Truck driver shortage part of supply chain issue

ORLANDO, Fla. - Truck drivers are the backbone of shipping goods and are key to getting things on the shelves so we can buy them. FOX 35 News spoke with a new truck driver who’s reaping the benefits of our national supply chain problem.

"We get to drive and see all types of new things, different places, and I love it," said Nicole Murphy, who just two months ago left her job as a manager at Wendy’s and started a new career as a truck driver.

She is now making roughly $20,000 more a year to start. 

"I think it was the best decision we ever made. I’m probably making a third more of what I was making as a general manager for 20 years in the fast-food industry." 

Murphy’s boyfriend made the switch too.  They get paid by the mile, and because there’s such a shortage of truck drivers right now, they’re driving a lot of miles. 

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"We take a load every single week from Orlando, Florida all the way to California or we go to another stop in San Diego, California." 

"The demand for truck drivers, right now, is absolutely breathtaking. There are estimates out there that there is a, a need for at least 60,000 new truck drivers on the road," said Bailey Wood, of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association.

The driver shortage is causing cargo delays, trickling down to shipments of food, furniture, and everything. That’s why we are seeing prices skyrocket everywhere. 

"I never understood how important a truck driver was until I actually became one because 99% of the things that we own personally has probably come on a truck." 

The latest data from American Trucking Associations shows August had its first increase in tonnage shipped by trucks since March, but it’s still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.

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