There has been a problem in the trucking industry for 3-4 years now due to an inverted age pyramid in the work force.
A lot of older drivers have retired while demand for drivers has gone up. Driving a big rig is not something just anyone can do. It requires a lot of self discipline, close attention to detail and rigorous focus.
Add to that an ever encroaching Govt “safety” regime that can cause even relatively minor errors a termination level offense you have a situation where companies are having a hard time getting enough driver.
Add to that the massive additional regulations CA piles on make the problem exponentially worse. For example, to operate legally in CA you need a tractor and trailer with equipped with Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay-approved side skirts or tail fairings that improve fuel economy from 4% to 5%, in addition to low-rolling-resistance tires (either standard or wide-base singles). They must also have a SmartWay-certified tractor
The result is you have to have special tractors and trailers to operate in CA legally. The result is a high barrier to entry into the CA trucking market that significantly degrades their able to expand quickly to meet capacity crunches out of the Ports
“Driving a big rig is not something just anyone can do. It requires a lot of self discipline, close attention to detail and rigorous focus.”
Having driven across the country a few times lately, truck drives do none of that. They are terrible drivers.