A Trucking HR Canada survey has revealed that rising costs in the trucking sector have overtaken the driver shortage as the biggest concern for employers. One-third of business owners now see higher overheads such as fuel, equipment, insurance, and labour as their biggest challenge. This marks the first time in a decade that a dearth of drivers has not been at the top of companies’ worry list. The report also highlights the growing number of women in the semi-cab industry, with the number of female drivers increasing by 43% to nearly 14,300 between 2016 and 2021.
Trucking HR Canada offers funding to bolster the workforce, drawing in women and young people who might otherwise wind up in other fields. The non-profit’s efforts include programs that pay for new drivers’ training and an employer wage incentive to take on post-secondary students for job placements in non-driving roles. If more is done around recruitment and retention, less of those vacancies will be seen over time, Splinter said.
The report also notes that the number of big-riggers under the age of 25 nearly doubled to about 18,700 between 2016 and 2021, a key trend for replenishing the ranks of fleets. The proportion of workers aged 18 to 24 in trucking and logistics as a whole rose to 10% in 2021, with 34,000-plus more young people in the sector than five years earlier.
The findings are based on government statistics as well as a 2023 survey of 376 employers representing more than 48,000 drivers.
Source: The Star
