Companies of all sizes have been decreasing their labor force in order to reduce costs and bolster profits. This trend, however, does not apply to the trucking industry. In fact, the opposite The American Trucking Associates (ATA) Chief Economist, Bob Costello, says there is a shortage of qualified drivers in the United States. He estimates that somewhere between 35,000 and 40,000 drivers are needed to fill the void at the current time. Furthermore, ATA predicts that the shortage could be as high as 200,000 by the end of the decade. In other words, there will always be a demand for drivers.