Surface transportation faces a growing challenge in attracting and retaining labor, especially for long-distance trucking and railroad operations. What makes this shortage unique has been its persistence over a decade for several reasons. The industry’s workforce skews older, with continuing waves of retirement, exacerbated by the recent pandemic. Many industry jobs feature long hours, little predictability and extended time away from home — all factors that make them less appealing to younger workers.
And finally, we know that those generations entering the workforce are looking for better work-life balance, advancement opportunities and more personal engagement. Solving this problem will require technology to improve safety, workplace engagement and productivity. Regulatory frameworks also may be needed to accelerate such technologies. Raising wages won’t be enough; the industry must substantially improve the employee experience.
When current retirees entered the workplace more than 40 years ago, conditions allowed single-income households to support a family. That dynamic no longer exists. To widen the talent pool, rail and trucking must focus on reaching a more diverse workforce, including women, minorities and recent immigrants. And to retain current and new employees, the industry needs to implement processes to improve quality of life issues, especially predictability of schedules and time away.
We are on the cusp of multiple technological breakthroughs, including advances in AI and machine learning, cargo management systems, autonomous vehicles, additive manufacturing, predictive maintenance and more. How can the industry harness and accelerate these innovations to improve workplace safety, the employee experience and work-life balance? It’s time for surface transportation to focus its resources and make this happen, or face a nagging and perhaps perilous labor shortage not only in 2024 but for years to come.