Folks, we’ve been hearing a lot about the supply chain issue and the lack of truckers for a while now, though it appears the pandemic has only exacerbated an already-ongoing problem for the trucking industry. Renee Amar, Executive Director of the Louisiana Motor Transport Association, joined the show to highlight the many roadblocks the trucking industry and Louisiana truckers are facing.
What do you see happening in regards to the supply chain issue - not only around the country, but here in Louisiana?
The supply chain issue is on the West and East coast. It really hasn't impacted Louisiana and other ports like it has those. Our members do a lot of business here and across the country… the LMTA and the trucking community across the nation are seeing that the supply chain issues are really related to a workers shortage.
The average age of truckers in the U.S. is pretty old, about 55 years old, right?
We had a lot of truckers who are from that Baby Boomer generation… during the pandemic, instead of waiting a few more years to retire, a lot of those truckers just walked away from trucking as a whole. Another issue is we have a gap for the age when you can really start driving on Interstates. At 20 years old, you can drive from Shreveport to New Orleans, but you can't drive from Beaumont, Texas to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The federal government doesn't allow that. A third issue that we have is that women make up about 45% of the workforce across the United States. We have to take responsibility for the fact that we haven't done a great job trying to recruit women into this profession… the LMTA’s research arm checks on what our issues are every year. Our top industry issues, to no surprise, are the driver shortage, and driver retention. The supply chain issue is just a pile on, but it's been an issue for us for years.
What do you see as the most pressing challenge for your association right now in Louisiana?
First and foremost is our driver shortage issue - and as I mentioned before, the age gap for drivers, and needing to hire more women. A fourth issue is lawsuit abuse and liability insurance for our drivers.
Does the trucking industry experience a lot of government regulation?
There seems to be something new that comes down from the federal government on a monthly basis. They always do it in the name of safety, but you can’t can't write laws to make people smarter!
