The death of long-haul trucking getting closer

© Benjamin Sibuet

Walmart’s at it again. The world’s largest retailer is reportedly looking to have driverless trucks perform the middle leg of long-haul journeys – depot-to-depot – with human drivers taking the last mile of local delivery. This piece in Mother Jones suggests 2m truckers in the US may find themselves out of a job as a result. Of course, as in Europe, across the pond they are beset by a severe shortage of drivers. Chief executive of DHL Global Forwarding Americas told The Loadstar this was likely a generational issue, with many younger potential recruits not enthused at the idea of “living in a cabin”.