It’s just one more problem buffeting the economy: a shortage of long-haul truckers.

According to the American Trucking Association, there are about 80,000 long-haul positions currently unfilled. It’s a problem the White House and the trucking industry are scrambling to address to keep the economy moving.

Karen Smerchek, president of Veriha Trucking, said there’s been a truck driver shortage ever since she began driving a rig 17 years ago. Now, she and her siblings run the trucking business, which has been in business for over four decades. She also said that the COVID-19 exacerbated the problem.

“The shortage definitely got worse. Veriha trucking had a reduction about 15%,” said Smerchek.

The American Trucking Association reports that there already were about 60,000 open jobs in 2019 and, with the median pay for long haul drivers at under $50,000 a year, it’s been harder and harder for trucking companies to compete with other industries for workers. There are also certain parts of the country that have experienced a greater impact from the shortage than others. 

"The biggest problem is California, because of their EPA restrictions on trucks. So, some drivers can't even go into California if their truck doesn't meet certain EPA restrictions. So right there, they've drastically reduced the amount of capacity they have to move freight in California. But the other issue is the northeast, because it's very congested and it's very difficult to find safe parking," said Ellen Voie, president of the Women in Trucking Association. 

In certain Northeast states, reliance on the trucking industry during a shortage can be problematic.  In Maine, for example, the state's rural landscape means that 85% of Maine's communities depend exclusively on trucks to haul goods into the area. 

The Wisconsin-based Veriha Trucking has tried to adapt, amid the shortage, by making the job and training more family friendly. 

“The apprenticeship program, we have home daily apprenticeship program. So you don’t have to assume that you’re going to be over the road for months at a time and focus on home,” said Smerchek. 

The White House has also said that a surge in demand for goods during the pandemic also aggravated the problem.

In response, the Biden administration launched the “Trucking Action Plan” in 2021 to draw more workers to the field. President Joe Biden touted the initiative earlier this week during an event at the White House.  

The program provides additional federal funding for things like driver training. Missouri’s Central Workforce Development Board recently used state funds to offer free commercial driver’s license training. 

"We realized that there was a shortage, you know, based on everything that's happened with COVID and the supply chain issues. So, we tried to do a big push for that to get more CDL trained truck drivers," said Sundi Jo Graham of the Central Workforce Development Board in Missouri. 

Graham said that when their initiative launched in the fall, it got a huge response.  

“I was literally fielding calls from all over the place. I got a call from Puerto Rico,” said Graham. "We've also had some positive reactions for health care training...but it has not been as big as the CDL training was."

One solution to the shortage may be new efforts by groups like the Women in Trucking Association to make the pool of drivers more diverse.

"During the pandemic, it actually increased the demographics. A lot of women came into the industry because women had a lot of jobs in the service industry. So they were in hospitality, which shut down, they were in restaurants which shut down, they were in, you know, hotels, and so they lost their jobs. Then they saw that the trucking industry had jobs, they're not going away," said Ellen Voie, the president of the Women in Trucking Association

Voie is the founder of the Women in Trucking Association, which she said has about 6,600 members, and she's spent the last 15 years trying to get more women interested in the field. 

“We have a very ageing driver population, a very white male driver population. So I mean, think about how they’ve eliminated or ignored half of the population as far as driving trucks in the past,” said Voie.

A federal pilot program could also help with the shortage. It would amend current laws and allow 18 to 20 year olds the ability to drive big rigs out of their home states.

"I'm really eager for the "under 21" pilot to take effect. So, really capturing opportunities because that 18,19 and 20 year old right now only has opportunities to run in their own state. So I'm really eager for that to roll out here. Hopefully in the next few months," said Smerchek.