US Trucking Crisis Continues

A severe shortage of truck drivers in the United States is continuing to drive increases, with trucking costs reportedly rising between 8 and 15% last quarter.

The US driver shortage has been a concern for years, but the strengthened economy, increased demand in consumer products and introduction of the Electronic Logging Device (ELD), have all contributed to the current crisis.

The American Trucking Association (ATA) recently announced a shortage of 51,000 truck drivers nationwide, predicting that number will rise to 100,000 in the next three years.

Infrastructure and growing congestion in U.S. Ports and Terminals has been an additional burden for container truckers, who have also been impacted by the introduction of mega sized container ships. It is widely suggested that many U.S. ports, especially on the East Coast, were not ready to handle such large volumes at once.

At this stage it is difficult to envisage a short term fix.

UniOcean Lines encourage importers and exporters to ensure early customs entries are submitted. This will help ensure trucking is arranged as early as possible to avoid rent and demurrage being incurred.