Aloha Everyone,
J.J. and I are back on the road. It actually took us 65 miles or nearly 90 minutes to navigate the Los Angeles Tuesday morning traffic to reach Interstate-15. Roads were filled with long-haul trucks. It makes us ponder how much of our travel is impacted by short and long haul trucks.
Nearly 71% of all the freight tonnage moved in the US goes on trucks. It requires 3.5 million truck drivers to move 10.5 billion tons of freight annually.
Truck drivers (especially long-haul) are now facing several challenges:
- an image crisis due to the long working hours
- long periods of time away from home
- the dangerous nature of the work
Currently, the nationwide truck drivers shortage is 51,000. By 2022, the trucking industry projects a shortage of more than 100,000 drivers. This could result in rising price of nearly all commodities.
Something to think about the next time you drive along side a long-haul truck with a Costco or Walmart logo.
Aloha -- Cathi
