Over the last few years, the trucking industry has seen a problematic decline in the number of drivers they can rely on to support the supply chain. The trucker shortage has been largely fueled by a lack of younger drivers, who haven’t taken to the profession with much zeal.
As a result, trucking businesses around the country have begun experimenting with new strategies to attract young drivers. Considering the wealth of innovative technology at our fingertips in 2025, it’s safe to say that there are plenty of avenues to get young people on board with a high-paying job like trucking.
In this guide, you’ll learn about some technology-driven methods for getting more young drivers on board with trucking, and you’ll gain a better understanding of just how bad the trucker shortage in the US really is.
How Bad Is the Trucker Shortage?
There’s always a lot of talk about the trucker shortage, but is it really that bad? Well, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the industry was short approximately 80,000 drivers in 2021, with trends pointing to that number doubling to 160,000 drivers by 2030.
On top of that, trucking jobs aren’t going anywhere any time soon, with the US Bureau of Labor noting that, by 2030, employment of truckers is expected to grow by 5%. Yes, autonomous trucks have been in the news, but even the most ambitious models aren’t going to be on the road in a meaningful way for at least a couple of years.
Unfortunately, age does appear to be a big driver of this trend. The average age of trucker drivers in the US is 46 years old, with the average age of a new truck driver coming in as high as 35 years old. Even more alarming, there are more than 110,000 truckers in the US over the age of 65 years old, with the average age of retirement coming in at 69 years old.
All that to say, if the trucking industry can’t find a way to attract young drivers, this shortage is only going to get worse in just a few short years.
How the Trucking Industry can Attract Young Truckers
Given the trucker shortage, it’s understandable that logistics businesses are doing what they can to attract young drivers to the profession. However, old recruiting tools haven’t been as successful on this generation, which is why some new ideas should be your priority in this endeavor.
Here are some innovative, modern strategies for attracting young drivers to your trucking business.
More flexible schedules
It may sound crazy, but the young generation is far less inclined to unreasonable hours on a regular basis, particularly when there are so many remote jobs out there to choose from. Subsequently, one of your best tools for attracting younger drivers is to provide more accommodating, flexible schedules that can promote a bit of work-life balance.
Obviously flexible schedules take many different forms for different drivers, though. For long-haul truckers, for example, you’ll want to make sure you provide them with substantial breaks between routes and opportunities to stay home for extended periods of time. You can also provide part-time and on-demand roles, so truckers can choose when they work in line with their schedule.
Social media
In 2025, if you haven’t explored the use of social media for attracting young drivers — or really just in general — seriously, what are you doing? The platforms certainly have their pitfalls, from misinformation to trolls, but the reality is that using them is a no-brainer when it comes to reaching younger generations.
As for what platforms you should focus on, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok are going to be your best bet. Each one is obviously a bit different than the last, but they all have some level of professional content on their platforms that will help you reach young people that want to work.
Government regulations
If young individuals are interested in driving, they can do so at 18 years old if they only want to drive intrastate. However, if they want to drive interstate, young truckers need to be at least 21 years old, which is blocking off a huge selection of potential young truckers.
However, the trucker shortage has gotten so dire that even governmental bodies are starting to find ways to alleviate it that involve changing these laws with special programs.
The FMCSA Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program, for example, is a government program that pairs younger individuals aged 18 to 20 with apprenticeships, so that they can get started before the required age of 21 for trucking.
Video games
Yes, you read that right. In 2025, using any tool to attract new truckers isn’t off the table, and with over 200 million video game players in the US, it’s safe to say this market is ripe for the picking.
One company did try to take advantage of video game popularity in 2023, when it placed real recruiting advertisements for trucking roles on billboards in the popular video game American Truck Simulator.
“We think that people who like the game, might like the real thing and want to drive with us.” Kara Leiterman, media relations manager for Schneider
It’s not a bad strategy either, with the audience for these games being huge. American Truck Simulator alone has sold over 3.4 million copies.
Ultimately, if the industry wants to attract younger generations to trucking, it needs to meet them halfway. The recruitment methods of the past aren’t going to cut it in 2025, and you might need to hop on TikTok or make some concessions to flexible work hours for that next hire.