A truck driver shortage—despite generous pay increases in an effort to recruit drivers—has caused shipping costs to skyrocket this year, The Washington Post reports, taking other prices up with them.
The hike in transportation costs means the price of anything transported in a truck is going up as well. Which, in part, is why Amazon recently increased the cost of its Prime membership, and why General Mills says its cereals and snacks are about to start costing more too. Tyson Foods and John Deere announced this month they’re upping prices as well.
Trucking executives say their industry is experiencing a perfect storm: The economic upswing and growth in online shopping created high demand for trucks in almost every sector but finding drivers is getting harder, especially with national unemployment numbers so low and potential drivers fearing they’d be replaced by self-driving trucks in a few years.
The U.S. truck driver shortage isn’t new, but this year it hit critical mass, leading to an increase of 40% per mile in the cost of moving dry goods.
America had a shortage of 51,000 truck drivers at the end of last year, up from a shortage of 36,000 in 2016, says Bob Costello, chief economist at the American Trucking Associations. He says “without a doubt” it’s going to be even higher this year.
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