by Allison Boden, on Jun 25, 2021 9:52:56 AM
A sharp increase in e-commerce activity and consumer buying patterns has had a profound impact on national supply chains. This trend was exacerbated by the effects that COVID-19 had on consumer buying patterns. This unprecedented activity and demand for on-time delivery also came at a time when the labor market was consistently tight across the nation.
In this quickly changing landscape, it is important for distribution center operators to have up-to-date workforce information. Site Selection Group, a full-service location advisory, economic incentive and real estate services firm, helps distribution centers find the optimal locations for their projects by evaluating workforce, logistics efficiencies, business environment, infrastructure, facilities and economic incentives. Often, we find our clients focused on evaluating the supply and demand for warehouse workers but stopping short of assessing the talent for truck-drivers.
Site Selection Group tracks a variety of metrics to keep a pulse on the truck driver market. Since our similar newsletter last year, the demand for tractor-trailer drivers has continued to grow.
Tractor-trailer truck driver numbers on the rise
Since a slight dip in 2016, tractor-trailer occupations have continued to see steady growth, adding over 40,000 jobs in the past year. Over the past 10 years, there has been a roughly 21.3% growth in this sector. Based on recent project experience, as well as economic forecasts, this growth is likely to continue well into the future.
Heavy And Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers
Source: EMSI
Labor supply by the numbers
Total supply of key occupation types is often the starting point for accessing labor availability. The table below shows the top 20 metro areas over the past year by presence of tractor-trailer drivers. Nashville, Tennessee, and Indianapolis, Indiana, have the greatest concentration of truck drivers relative to labor force.
Top Metro Areas by Total Number of Tractor Trailer Drivers
| Metro Area | Total Tractor Trailer Drivers | Labor Force | Truck Drivers as % of LF |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 71,424 | 10,055,329 | 0.70% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 64,802 | 4,467,955 | 1.50% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 61,418 | 5,124,549 | 1.20% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 54,645 | 6,955,998 | 0.80% |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 52,307 | 3,981,451 | 1.30% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 43,141 | 3,402,426 | 1.30% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 32,171 | 2,171,214 | 1.50% |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 30,997 | 3,209,420 | 1.00% |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 28,040 | 2,085,859 | 1.30% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 27,549 | 3,395,385 | 0.80% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 23,832 | 2,610,765 | 0.90% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 21,194 | 2,177,881 | 1.00% |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 19,870 | 1,449,141 | 1.40% |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | 19,309 | 1,111,019 | 1.70% |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 19,183 | 3,826,851 | 0.50% |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 19,039 | 2,823,252 | 0.70% |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 19,001 | 1,517,566 | 1.30% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 18,848 | 1,102,760 | 1.70% |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 18,480 | 2,435,723 | 0.80% |
Source: EMSI; Top 20 MSAs for count of tractor-trailer drivers
Assessing labor demand
Using job postings, Site Selection Group gathers a more complete view of labor availability. An area with high demand has a relatively larger number of postings relative to jobs. An ideal community will offer both a larger-than-average labor supply, and a lower-than-average labor demand. The table below shows the areas with the highest demand for tractor-trailers drivers this year.
Metro Areas by High Demand for Tractor Trailer Drivers
| Metro Area | Postings as % of Jobs | Average Monthly Job Postings | Total Tractor Trailer Drivers |
| Peoria, IL | 219.80% | 3,416 | 1,554 |
| Charleston, WV | 193.50% | 2,991 | 1,546 |
| Terre Haute, IN | 156.30% | 1,695 | 1,084 |
| Ottawa, IL | 135.50% | 2,428 | 1,792 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 122.30% | 2,335 | 1,909 |
| Tuscaloosa, AL | 117.80% | 1,764 | 1,497 |
| Pottsville, PA | 111.20% | 1,981 | 1,781 |
| Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 106.30% | 1,554 | 1,461 |
| Columbus, GA-AL | 104.80% | 1,460 | 1,394 |
| East Stroudsburg, PA | 104.40% | 1,083 | 1,037 |
Source: EMSI; MSAs with at least 1,000 tractor-trailer drivers
Likewise, Site Selection Group also identified those metro areas with the lowest demand for tractor-trailer drivers (see below). As a reminder, this demand metric alone doesn’t give a broad view of labor availability. It is merely an indicator of the overall workforce, but shouldn’t be used by itself.
Top Metro Areas by Low Demand for Tractor Trailer Drivers
| Metro Area | Postings as % of Jobs | Average Monthly Job Postings | Total Tractor Trailer Drivers |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | 3.10% | 116 | 3,737 |
| Midland, TX | 6.50% | 341 | 5,272 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 7.30% | 2,018 | 27,549 |
| Odessa, TX | 8.90% | 341 | 3,819 |
| Carlsbad-Artesia, NM | 9.80% | 168 | 1,714 |
| El Paso, TX | 10.50% | 902 | 8,554 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 11.20% | 906 | 8,085 |
| Stockton, CA | 12.90% | 1,196 | 9,304 |
| Anchorage, AK | 13.00% | 176 | 1,356 |
| Laredo, TX | 13.30% | 611 | 4,598 |
Source: EMSI; Metro Areas with at least 1,000 tractor-trailer drivers
