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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. On yesterday's show, did you hear this? We did a call-in about there being so many shortages of things right now. We heard from shoppers and business owners alike, facing supply chain shortages right now of everything from auto parts to furniture, to the ingredients for gummy worms. We had a caller about that. One thing that kept coming up was the shortage of trucks and truck drivers. Here's one of our callers from yesterday, Laurie in Long Island City.

Laurie: There's lots of different factors but the lack of truck drivers is definitely one of them. I also think that one of your previous callers mentioned the thing with trying to get new cars on the computer chip. I also think there's a shortage of trucks. There's this perfect storm of high, high demand and very little, not only supply but then when you can find something then trying to just get it simply across the state line.

Brian Lehrer: Laurie in Long Island City calling yesterday's show. Now, the Biden administration is building a supply chain disruptions task force as backlogs in shipping drive up prices on some products and create shortages for others. Because of these supply chain issues, Goldman Sachs cut its fourth-quarter economic growth forecast from 6.5% to 5.5%.

The Washington Post reports retailers' inventories are near a 30-year low and toymakers are urging consumers to shop months early for holiday gifts. That came up on yesterday's show. I couldn't believe we were talking about advice to shop early for Christmas gifts, and here it's still September.

Truck drivers were in high demand even before the pandemic. Now Bloomberg reports the driver shortage in the US has become "so severe that companies are trying to bring in drivers from abroad like seemingly never before." That's from Bloomberg News.

Recently a COVID surge in Malaysia has impacted the global supply of semiconductors. Reuters reports that global automakers and commercial truck manufacturers, hello, could lose $210 billion in revenue this year.

Joining me now to break down some of those headlines from the trucking industry is Clarissa Hawes, Senior Editor at FreightWaves, a website which covers news in the shipping, freight, and trucking industries. Welcome to WNYC, Clarissa. Thanks a lot for coming on.

Clarissa Hawes: Thanks so much for having me on today.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, we're going to open up the phones right away. For those of you who might work in the trucking industry, between the lack of drivers and the semiconductor shortage affecting the number of trucks, how are you preparing? What has the demand been like on you personally? What would you like to see from the Biden administration in order to alleviate some of the bottlenecks?

If you are a trucker who has recently decided it's not worth it and left that business, we heard about some of that yesterday, or anything else you want to report, 646-435-7280. 646-435-7280, if you work in the trucking industry in any capacity, or you can tweet @BrianLehrer.

Clarissa, the Washington Post reported that "A wave of Delta variant cases in Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines is causing production delays at factories that cut and package semiconductors, creating new bottlenecks on top of those caused by soaring demand for chips." Can you break that down a bit further for listeners who might not be familiar? Why are semiconductors so important for the trucking industry?

Clarissa Hawes: Sure. On average, a Class 8 truck, which is the largest truck, some of them can require up to 35 of these microchips per vehicle. When you break that down with the automotive industry also experiencing these chips shortages, it's compounding a lot of problems where vehicles aren't getting moved.

The COVID outbreak has compounded that as well. Taiwan, I think they manufacturer up to more than 60% of the chips globally, and South Korea I think is ranked second at 18%. Definitely, this Delta variant surge is having a huge impact on production right now.

Brian Lehrer: Another wrinkle in the trucking industry, I'm just going to jump from the semiconductors to another factor. I guess we find it coming up in a lot of industries, but it's the proposed vaccine mandate. Your organization, FreightWaves, I see conducted an online poll of truckers that showed that 65% of the 1,100 respondents have already been vaccinated, so two-thirds vaccinated. Most of those who were unvaccinated "would rather find a new employer than get the jab". What are the truckers telling you?

Clarissa Hawes: Yes, I've covered the trucking industry for 15 years and the big issue always is they want it to be their choice. They don't want anybody to mandate anything on them. What we found is most of them have already received the vaccine. Of those that don't, if they're companies that are over 100 employees or more, some of them are saying, "Well, I'm just going to jump to a smaller carrier that won't require this," or they're thinking about going to last-mile like with the COVID how the world changed in how they get groceries and everything. There's been a huge surge in truck drivers that have moved over to these delivery jobs where they can be home more. They've been able to choose what they want to do now more than ever.

Brian Lehrer: Interesting. From what I read, there was a shortage of truck drivers even pre-pandemic. Was that the case, and if so, why?

Clarissa Hawes: Pre-pandemic, in covering that, it always seems to be that it's a retention issue, where before it was like we can always find another driver to fill that seat. There's always an influx of new applications coming in. With the increase over the past year-and-a-half to these regional jobs or last-mile delivery companies, truck drivers have been able to choose and trucking companies are now looking at strategies to retain their drivers.

These sign-on bonuses won't help a driver that's already made that decision to leave. With some of the driving schools, the truck drivers' schools, they had to shut down during COVID because of the proximity and everything, and so fewer drivers are entering the market now than before because of the training issue.

Brian Lehrer: Let's take a phone call from Joe in Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. Joe, you're on WNYC. Thank you for calling in.

Joe: Well, I'm a long time listener. Actually, I tried to get on your show yesterday. Here's something that no one really knows about it with XC, they call them quality sensors. It's the DEF quality sensor and the DPF quality sensor. It prevents pollution from the diesel truck engines to reach the outside. Because of the pandemic, because of the chip manufacturer, they all have chips involved in there. The company that I work for nationally is trying to get a variance from the EPA that deems this sensor a dummy.

Basically, what's going to happen is that that variance does go through, which we think is possible, there's a lot of lobbyists going after this, that you're going to have pollution-- it looks like in China during the Olympics because every truck on the road uses these sensors. If they're not working and they're just there as a dummy, you're going to have pollution like you wouldn't believe. That's [inaudible 00:09:11] Biden administration should invoke a production act to get these chips for these sensors because that's very important that they're not looking into.

Brian Lehrer: Interesting. Joe, I'm going to leave it there for time. I want to get some other folks on, but thank you for that. Is this new to you, Clarissa? Is this something you know about as a journalist covering the trucking industry, these pollution emission reducers really that are attached to trucks and a shortage of those?

Clarissa Hawes: Yes. That's an angle I haven't really focused on. That's interesting to me and definitely something to look out for. Yes, but definitely, I hadn't-- Yes, he's right, Joe's right, there hasn't been a lot of focus on that issue, and there should be.

Brian Lehrer: Interesting. There's a story lead for you, for after the show.

Clarissa Hawes: Yes, absolutely.

Brian Lehrer: Thanks, Joe. Jordan in Stamford, you're on WNYC. Hi, Jordan.

Jordan: Hey, how are you guys doing?

Brian Lehrer: Doing good. I see you're a truck driver.

Jordan: Can you hear me?

Brian Lehrer: Yes.

Jordan: Yes, I'm an owner-operator. I own three trucks. Just real quick about that last caller, yes, there is an extreme shortage of parts. I own three trucks. One of them has been sitting since March of this year. I can't find a water pump. All three of my trucks have the same exact engine, just different year models except the water pump. I can't take one water pump off of one truck to put it on the truck that needs the water pump, you understand. That's been a hindrance for me.

I initially wanted to just say that I don't personally see any shortage of goods. I think the shortages that people are seeing in their grocery stores and restaurants and in online shopping is from the driver shortage. I'm pretty sure that the driver shortage is mostly caused by the companies that hold the largest portion of the market, the supercarriers, I guess you call them, like Krieg, Schneider, Swift, they own so many trucks, they own so many of the loads and the routes, they basically control all of them.

The load that I'm pulling now, I've brokered it. I bought this load basically from Schneider. Schneider is all we have. Too much freight, so the broker loads out to independent operators. They don't want to pay their drivers.

I understand there's a learning curve, and I certainly went through it when I started driving 11 years ago. My dad's a truck driver. He went through it too, but there's just no reason not to pay somebody to do a job especially if they are going to take care of the-- Since I've started employing other people, I found if you take care of people and adore, they're going to take care of you through their adoration for you, and they're not going to leave you hanging. I know people that have left trucks miles and miles away of--

Brian Lehrer: That's fair. Humane treatment of people meet self-interest. Jordan, what does a typical, if there is a typical, long-distance trucker make if they work for the big shippers?

Jordan: My first year driving, I think I made 28,000 and some change, which was, at that point, the most-- that was the most that I've ever made in my life. I went from working in a restaurant to I was like, "Well, I'm going to try trucking. My dad did it, he's doing okay." Last year I worked for a company before I bought my own truck, I made 46,000. As an owner-operator, I make considerably more.

The risks are definitely greater, but the reward is greater too. That number hasn't really changed. That 46,000 I made, that was with 6 years experience. Experience is kind of based on a gradient. The more experience you have, the more money you make, I'm assuming in most other industries.

I don't understand how people are still getting away with paying their drivers 32, 33 cents per mile, expecting them to stay out for two weeks at a time. You basically stay out two weeks and you "earn" two days at home, you get two days off. Most of these companies are pushing you out after your 34-hour mandated reset. It's enough to make drivers leave, for sure.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you for so much insight into the lives of some of the truckers and into the industry. We really, really appreciate your call. Joe in West Chester, you're on WNYC. Hi, Joe.

Joe: Hello.

Brian Lehrer: Hi, Joe.

Joe: Hello.

Brian Lehrer: Is that you?

Joe: Yes, it is.

Clarissa Hawes: Hello.

Brian Lehrer: Go ahead, Joe, what have you got for us? I see you are a truck driver for 21 years.

Joe: Yes. Jordan just basically said it all there. I live a little bit upstate New York. I work for FedEx and UPS, and even there, if you work a lot of overtime, you can make 60, maybe a little bit more, 60,000 a year, but can you afford a house anywhere near where you work? No.

Brian Lehrer: Joe, I'm going to leave it there for time, thank you, as he was starting to get to some of the points, as he said, that Jordan, the previous caller, made. Clarissa from FreightWaves, which covers the trucking industry. What were you thinking listening to any of those callers?

Clarissa Hawes: I had recently looked into the labor statistics for the median salary for truck drivers, and it was showing for those that do long haul for a company, they were averaging in the 50s in 2020, $50,000 range. Previously, for a lot of the owner-operators that listen to your show, they definitely can pick their routes and stay out longer. The more their trucks are moving, the more money they're making. They have a lot more choice than some of the company drivers and the routes that they get, that they have. Yes, it's definitely interesting.

The carriers, they're struggling to find drivers in their seats, so they are brokering a lot more freight out to the smaller guys, which is helping them, but the large mega carriers are still trying to find, and the orientation process and everything that goes into hiring a driver is expensive and time-consuming. There's a little time, you can't just put them in a truck tomorrow and expect them to know the routes.

Brian Lehrer: What a lifestyle, as the caller Jordan was describing it, for so many people, two weeks at a time away from your family, if you have a family, and for relatively so little pay.

Clarissa Hawes: It's changed a lot. A lot of truck drivers are choosing regional jobs that can get them home every day or two, or some every night for some of these ground delivery companies and things like that. It's harder to find the old-school drivers that would stay up to a month at a time. Back 15 years ago, there were still those that did. The whole thing is people are wanting to do LTL or regional jobs so they can be home more and still reap the benefits of getting paid a little bit more than pre-pandemic levels.

Brian Lehrer: We're almost out of time, but one of our callers who I'm not going to have time to put on the air says, "Union membership for truckers has plummeted in recent years, contributing to worse pay and working conditions." Is that your understanding as a journalist who covers the industry?

Clarissa Hawes: I would say that's correct. A lot of union carriers have gone out of business too as well. Some of the big players just couldn't afford the union drivers and closed up shop. A lot of the misclassification lawsuits as well put a ding on some of the carriers, too. Yes, there is a shortage of good union companies out there now.

Brian Lehrer: Last thing, how much is the pandemic demand for delivery influencing the shortage of trucks and truck drivers? Separate from the parts problems and the other supply chain problems of staff that go into it. Just one anecdote. I was walking across the George Washington Bridge recently just for the fun of walking across the river, and oh my goodness, compared to when I've done this in the past on foot or on bike, the amount of traffic that was gigantic Amazon trucks and Walmart trucks. It says something, right?

Clarissa Hawes: I would agree that a lot of CDL holders are choosing these prime delivery jobs, Amazon jobs, where they can pick their routes and be home at night. With how the world changed in ordering our groceries and everything, and food, and everything we needed, yes, it definitely has taken a lot of drivers that used to have the stress and be away from home weeks at a time to being home nightly and getting paid the same as what they would have had to do racking up-- [crosstalk]

Brian Lehrer: Going long-distance. Interesting. People may not think about those deliveries competing with the long-distance trucking of other things, but there it is, from Clarissa Hawes, Senior Editor at FreightWaves, which covers the trucking industry. Thank you so much. We really, really appreciate it.

Clarissa Hawes: Sure. Thanks so much for having me on.

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