Celebrating Drivers That Make the Global Food Supply Chain Possible

This week is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week and at Lineage, it’s a week that hits close to home. So much of what we do goes back to our truck drivers transporting food all around the world. These men and women work tirelessly to ensure the global food supply chain continues to work efficiently and effectively, all while keeping safety top of mind. Here at Lineage, this is a meaningful week to celebrate the unsung heroes of the global food supply chain.

The Unseen Impact of Truck Drivers

Just about everything we consume, every day, has passed through a truck at some point. In the United States alone, over 70% of all freight, by weight, is transported via truck with comparable numbers across Europe and Asia as well. All around the world, food products find their way to our grocery stores, markets, food banks and doorsteps, with trucks often being the first and final links in the chain.

At Lineage, our drivers have put up over 15 million miles of combined driving this year, with several achieving important milestones. Steve Collier and Tony Barba recently reached their 1 million mile mark, while Patrick Zuk and Ed Campbell achieved 2 million miles! To put that into perspective, 2 million miles is equivalent to driving to the moon and back 8 times. Truly incredible!

When driving that many miles, Safety is absolutely paramount. A safety focused trucking industry helps ensure our roads and highways remain safe for all of us, while also making sure the hardworking drivers make it home at the end of their shift.

Not only is it important to ensure every driver makes it to their destination safely, but ensuring food arrives safe to consume is equally as important.

When it comes to food safety, we owe a lot to our drivers. 

Grappling with a Global Trucker Shortage

All around the world, we’re coming to grips with just how important truckers and the trucking industry is to all of us. For the past few years, the number of truckers has been steadily declining, with fewer new truckers entering the industry than ever before. As of right now, over 2.6 million truck driving jobs remain unfilled around the world.

This ongoing shortage can be attributed to a number of reasons, including a large number of retirements, increasing fuel costs, and more. One thing’s for certain; this shortage is helping put into perspective just how important our drivers are.

The trucker shortage affects just about everything in the supply chain, from the amount of stock we find in our grocery stores to the price of food. Ships backed up at ports, empty grocery stores and sky-high food prices are just a few of the issues we could face without a robust workforce of drivers.

In the last six years, our company driver workforce has grown from 0 to over 1,500 dedicated men and women across the world. We anticipate this number will only get larger as we expand our global footprint. There are plenty of opportunities to join the growing team of Lineage drivers right now; check out our jobs portal!

Our Lineage Drivers Make it All Possible

For Truck Driver Appreciation Week, we at Lineage want to make sure that the truck drivers that make everything we do possible get the appreciation they deserve. Their tireless work behind the wheel makes every meal possible for you and I. Without them, the supply chain would grind to a halt and the world would be in trouble. To all the truck drivers working around the world to bring food from farms to our tables: we thank you.

Greg