Truck transportation jobs in the U.S. showed minimal change in August, remaining significantly above last year’s figures but experiencing a gradual decline over the past five months.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of seasonally-adjusted jobs in the truck transportation sector for August was 1,523,000. This number marked a decrease of 900 jobs from July, although July’s total was revised upward by 4,400 jobs. Following a downward revision in June, the final August count is 900 jobs lower than both July and May.
Additionally, the August figures reflect a drop of 1,100 jobs compared to March, which had seen a substantial increase of 8,000 jobs. Since then, employment levels in truck transportation have fluctuated narrowly, lying mostly between 1.523 million and 1.524 million jobs.
Long-term Trend is Down
Three years ago, truck transportation jobs in August stood at 1,586,900, peaking at 1,587,500 the following January. Two years prior, the closure of Yellow Corp. led to a decline of around 34,000 jobs, bringing the total to 1,531,600, a figure that remains unachieved.
Aaron Terrazas, an independent economist previously with Convoy, highlighted the ongoing multi-year decline in truck transportation employment in a message to FreightWaves. He stated, “After experiencing rapid growth for nearly a decade, employment in the transportation industry has remained stagnant since 2022.” Small job adjustments have occurred, with trucking losing positions in August while warehousing and package delivery sectors gained, but no significant trends indicating recovery.
The total employment within the transportation and warehousing sector—which encompasses various roles from airline staff to couriers—was reported at 6,747,700 jobs in August. This figure ranks as the second-highest in history, though growth is not attributed to trucking.
David Spencer, Vice President of Market Intelligence at Arrive Logistics, noted that the truck transportation data indicates a relatively stable employment environment. However, he cautioned that this might simply be a temporary pause amid larger fluctuations experienced over the past year. He saw potential signs that capacity may be exiting the market faster, which could facilitate a market rebound.
Warehouse Numbers for July Had a Big Overall Impact
While truck transportation numbers remained flat, the warehousing and storage sector experienced a significant upward revision for July, which initially indicated a considerable decline. August reported warehouse jobs totaling 1,829,800, representing an increase of 800 jobs from the revised July figure of 1,829,000.
The upward revision for July was substantial, exceeding 10,000 jobs from an initial figure of 1,818,300. This revision was complemented by changes to the June numbers, which added 5,000 jobs to the previous month’s tally. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly employment report serves as the last update before the annual model revision is released, typically occurring in August or September.
While the BLS will provide projections for the Transportation & Warehousing sector, there will not be specific projections for sub-sectors such as Truck Transportation or Warehousing and Storage.
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