Is The Trucking Industry A Bellwether For The Labor Market?

There was a shortage of 30,000 qualified truck drivers early this year, according to a trucking industry trade group, and they say that number could rise to 200,000 in the next decade, writes New York Times economics writer Neil Irwin. He suggests those numbers might have something to do with another statistic: Adjusted for inflation, truck driver pay has dropped by six percent in the last ten years. That trend appears to have played itself out, as some companies are offering $2000 signing bonuses and the industry is starting to see per-mile pay increases of five to ten percent.