Toward Resilient Construction Supply Chains: Addressing the Truck Driver Shortage Through Strategic Interventions
Journal Article
Overview
abstract
The construction industry is critically reliant on efficient supply chains to ensure better project management, success, and profitability. This research examined the critical and ongoing challenges within the construction supply chain, with a particular emphasis on the persistent shortage of truck drivers and its far-reaching implications for construction logistics. Utilizing a structured multi-phase approach, the research integrated a comprehensive literature review, bibliometric analysis, and an empirical case study involving commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The literature review established the current state of knowledge on transportation labor shortages. At the same time, the bibliometric analysis revealed four key thematic clusters that collectively define the primary areas influencing construction supply chain performance. The case study reinforced these findings by highlighting key factors contributing to driver shortages, including demographic shifts, challenging working conditions, regulatory barriers, and geopolitical disruptions. The paper concludes with practical implications for industry practitioners, policymakers, and supply chain managers, emphasizing the necessity of integrative operational and strategic responses to build resilient and sustainable construction supply chains and logistics systems, with a specific focus on truck driver shortages. By examining both academic literature and field-based perspectives, this research provides a comprehensive understanding of how labor shortages, particularly in transportation, can destabilize construction supply chains and identifies the most effective measures to support their foundations.
