Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, March 11, 2021:
Acting FMCSA boss says ‘it’s a priority’ to study automation’s impact on drivers’ jobs
Truck driving jobs have been a “mainstay of employment for a long time,” said Acting FMCSA Administrator Meera Joshi on Wednesday. She spoke and took questions at the agency’s 2021 Analysis, Research, and Technology forum, which was held in a virtual format and broadcast live via Microsoft Teams.
She acknowledged the push for automated vehicles could pose a threat to driving job opportunities.
“It is certainly a priority of this administration, this DOT [to work] with the Department of Labor to understand...the extremely real and broad impacts of automation on people’s livelihoods,” she said.
“What are the opportunities, thinking about the now, for the shifting workforce? What are the training opportunities so the next generation has the jobs that [won’t] be replaced by automation? And what are the additional jobs that can be created through automation that can serve as the jobs for drivers of tomorrow that may not be available for drivers [today]? We can argue about scope and timeline,” she said, of when automated trucks actually come to market. “But this is a reality and there will be a major shift in the workforce.”
Joshi also in her brief address offered a thanks to the industry for its work amid the COVID pandemic.
“Thank you all for your service in 2020 and your continued service this year keeping our vital supply chains running,” she said. “The world and our nation are changed forever. We see the value of interstate movement of people and freight – one you have always known the value of – is now much more apparent to a broader audience.”
