Corporate Welfare

Welfare on Wheels: The Truth About the Supposed Truck Driver Shortage

Is there really a truck driver shortage? Or are companies just using that story to pull off an outrageous corporate welfare scam?

Gord Magill | From the May 2026 issue

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

(Illustration: Joanna Andreasson; Source image: Wesley Tingey/Unsplash)

A small logging contractor in upstate New York had a truck empty and needed someone with experience, and I needed a job. At that point I'd been trucking for nearly 20 years in four different countries and had done a fair bit of logging. It seemed like a natural pairing, and when I went to meet the man behind this small outfit—we'll call him Travis—he expressed optimism.

"I think you'll like this old Kenworth we've got here," said Travis. "My uncle was driving it until he got sick, and we've been having a hell of a time finding a decent driver for it. The last two clowns we had didn't work out: One guy wouldn't show up for work every day—I think he might have been a meth-head—and the other guy kept running into shit and breaking things."

The unit happened to have a load on it, and I offered to run it to whatever mill the wood was bound for.

"Nah, let's go for a little drive around the neighborhood with it on. I can't take it anywhere yet, but it will work for now to let me see you handle a load."

So away we went. Driving along, moving through the gears with the grace and oneness with the machine I had developed over two decades of driving, I discussed with Travis my experiences; the differences between the United States, Australia, and my original home of Canada; and the nuances of harvesting softwood lumber in New Zealand vs. harvesting the hardwoods most of the Northeast U.S. is known for. After a while, we returned to his yard and parked the truck.

"When should I book you for a pee test?" asked Travis.

"I mean, I can go whenever you like. We haven't discussed any other terms or money or anything though."

"I'll have a discussion with my business partner about that this evening, and in the meantime, I can get you in for a urine test tomorrow morning. Sound good?"

I agreed and left it at that.

The next day, as I was heading to a clinic to "produce a sample," my phone rang. It was Travis.

"My partner and I have decided we can start you at $14 an hour and revisit this number in the new year."

It took me quite a bit of restraint to not burst out laughing.

"Um, no offense, sir, but that's not enough. I'm making $16 an hour cash under the table now helping my contractor buddy schlep gear and run a chop box. I have to be able to at least move laterally, not backward."

"Well, what did you expect? You're just a truck driver. We can revisit in the new year, but I can't pay you more than $14."

"Sir, with all due respect, I just got back from driving road trains in Australia and I was being paid $42 an hour down there. I have 20 years of experience, and that has to count for something."

"You could have been making all of that up."

Despite sending this guy a full list of references, emails, and phone numbers of previous employers, and photos of rigs I had driven, this was the offer I got to work at one of the most dangerous and economically critical jobs in the country. It was less than the "Fight for $15" minimum wage envisioned by my Bernie-supporting in-laws. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Well, thanks anyway. And now you know why the last two guys you had didn't work out—$14 an hour doesn't buy what you want it to buy. Good luck."

This gentleman wasn't an anomaly. A local gravel quarry that had its own dump trucks and flatbeds for local work was also advertising for drivers. I went to........

© Reason.com