Truckers say Biden's 'disastrous' vaccine mandate could worsen the supply chain crisis
- The White House's vaccine mandate will be "disastrous" for truckers, industry groups say.
- Trucking associations warned the mandate could "cripple an already strained supply chain."
Truckers say that President Biden's vaccine mandate will be "disastrous" for an industry that's already struggling to cope with the supply chain crisis.
The White House announced on Thursday that the government's rule requiring millions of workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or get tested regularly, will come into effect on January 4.
In response, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) released a statement saying the "disastrous mandate...will undoubtedly ensure the trucking industry loses a substantial number of drivers."
Nearly 100 associations including the TCA and American Trucking Associations (ATA) signed an open letter to Biden Wednesday in which they said: "We are concerned a mandate will cripple an already strained supply chain."
The TCA said in its statement that the country was relying on its drivers to deliver food, fuel, and gifts for the holiday season.
"President Biden cannot call on trucking to 'work harder' when his policies are cutting us off at the knees and depriving us of the workforce we need," the TCA said.
In their joint letter, the trucking groups urged the Biden administration to support the industry by providing flexibility with the vaccine mandate to essential workers in transportation and other supply chains. "Particularly truck drivers who spend most of their time in their trucks and have minimal contact with colleagues and customers," they wrote.
Freight companies covered by the mandate could lose more than a third (37%) of their drivers, the groups said.
The US currently has a shortfall of 80,000 truck drivers, the associations said in the letter. ATA CEO Chris Spear told CNN in October that this was a record high shortage of truckers, and an increase of around 30% from before the pandemic.
The severe lack of drivers has pushed trucking companies to increase pay in order to attract more candidates for the job.