In order to continue moving product, trucking companies are pushing more and more freight onto the rail system, but that solution is not sustainable as it is also showing signs of being at capacity. Service in both modes is getting worse. The American Trucking Associations cite a shortage of approximately 35,000 drivers, which is projected to rise as the struggle to find qualified drivers continues. There are numerous reports of trucking companies refusing hundreds of truckload shipments every day. A former colleague mentioned that his trucking company refuses 825 truckload shipments per day due to the driver shortage. He also stated that one of the largest truckload carriers in the industry is refusing 1,800 loads per day. The amount of potential revenue lost by carriers—and the overages paid by shippers for not using their primary carriers–is staggering.
