California commerce is in a jam — the answer could be self-driving trucks

Empty stores have returned, and if you’re getting flashbacks to the early days of the pandemic, you’re not the only one. But today’s “everything shortage” is a different sort of crisis than we saw at the pandemic outset, born more from a supply chain crisis than from panic buying. It’s the same old empty shelf, but the underlying problem is different, and for California it’s going to require an innovative fix: self-driving trucks.

While the Biden Administration has taken some important steps to address the crisis by opening up ports 24/7, there’s more that can be done to shore up the longterm security of our supply chains in the United States. One of the causes of today’s everything shortage is an underlying shortage of truck drivers, many of whom left the business during the pandemic and have not come back.

Between retirements and the rise of e-commerce, today’s trucker shortage was a long time in the making. The result is that trucking companies are now paying more than ever for drivers, and those costs are being passed on to consumers through higher prices for everyday goods.

Pre-pandemic, 1 in 3 families struggled to afford diapers. Today, families are having an even tougher time fitting them into the budget. Diaper banks have seen an 86 percent increase in distribution, and purchase prices have risen almost 9 percent. Grocery costs have increased almost 5 percent, with essential fruits and veggies making up more than half of that percentage. These price increases negatively affect all families, but especially lowincome families that are already struggling to make ends meet.

Thankfully, innovators in the tech industry are working on a solution. During the first half of 2021, investors poured money into autonomous trucking companies, realizing that a combination of lasting driver shortages, long miles logged, and consistent driving conditions are the perfect recipe for advancing this new technology.

As a result, we’ve seen major progress in the development of self-driving trucks. Just last month, Kodiak revealed a new generation of autonomous trucks designed for scalable production. Waymo recently announced it’s moving ahead with a hub for autonomous trucks in Texas, and Aurora Innovation has begun testing self-driving trucks for a partnership with FedEx. Some industry experts are predicting national rollout of the technology by 2030.

That might sound like a long way off, but the fact is, the truck driver shortage isn’t going anywhere. Right now, the U.S. is short about 80,000 truck drivers, and industry leaders expect that number to double by 2030 if nothing is done.

While we have years to go before we see the deployment of self-driving trucks nationally, Gov. Newsom can direct the Department of Motor Vehicles to commence a rulemaking enabling the testing and deployment of Class 8 autonomous trucks in California. By helping guide the deployment of autonomous trucking with clear standards and rules, California can pave the way and help ensure the industry serves everyone and secures our supply chain.

Of course, the reality is that self-driving trucks are a long-term fix for a long-term problem. Unfortunately, an autonomous truck won’t be able to stock shelves in time for the holidays this year or bring you next week’s groceries. For that, you’ll need to order ahead, or get yourself to the store.

But to ensure our stores and consumers don’t continue running into the same supply chain shortages, self-driving trucks present a viable answer. It’s a solution we’ll need policymakers to pursue in order to put the economy back into high gear.

That might sound like a long way off, but the fact is, the truck driver shortage isn’t going anywhere.