The American Trucking Association reports the nation’s current shortage of 80,000 drivers could double by the end of the decade. Industry leaders say many older drivers are retiring at a much faster rate than new ones are coming in.

Along with unprecedented demand for household and grocery products, the driver shortage is one of the issues negatively impacting the global supply chain. To address the issue, Price Chopper Supermarkets launched its own driver training program five years ago.

For 40 years, Steve Bullinger’s office has been the cab of an 18-wheeler.

“My father was a truck driver and I was 16-years-old and I went out on a trip with him and he let me drive the truck down the road and I kind of was hooked,” Bullinger recalled.

The Capital Region native has spent the bulk of his career criss-crossing New York State for Price Chopper Supermarkets, for which he’s now the transportation supervisor.

“You’re always learning,” Bullinger said. “I have 40 years experience and I’m still learning to this very day how to do things more safely and maneuver a truck.”

“There is a great need, these are great jobs, but right now they are very difficult to fill,” said David Schmitz, Price Chopper’s director of transportation.

Schmitz says the growing shortage of drivers and warehouse workers has coincided with record-demand for grocery and household products throughout the pandemic.

“There is a constant push and pull to get products into the facility and then get it back out to the stores and we see that every day,” he said.

“The shortage is really having an impact,” said Kendra Hems, the executive director of the Trucking Association of New York. “We have companies who have trucks that are sitting right now in their yards because they simply don’t have drivers to fill the seats.”

Hems says the organization has been lobbying for legislative changes like reducing the minimum age to receive a commercial driver’s license (CDL) from 21 to 18, a push that has recently opened the roads for this younger demographic with a new law signed this past November. They’ve also spent more time trying to educate high school students about prospects in the industry.

“Because of the shortage we are seeing sign-on bonuses from between $10,000 and $20,000 and entry-level wages are around $60,000,” Hems said. “If you are experienced, you can be making six figures just as a truck driver.”

Five years ago, Price Chopper launched its driver training program that Bulger now oversees. Kenya Bunch started his training less than a month ago and received his CDL in late November.

“It was harder than I expected,” Bunch said. “You’ve got to learn how the wheel turns itself, like left goes right and right goes left when you are backing up and things of that nature.”

“Four weeks ago, he’d never been in a truck before and now there’s a difficult maneuver that he can do now,” Bullinger said, as he looked on during Bunch’s training.

Bunch started with the company five years ago; first in a store and then the warehouse.

“I have my own family at home and I just want to provide better for them,” he said. “What better way to do it than to drive an 18-wheeler and stick with the company?”

Since the program began, Schmitz says two-thirds of the 61 drivers who graduated are still with Price Chopper, reducing the average age of their force by four years.

“We are going in the right direction and we are giving people an opportunity for a great life and a career and to stay with the company,” Schmitz said.

For Bullinger, it’s a chance to help the next generation settle into the driver’s seat.

“I’ve always wanted to change people's lives and this is life-changing for some of these people,” Bullinger said. “They are getting themselves a decent career and it kind of warms my heart.”