In this iconic American industry, it's getting harder and harder to raise a family with the dignity and pride that you deserve," Biden said. "And it's no surprise that so many drivers left the job."
Trucking Action Plan
Biden said the demand for truckers last year was at the highest level in nearly three decades.
"2021 was the best year for trucking employment since 1994. There are now 35,000 more trucking jobs then there were during the pandemic," the president said.
In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Labor launched the Trucking Action Plan to improve job quality and help attract more drivers.
The plan includes
- Creating new pathways into the profession, including recruitment of veterans, minorities and women.
- Improving workplace safety and workers' rights
- Cutting red tape by working with states to speed up the processing for commercial driver's licenses, or CDLs. This resulted in a 112 percent increase in CDL processing in January and February 2022 compared to January and February 2021, according to the White House.
- The 90 Day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge was launched to jumpstart training and help improve retention. Over 100 employers and seven trade associations launched apprenticeship programs over the 90 days.