What price truck driver shortages?

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MIT’s Yossi Sheffi examines the reasons behind the shortage of truck drivers. He asks why, when usual supply and demand economics leads to higher prices when supply is short, truck drivers have not been offered more pay, which should attract more workers. Perhaps, he suggests, the situation is not yet bad enough to encourage companies to pay extra, or they can introduce other mitigating strategies, such as increasing stock levels or using more intermodal solutions. It is also, he argues, a unattractive and stressful job, often with poor amenities, while demographic trends are also working against the industry.