There’s a shortage of truck drivers – and it might affect your wallet

They bring your food to the grocery store, your clothes to the mall and your devices to the electronics store, but you might not see a lot of tractor-trailers on the road soon.

There’s a shortage of qualified truck drivers and that could mean less money in your bank account.

One big reason for the shortage is due to DMVs shutting down during the height of the pandemic.

Another reason: fast delivery. Amazon has created a new demand for drivers.

A training academy said they have a lot of companies reaching out to them, hoping to get some drivers sent their way – but there just aren’t enough of them.

Don Garner, who owns Suncoast Trucking Academy, said fewer people are interested in his training program.

“It’s a high-tech job now. And it’s a good job for a lot of kids who don’t want to be saddled with a lot of debt coming out of college now,” he said.

“There is no question, there’s quite a shortage.”

One driver is now doing the job of many.

“We’re in a construction boom right now. I mean, we’re being solicited by, you know, many smaller local companies to send people their way if we can. But there’s still not enough,” Garner said.

Why? There are fewer grants available for people who want to go through training, and then there’s those stimulus checks. Garner worries potential drivers are being short-sighted.

“The entry-level pay is decent, you know, it’s $35 to $40,000 a year. We have guys that have been, you know, in the business for three or four years, maybe own their own rig, and they’re producing six figures a year.”

Garner said 70% of all freight that’s moved in this country is moved by trucks. One industry that’s taking a hard hit because of the shortage is oil. That means we could see higher prices at the gas pump come summer.

“Got to realize that all, you know, about 71% of the freight in this country that’s moved is moved by, you know, semi-truck. So when you have a shortage in that, it’s gonna definitely affect prices.”

National Tank Truck Carriers said 25% of their trucks are sitting idle right now, something Garner has never seen before.

“Not to the degree it is now. I think right now, you know, we’ve probably seen the greatest shortage because of COVID.”