There is a chronic shortage of truck drivers on both sides of the Atlantic, and with the situation forecast to worsen as the average age of drivers increases and recruitment dries up, the industry urgently needs to rethink its business plan.
Since its foundation in 2007, US, Wisconsin-headquartered Women in Trucking (WIT) has made considerable progress in its mission: “to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry”.
Nevertheless, WIT admits that women are “still an anomaly in the trucking industry” and are still “perceived as doing a man’s job”. WIT has taken on a tough mission: trucking is inherently a low-paid industry in which the hours and working conditions are poor.
As one UK haulage company owner told The Loadstar recently: “there are enough drivers, just not enough drivers that want to drive”.