USA - NATIONWIDE: An Introduction to Transportation: Road (Carriage/Logistics)

An Introduction to the Driver Workforce in Transportation

The transportation sector is stabilizing after a two-year freight downcycle. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), trucks moved roughly 11.27 billion tons in 2024, about 73% of domestic freight by tonnage, and the ATA projects modest growth in 2025. The key constraint is people: recruiting and retaining qualified drivers in a policy environment that has recently tightened enforcement (English language proficiency, the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse) and, in some states, licensing for non-domiciled drivers.

The transportation industry serves a critical role in the nation’s supply chain. Motor carriers are a highly visible piece of the supply chain. They are among its most high-profile elements. Here are the challenges today’s motor carriers face in maintaining a qualified driver fleet to keep the nation’s factories running and its shelves stocked.

Qualified Driver Shortage and Driver Turnover

Much of the equipment used by motor carriers requires drivers with special skills who hold a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). While news of unqualified, non-domiciled CDL holders has grabbed headlines and precipitated government policy initiatives, these initiatives, while aimed at making America’s highways and byways safer, also add to the growing qualified driver shortage problem and difficulties for carriers in retaining drivers.

In May, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued internal agency English Language Proficiency enforcement guidance clarifying the duty of enforcement personnel who perform inspections of motor carriers and drivers in the US when evaluating the English language proficiency (ELP) of drivers. Such personnel must conduct an ELP assessment that consists of (1) a driver interview and (2) a traffic sign recognition assessment whenever an inspector determines the driver may not understand the inspector’s initial instructions. A driver who fails this ELP assessment will be immediately placed out of service and may be disqualified from future commercial driving activities.

In September, the FMCSA issued an interim final rule (IFR) that significantly altered the way in which a state driver’s license agency (SDLA) issues commercial driving credentials to foreign-domiciled individuals. The IFR restricts the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs (CDLs issued to individuals domiciled in foreign jurisdictions) to individuals who maintain lawful immigration status (primarily to H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visa holders). It also established that the expiration date of any non-domiciled CDL may not exceed one year or the expiration date of the Form I-94/I-94A, whichever is sooner. On November 13, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed the IFR pending review; FMCSA instructed states to follow pre-IFR rules until further notice, though states under corrective action plans remain constrained. Practically, carriers should expect state-by-state variability until this litigation resolves.

Given these factors, the potential rise in freight volumes might well be met by a shortage of experienced, qualified truck drivers to move it.

Attracting New Professional Drivers

Recent federal labor policy initiatives have focused on careers available to new entrants to the workforce without a college degree. Federal investment in apprenticeship programs, along with high-profile advertising campaigns, aims to highlight careers available to job seekers immediately after high school. The role of a professional truck driver is, in theory, an ideal fit with such federal policy goals.

However, certain barriers to entry make it difficult for a young job applicant to begin a career as a professional truck driver. In many states, drivers may perform intrastate transportation as young as 18. However, long-haul, interstate positions require an applicant to be 21. Applicants often must meet certain insurance underwriting conditions, have limited moving violations on their driving records, and pass medical and drug and alcohol tests. These requirements are often daunting for young applicants; even those who might otherwise be interested in such a career may have looked elsewhere after learning that they have limited options before they turn 21. While federal policy has tested a pathway for 18–20-year-olds, FMCSA’s Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot (which concluded November 7, 2025) allowed limited interstate operation under supervision; in 2024, Congress directed FMCSA to remove the inward-facing camera and Registered Apprenticeship requirements to spur participation. The results report to Congress is due in 2026, but we have yet to see whether these federal policy changes will spur engagement in younger drivers.

The transportation industry also faces the age-old problem of image. While the semi-tractor-trailer often evokes the specter of fear promoted by personal injury attorneys on television and billboards, America certainly understands how vital the pickup and delivery of goods are, and the COVID shutdown only further cemented in Americans’ minds how critical trucking and truck drivers are to our everyday existence. Consequently, truck driving as a vocation may face some headwinds when recruiting younger people into the industry, but it also has positives to consider, such as the importance of the work and rewards in terms of wages and benefits. There is an independence and an ever-changing work environment that seems to attract young people. Industry efforts targeting young job seekers also seek to tap into this pool of potential drivers.

The Role of AI in Recruiting Qualified Drivers

Technology has been playing its role for better or worse. The question of automated driving and advanced driver-assistance systems (“ADAS”) remains ever-present as a spark of concern despite compelling benefits. Certainly, collision avoidance systems, ADAS, and advanced telematics have added a key element to making our roads safer. The cost of such technology poses economic hurdles for an industry where the vast majority of companies operate on thin margins and are still considered small businesses.

With this, the industry faces a different recruiting challenge – will the vocation of truck driver be obsolete in a generation? Current forecasts suggest the answer to this question is no. There will continue to be a need for truck drivers, albeit possibly a different breed with more technology-minded skillsets. Despite the uncertainty that predominates as technology, including AI, automated vehicles, and ADAS, leaps forward at an unpredictable pace, the role of the truck driver appears to be around for the long term. Motor carriers and the industry are now focusing on what this new technology-centric landscape might look like in transportation and how new drivers might operate within it.

Combatting Environmental Stereotypes

Trucking faces another image problem when recruiting new applicants and when managing costs within a carrier’s operations: carbon emissions and climate change concerns. The reality is, trucking has made enormous progress in reducing emissions, but there is no denying that the EV versus alternative energy versus more traditional engine debate wages on. This debate again sparks cost concerns that can be both intimidating and paralyzing for industry decision-makers and policymakers alike, and may ultimately shape the industry in a way that impacts the workforce it attracts.