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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doubtful. The trucking industry has been screaming for years that they can’t find enough people, almost every 18-wheeler I see on the highway has a “we’re hiring” ad on it, and so on. This is automation coming in to replace humans who are willfully exiting.
Walmart and similar employers have no trouble finding drivers. Decent pay, benefits and schedules makes it easy.
Hmmmmm. So we're going to have a lot of people potentially unemployed because of this...
... more trucking jobs, more loading/unloading jobs, more FSD operations jobs, more truck repair jobs, more software engineering jobs
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Walmart and similar employers have no trouble finding drivers. Decent pay, benefits and schedules makes it easy.
Walmart is still hiring drivers, though.
Edit: Also, Wal-mart's standards are incredibly high -- several years of clean driving experience. Most commercial truck drivers do not meet those standards. Despite the high standards, they still readily fill their positions. If they were having troubles, they'd lower their standards.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are hiring, but the reason they can't find people isn't because there aren't people out there willing to do the job if it's fairly compensated. The problem is that trucking has lost a ton of upside over the last few decades, particularly after the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. Drivers are often paid per mile instead of per hour, which means long unpaid periods waiting for loads or stuck in traffic.
You're citing a 45 year old law as the reason why, say 35 years in the future, it leads to notable shortages of people who want to be truck drivers? Doesn't hold water for me. Do you have some specific idea about how this law only had this effect decades after it passed?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are hiring, but the reason they can't find people isn't because there aren't people out there willing to do the job if it's fairly compensated. The problem is that trucking has lost a ton of upside over the last few decades, particularly after the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. Drivers are often paid per mile instead of per hour, which means long unpaid periods waiting for loads or stuck in traffic.
You're citing a 45 year old law as the reason why, say 35 years in the future, it leads to notable shortages of people who want to be truck drivers? Doesn't hold water for me. Do you have some specific idea about how this law only had this effect decades after it passed?
Obviously this also happened against the background of a broader trend towards deregulation that proceeded under Reagan, so it's not just that act.
Hmmmmm. So we're going to have a lot of people potentially unemployed because of this...
There's a national truck driver shortage, with a particular lack of young drivers [1]. Perhaps automation technology will become widespread just in time for the current generation of drivers to retire. [1] https://www.iru.org/news-resources/newsroom/worse-you-though...
Reminds me of this (automated systems still doing their thing after humans are gone)
Hmmmmm. So we're going to have a lot of people potentially unemployed because of this...
That's not how any of this works. Automation like FSD will lead to cheaper shipping costs via trucks leading to more Trucks on the road and more needing to load/unload and manage last mile logistics and driving routes that can't be automated resulting in ... more trucking jobs, more loading/unloading jobs, more FSD operations jobs, more truck repair jobs, more software engineering jobs
We'll see. There will be a loss of little industries that depended on truckers though, like truck stops and inns.
I also hope that this results in more jobs that are fulfilling.
Hmmmmm. So we're going to have a lot of people potentially unemployed because of this...
At the same time that tariffs slow down the entire trucking industry -- truckers are gonna definitely be hurting
https://nypost.com/2025/04/29/us-news/trump-signs-order-requ...
https://truckdrivernews.com/new-arkansas-bill-could-make-non...
That way if a human driver is concerned, they can choose not to drive during this period of time.
Perhaps run the trucks in a train style configuration where a "conductor" can sit in the lead truck and manage any emergency issues that arise (i.e. security, crash or weather related).
If fully autonomous, I could see securing the cargo being real issue - what would stop a few cars passage in front of the truck and helping themselves to the cargo.