Truck Driver Shortage: New Report Gets the OOIDA Fired Up

The Truck Driver Shortage Debate: Conflicting Reports on Industry Challenges

The trucking industry is facing a heated debate. Some claim that the U.S. has a serious truck driver shortage, while others argue the real issue is high turnover and poor working conditions. A new report from altLINE, a freight factoring company, suggests that thousands of jobs remain unfilled, costing the industry billions in lost revenue. However, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) strongly disagrees. They call the claims “ludicrous” and argue that there is no real shortage—just a problem of keeping drivers in the industry.

altLINE Report: Billions Lost Due to Empty Truck Seats

The Estimated Shortage

altLINE’s study suggests that the U.S. freight industry is missing 24,000 truck drivers. This shortage, they claim, leads to a loss of $95.5 million every week. The report states that if every available truck had a driver, industry revenue could be as much as $50 billion higher than it is today.

Freight Delays and Online Job Postings

The report states that thousands of tons of freight go undelivered each day because there aren’t enough drivers. These delivery delays impact businesses across the country. altLINE used data from job postings to estimate how many trucking jobs remain open. They claim their research found over 7,000 job listings per day. Because not all jobs are posted online, the company estimated the actual number of open positions at more than 24,000.

State-by-State Hiring Differences

According to altLINE, the driver shortage is not the same everywhere. Some states struggle more than others. Missouri has the highest demand for truckers, while Nebraska has the fastest rate of hiring. In Indiana, open jobs take nearly two weeks to fill, making it one of the slowest states for hiring truckers.

Unused Trucks and Industry Losses

The study also claims that millions of trucks sit idle every day due to a lack of drivers. If every registered truck in the U.S. were running at full capacity, the industry could be much more profitable. Instead, the report states that businesses are losing out on billions of dollars in potential revenue.

Freight Factoring as a Suggested Solution

To help struggling companies, altLINE suggests freight factoring as a solution. This financial service allows trucking companies to get paid faster. The report argues that stable cash flow could help businesses hire more drivers and stay in operation.

OOIDA Calls the Truck Driver Shortage Report’s Claims “Ludicrous”

A Freight Recession, Not a Driver Shortage

The OOIDA quickly dismissed altLINE’s claims. They argue that the trucking industry is actually dealing with overcapacity, not a shortage of drivers.

Andrew King, the OOIDA’s director of operations, criticized the report’s conclusions. He pointed out that the trucking industry has been in a freight recession since 2022. Because of this, there are more than enough drivers to meet demand.

“You can’t have a freight recession and a shortage of drivers at the same time,” King said. “This flies in the face of supply and demand. There’s more than enough capacity to deliver the amount of goods. What causes upcycles is when demand outpaces supply. It’s absolutely ludicrous to suggest that freight isn’t being delivered because there’s not a driver to haul it. If that was the case, rates would never go down. They would always be increasing, and yet, rates have been down year-over-year for about 22 months.”

OOIDA Has Issues with altLINE’s Methodology

King also took issue with altLINE’s methodology. The report counted job postings as evidence of unfilled positions. But according to King, this assumption is flawed.

“First, they’re making an assumption that just because a company is posting a position for a driver, it means that business is struggling to deliver freight. As if every week they don’t have that driver, they’ve lost $4,000,” he said.

King also pointed out another issue. The job listings used in the study don’t specify whether they are for tractor-trailer drivers. This means some of the reported “shortages” may not even involve long-haul trucking jobs.

High Driver Turnover, Not a Truck Driver Shortage

OOIDA’s Long-Standing Position

This is not the first time OOIDA has pushed back against claims of a driver shortage. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has been making a claim of a shortage for years. However, OOIDA argues that large trucking companies have no problem hiring drivers—they just can’t keep them.

High Turnover Rates

Many large carriers have turnover rates of 90% or higher. This means that for every 10 drivers they hire, nine leave within a short time. OOIDA says low wages and poor working conditions are the real reasons drivers quit.

Studies That Dispute a Truck Driver Shortage

Several studies back up OOIDA’s position.

A 2024 study from the National Academies of Sciences challenged the idea of a shortage. The study states that when an industry needs more workers, wages should rise to attract them. If wages do not increase, it suggests that there is not a true shortage—just a reluctance to pay drivers more.

Another study from economist Stephen V. Burks, published in 2023, also found no evidence of a long-term driver shortage. The U.S. Department of Labor came to the same conclusion years earlier. They stated that the industry’s hiring challenges could be solved by raising wages and improving job conditions.

The Ongoing Debate

Two Conflicting Views

The trucking industry remains divided. altLINE’s report claims that thousands of jobs remain unfilled, leading to billions in lost revenue. However, OOIDA and other experts argue that turnover is the real problem, not a shortage of drivers.

The Key Question

At the heart of the debate is a simple question:
Does the trucking industry need more drivers, or does it need to treat its existing drivers better?

Until the industry finds a clear solution, the debate will continue. One thing is certain—the way truck drivers are hired, paid, and retained will shape the future of freight in the U.S.