There are a lot of people who have the necessary training and experience to drive trucks. So why the shortage?

The White House is monitoring labor talks in the logistics industry as unions representing 115,000 rail workers and 22,000 West Coast dockworkers negotiate fresh contracts, but won’t get directly involved in either bargaining process now, its supply chain envoy said.

About 70,000 truck owner-operators who form the bedrock of California’s transport industry are in limbo as state-level labor rules start applying to them, creating another choke point in stressed U.S. supply chains.

Each wave of supply shock to hit the global economy during the pandemic seems to produce a different scapegoat.

A narrowly avoided strike last week offers a glimpse of what could be coming next year — when General Motors, Ford and Stellantis negotiate new four-year contracts for their roughly 150,000 U.S. employees represented by the United Auto Workers.

As we appear to be emerging from our worst healthcare crisis in a century, many experts have assumed that people would eagerly return to work. But that is simply not happening. 

As sustainability initiatives become more prominent, trucking companies must ensure that their operating models comply with government regulations and align with the expectations of multiple stakeholders.

The union representing about 22,000 West Coast dockworkers and their employers are continuing negotiations for a new labor contract past the July 1 expiration of their previous pact and said the ports — among them the U.S.’s busiest — will keep functioning.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision that could force California’s 70,000 truck owner-operators to stop driving is set to create another choke point in already-stressed West Coast logistics networks.