Oregon Trucking Association, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch The theme of this issue of the Oregon Truck Dispatch is “the many faces of trucking,” which feels very appropriate, as every day I observe an industry in the midst of a significant transition. I see it everywhere I look. Women in Trucking just released their latest data showing that women make up nearly 32% of C-suite executives in the transportation industry. But women aren’t just increasing their numbers in the office. The same study also showed that more than 12% of professional CDL drivers are now women. And while that still leaves plenty of room for growth, that number represents a considerable demographic shift from a couple decades ago. I believe much of this change can be accounted for by improvements in technology. In many important ways, trucking is a safer, cleaner, and less physically laborious job than it was a generation ago, making it more inviting to a more diverse workforce. The trend among women in trucking is heading in the same direction for minorities as well. A 2019 ATA report cited that over 40% of truck drivers identified as minorities. I always say that trucking is one of the best economic ladders for social mobility in this country. And the number of immigrants driving trucks is proof that’s still true. Immigrants make up 19% of truck drivers in the U.S. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Go talk to one of the many Hispanic immigrant drivers in Southern California, or a Punjabi trucker in California’s Central Valley, or an African driver in Seattle like I have, and they will tell you how trucking helped them realize the American Dream. But technology isn’t just changing who sits behind the wheel of a truck. It is also changing the faces of those allied with the industry. With the proliferation of alternative fuel vehicles, the emergence of AI-based autonomous driving technology, tech-based safety equipment, and appbased trucking solutions, trucking is going “tech.” And while much of this technology may not be road ready yet, now more than ever the market is looking for ways to bring tech-based solutions to trucking problems to achieve greater efficiencies. As the global supply chain becomes simultaneously more complex and more visible through technology, more people are paying attention to how they receive their goods. This was highlighted even more through the prevalence of e-commerce and the supply chain crisis during COVID-19. Overnight, we saw mainstream media covering stories about trucking that previously only industry journalists would have noticed. Everyday consumers were suddenly concerned about how and when their goods got from their point of origin to their doorstep. To me, it also helped re-define who is “in trucking.” I believe it raised both the awareness and the profile of a lot of people who do not drive trucks or even work for trucking companies, but who work somewhere along the supply chain of goods that trucking transports everyday. Whether they were a retail shipping manager, a dockworker unloading containers, or a delivery driver dropping off an e-commerce order to someone’s doorstep, I noticed more people professing expertise in transportation with a certain amount of pride in their voice. Those parallel crises reminded people that trucking and the transportation industry is a noble and patriotic profession that is vital to our very wellbeing as a country and as individuals. It reminded them of the simple fact my two-year-old son reminds me of every time we go for a drive: Trucks are cool. And recent tech developments are only adding to that trend. We must capitalize on that momentum. While recent economic uncertainty has kept our margins low, it has also kept the attention on our industry. The more people who care about keeping transportation costs down through inflation, the greater the opposition will be to fight bad legislation that drive those costs up. So, whether it’s an insurance company worried about rising liability, a retailer worried about their rising transportation costs, or a tech company worried about government mandates impacting 2 Evan Oneto OTA Chair I hope they soon have the opportunity to see and celebrate the many different faces of trucking that we do every single day. Celebrating the Many Faces of Trucking
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