“The American Trucking Association shares that the driver deficit will reach 160,000 by 2030 because of 4 factors including driver retirement, industry growth, drivers pushed out of the industry and drivers seeking alternative careers.” The shortage will be further compounded by regulatory requirements. For those reasons, shippers observing best practices with the driver in mind will continue to be served first. The industry will also see realignment and continued changes in response to rising costs, inflation, and new regulations (i.e., AB5 in California) as we enter 2023. Many drivers who sought their own motor carrier authority these past two years will gravitate to strong employer models.
So, what should shippers be doing to ensure they get the capacity they need? Shippers should seek trucking partners that offer asset models, financial stability, strength in driver retention/recruitment, and innovation. Shippers should be looking to optimize networks with trucking partners with technology, visibility, and asset capacity that can offer continued flexibility as into 2023. Finally, shippers should be seeking companies that are modernizing with eco-friendly fleets and operations leading the effort for sustainability.
Shippers are rethinking inland container delivery with most seeking stronger control and visibility by transloading and looking new options from traditional inland service offerings. These changes are due to challenges with reliability and access of containers at inland rail terminal destinations. In early 2022, traditional inland point intermodal (IPI) bookings were limited by ocean carriers and shippers were scrambling for transload options once the freight arrived. IPI trends in the interior took an upward trend into the third and fourth quarter; yet inland congestion has not dissipated. Containers in large rail hubs such as Chicago, Dallas, Memphis, Kansas City, and Columbus have faced the same obstacles: no chassis, restrictions on an already critical low supply of chassis, and rail grounding. This is unacceptable service to our shippers and the market demands a new service offering that will get freight offloaded and available. It is here that true inland solution and innovation will lead the industry into a stronger and more reliable product. Think about SmartStacks, a new service with dedicated evacuation of rail terminals for shippers, moving not one container at a time but hundreds that will deliver freight on time, every time.