I’ve been involved in the trucking industry since 1985. That’s 38 years. Furthermore, I've always been impressed with the caliber of people who gravitate toward trucking, either by design or by circumstance.
These days, however, I often find myself scratching my head and wondering, “How in the heck did trucking attract this person?” I’m conflicted because that thought seems counter to my statement above. It feels like trucking is attracting some incredibly talented people, and these people come from a far more diverse background than we've ever seen.
Something about what is happening in trucking is making it appear to be a very viable career options for young people, women, and people of color. I don’t think trucking specifically excluded folks in the past. I just think a lot of people saw trucking as old-school, or maybe even as a static industry where nothing new happened.
I sort of feel like the coolness and vibrancy of the trucking industry was a well-kept secret. Perhaps we didn't do enough to toot our own horn about the role we play in the nation’s economy and the strides we’ve made toward reducing emissions.
See also: Roeth: Trucking businesses, climate activists must work together
Recently, however, it seems that trucking has gained a place at the cool kids' table. The reason could be that more people are aware of and focus on climate-related issues and see trucking as an industry that can really make a difference in a cleaner future for all of us.
Maybe we’ve all done a better job of making the table bigger. Maybe those of us who have been in trucking for decades are telling more people about how rewarding this industry is and how you can see tangible results from the work you do.
All I know is that I love all the new energy (pun intended) being brought to the industry and all the creativity being applied to solving some of the problems we face, such as the transition to zero-emission freight movement.
I love having conversations with folks who have come into trucking from other industries or straight out of college. They look at our industry differently than those of us who have been around for years and years. They see things with fresh eyes. Their questions are "Why" and "Why not?"
See also: Using tech to recruit the next generation
As a result, we are being forced to rethink some of the things in the industry that we took as absolutes. I happen to think that is a good thing. We all need to be challenged and to hear new ideas or to see someone bring a different perspective to the discussion.
So, I say let’s continue to bring in folks to our industry, especially those who challenge us to look at things differently. But let’s also make sure we balance that newness with the wisdom of those of us who understand the realities of operating a fleet.
Together we will come up with creative solutions that are also realistic, practical, and affordable.
We need to keep making the table bigger because you never know who will come along with some really great ideas that will make the trucking industry even cooler than it already is.
Michael Roeth has worked in the commercial vehicle industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). He serves on the second National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies and Approaches for Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles and has held various positions in engineering, quality, sales, and plant management with Navistar and Behr/Cummins.
