Technology Is Helping the US Tackle Its Truck Driver Shortage
One of the biggest issues facing the US haulage industry right now is a lack of qualified people to drive the huge number of trucks required to meet the demands of the retail industry it serves.
A strong economic environment in the country right now is leading consumers to purchase more than in previous years. While this is fantastic news for the retail industry, it means the sector requires more transport infrastructure than ever before to get its products to customers. However, with US unemployment at a record low - a trend which has been climbing for several consecutive years - there simply aren't enough people looking for work or entering the truck driving game to meet this demand.
One of the reasons for the shortage is that younger people entering the workforce simply don't find trucking to be an attractive career prospect.
"Millennials, they don't want to drive trucks," said CEO and Founder of Consultant Foodservice Results, Darren Tristano. "They're looking at this and saying, 'I want to be in something more glamorous, more tech oriented.'"
In an attempt to combat this, Walmart has hired 14,000 drivers over the last year but has seen sales climb by three percent during 2018. This means the retail giant needs to find yet more qualified and skilled operators to keep pace with its own growth. To try and attract people to the role, Walmart has raised its driver salaries to an impressive $87,500 per annum (the average salary for truck drivers is around $44,500). Walmart also offers drivers additional bonuses such as three weeks of paid time off in their first year, quarterly bonuses for safe driving, and two days a week at home - a rare thing in the industry.
Rising Costs
Another issue impacting the haulage industry is rising delivery fees. McDonald's long-time distributor, Martin-Brower Co., recently announced its intention to raise its haulage costs which could impact low menu prices at the fast food chain. Similarly, Procter & Gamble Co., Church & Dwight Co., and Hasbro Inc. have also warned that higher freight fees could be passed on to consumers of their huge range of products. As freight drivers become more of a premium, the cost for their services will naturally rise in kind.
Even Amazon is not immune to the trend, with freight costs consistently outpacing its online sales growth. The company is desperately trying to find cheaper and more efficient ways to deliver packages or it may have to hike prices. It was already been forced to raise its annual Prime membership fee by 20 percent to $120 last year.
How, then, can the industry combat the problem and build the transport infrastructure they need to meet demand and keep freight costs to a minimum?
Self-Driving Trucks
Perhaps unsurprisingly, technology is providing a solution to these woes - helping haulage companies and the brands which rely on them get more trucks on the road, while simultaneously addressing the employment crisis.
The most obvious way to tackle a lack of drivers is to use trucks which don't require them at all. Self-driving vehicle technology has come a long way in recent years, with commercially available Tesla cars, for instance, all having an autopilot setting. Uber has been experimenting with self-driving taxis, and fast food brands such as Dominos are trialing delivery using autonomous vehicles to deliver their products to customers.
For a long time, the rollout of self-driving vehicles on a large scale has been held back by the need to establish and navigate an appropriate regulatory framework. As driverless vehicles are unprecedented, new laws need to be put in place to govern them. However, we have now reached the point where we can begin to see driverless commercial vehicles on our roads and highways.
In October 2018, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration issued an updated AV3.0 policy, which has helped lay out the framework to allow autonomous vehicle firms to test their technology before driving on public roads.
California is also allowing for the testing of light-duty autonomous trucks on public roads under a new proposed rule. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles announced the proposal, which outlines a permitting process for companies wishing to test or deploy driverless trucks for testing.
"The rule would only apply to autonomous vehicles weighing less than 10,001 pounds," reports The Verge. "That means only Class 1 and 2 trucks - which include minivans, pickup trucks, utility vans, and step vans - could receive permits for testing under the proposed rule. All vehicles in Class 3 through 8 - which include walk-in delivery trucks, semi-trucks, buses, and heavy-duty construction vehicles - would not be allowed under this permitting system."
USPS
Self-driving trucks developed by TuSimple have recently been deployed by the US Postal Service and will be testing the delivery of mail between Phoenix and Dallas using autonomous vehicles. The project heralds a landmark trial in the application of self-driving vehicles for commercial purposes. The pilot program involves five round trips, each totaling more than 3,380 km and around 45 hours of driving time.
"This run is really in the sweet spot of how we believe autonomous trucks will be used," said TuSimple Chief Product Officer, Chuck Price. "These long runs are beyond the range of a single human driver, which means today if they do this run, they have to figure out how to cover it with multiple drivers in the vehicle."
During the trial, each truck will be manned by a safety driver, who can take over the wheel should the vehicle malfunction or run into any other issues while in motion, and an engineer, who can attend to any repairs or maintenance which may need to be carried out during the trip.
Obviously, the presence of two employees on the trucks will do little to combat the employment crisis at this stage, but the hope is, as the technology improves in autonomous vehicles, the need for these additional people to be on hand will be removed and truly self-driving trucks will be able to operate.
"The work with TuSimple is our first initiative in autonomous long-haul transportation," said USPS Senior Public Relations Representative, Kim Frum. "We are conducting research and testing as part of our efforts to operate a future class of vehicles which will incorporate new technology."
Amazon
Of course, no discussion about the latest developments in retail facilitation technology would be complete without Jeff Bezos' ecommerce giant throwing in its two cents, and the quest to bring self-driving trucks into delivery operations is no exception.
Amazon has recently announced its intention to partner with haulage technology firm Embark to carry out some of its own deliveries via autonomous trucks. So, self-driving trucks emblazoned with Amazon branding could soon be carrying out Prime deliveries across the nation.
"We are always innovating and working with innovative companies to improve the customer experience and safety of our team," said an Amazon spokesperson. "We think successful over-the-road autonomy will create safer roadways and a better work environment for drivers on long-haul runs."
Embark doesn't build self-driving vehicles from scratch but rather installs its technology in pre-build Peterbilt semis. However, for the time being, these vehicles also require a safety driver to be on board during operations.
Other companies working to bring driverless vehicles to the haulage industry include startups such as Thor Trucks, Pronto.ai, and major technology players such as Tesla and Alphabet's Waymo.
Sweden
However, for the latest in self-driving haulage technology, we need to travel across the pond to Sweden in Europe. In this famously forward-thinking country, technology is already being developed which could serve to eliminate the need for even a safety driver.
Swedish technology startup Einride has developed a self-driving truck which not only requires no driver at all but doesn't even have a cab in which one could sit if they wanted to. The company has recently begun testing the cab-less truck on a short stretch of road in Jonkoping. The trial is due to run until 2020 and is the first time an autonomous truck has been allowed to operate on a public road without a safety driver.
Instead, the T-Pod truck, as it's called, is monitored remotely by an operator who can take control if necessary. The 26-ton vehicle is equipped with cameras, radars, and 3D sensors, giving it a 360-degree awareness of its surroundings. On the software side of things, it utilizes an autonomous driving platform developed by NVIDIA (NVDA), and its systems are connected via a 5G network. The T-Pod has an operating range of 200 kilometers.
The T-Pod can reach speeds of 85 kilometers per hour. However, for safety, the Swedish Transport Agency has restricted the speed of the vehicle to just five kilometers per hour for the duration of the trial.
Final Thoughts
The driver shortage in the US is indeed a cause for concern in the haulage industry and those brands which rely on trucks to run their businesses. However, with forward-thinking companies - from startups to big names - investing heavily in autonomous trucks, the need for human operators may become less and less as time goes on.
Autonomous vehicles are set to be a hot topic at Retail Delivery Connect 2019, taking place this August at The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, FL.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.