Industry groups claim that the White House's mandate to use vaccines will cause truckers great distress.
Trucking associations warned that the mandate could "cripple an already stretched supply chain."
The Biden administration announced Thursday that its vaccine rules would take effect January 4, according to a statement.
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Truckers claim that President Biden's mandate to vaccinate will be "disastrous", for an industry already struggling with the supply chain crisis.
On Thursday, the White House announced that the rule by government requiring millions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested frequently, would go into effect January 4.
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), in response, released a statement stating that the "disastrous mandate...will undoubtedly see the trucking industry losing a substantial number"
Nearly 100 associations, including the American Trucking Associations and TCA, signed Wednesday a letter open to Biden in which they stated: "We are concerned that a mandate will paralyze an already strained supply channel."
TCA stated in its statement that it relied on its drivers for fuel and food delivery to the country during the holiday season.
The TCA stated that President Biden can't call trucking "work harder" when his policies are cutting off trucking and depriving us the workforce we need.
The trucking associations urged the Biden administration in a joint letter to support the industry and provide flexibility for essential workers in transport and other supply chains to receive the vaccine mandate. They wrote that truck drivers spend the majority of their time driving and have little contact with customers and colleagues.
The mandate could result in freight companies losing more than a third (37%) of their drivers, according to the groups.
According to the letters, the US is currently facing a shortage of 80,000 truck drivers. Chris Spear, CEO of ATA, told CNN in October that the US currently has a record-breaking shortage of truckers. This is a 30% increase over before the pandemic.
Trucking companies have had to raise their pay to attract more drivers because of the shortage.
