There’s a shortage of commercial truck drivers in the United States. Explore StateImpact Oklahoma’s interactive map to see which states have lost the most truckers over the last five years.
The United States relies on commercial truckers to transport most of its shipments. But there’s a major shortage of drivers. Thousands more are needed just in Oklahoma. That shouldn’t be a problem in a recovering economy, but it is.
The U.S. Senate has approved a two-year, $109 billion transportation bill that included an amendment that could ease regulation for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers. Some lawmakers and farming industry leaders are pushing for exemptions from certain federal trucking regulations. Basically: Farmers aren’t truckers, they say.
Our story on the shortage of truck drivers in Oklahoma and around the country started pretty simply. We report on the economy and the Oklahoma workforce, and there’s one question we routinely ask: Who’s hiring? There are several academic reasons why there aren’t enough truckers in the U.S., but one of our commenters illustrated a [...]
Being a truck driver isn’t easy, but becoming one is relatively simple in Oklahoma. State unemployment is nearly double what it was before the recession, but motor carriers here are almost always hiring. Where did all of Oklahoma’s truckers go?
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