Numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed yet another decrease in truck transportation jobs, which have unfortunately been in a steady decline since their peak three years ago, but some experts are seeing signs of stability.
By the numbers, truck transportation jobs are down 15,400 from February 2024. There are currently 1,515,100 total trucking jobs – the lowest since last October’s 1,514,500 – and the second-lowest month since July 2021. For reference, the peak was 1,587,700 in December 2022.
A lot of this can be traced back to the major LTL carrier Yellow shutting down in August 2023. Following Yellow’s bankruptcy and subsequent closure, there was a decline of over 55,000 transportation jobs compared to the previous year, highlighting the instability within the transportation industry. Since then, jobs have fallen in 11 out of the last 14 months.
What does this tell us?
Despite the overall decline, experts like David Spencer of Arrive Logistics and Mazen Danaf of Uber Freight note a period of relative stability in freight employment trends since the summer of 2024. Spencer suggests that the industry has “leveled off” after years of rapid growth followed by a steady decline.
Spencer went on to say, “The most likely scenario moving forward is a gradual downward trend in total employment as trucking companies continue to fight off lower levels of profitability and right size their operations.”
