Voices from the Open Road: Utilization, Shippers, and Driver Quality of Life

Supply chains in the U.S. rely heavily on over-the-road trucking to reliably and safely provide essential supplies to businesses and consumers. These networks are comprised of innumerable relationships between shippers who have goods to move and carriers who they contract to move them. It is often warehouse workers and truckers who are the "end users" of these complex relationships. Today, MIT CTL research scientist and FreightLab co-director David Correll chats with three experienced voices in trucking to better understand what life is like on the ground—or on the road if you will. David speaks with Desiree Ann Wood A.K.A. Trucker Desiree, founder of REAL Women in Trucking, Mark Cavanagh, Goodyear Highway award winner driving with CTL Partner USXpress, and "Long Haul" Paul Marhoefer, 40-year industry veteran, musician, and host of Radiotopia's, Over the Road. In today’s discussion, we hear about some of the delight and discontent on the open road and attempt to shed some light on why it is that U.S. truckers appear to be both scarce and underutilized at the same time. This conversation is part of Dr. Correll's ongoing research within the MIT FreighLab Driver Initiative. Accessible transcripts of all podcasts available here. https://ctl.mit.edu/podcasts