Logistics Careers are Still on the Rise

It’s become common knowledge that the trucking industry has a driver shortage and there are rumors of an impending pilot shortage, but these are a small symptom of a growing supply chain labor challenge. About 270,200 logistics jobs will be created each year in the U.S. until 2018, according to a study from the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics. But only about 75,000 workers entering the field each year are qualified for those jobs.
“We’ve identified a pretty staggering gap,” said Page Siplon, the logistics center’s executive director, a shortage of at least 195,000 qualified logistics employees. “It’s no surprise,” he said. “The supply chain industry is growing pretty fast, and as the economy grows so do supply chain needs and the amount of freight we move all over the world. There are big gaps in how we’re going to meet future demand.”
One of the biggest issues with the shortage is that logistics and the resultant supply chain careers are hidden in plain sight. As shipping and trade grows exponentially and e-commerce keeps increasing, many people don’t stop to think of the teams behind those products. The primary goal of a logistician is to make everyone on either side of their supply chain think that it’s effortless. Many of the images that come to mind are of postal workers delivering packages or warehouse workers picking and packing, but for those of us in the mire, the reality is far more scattered. Strong logisticians must be critical thinkers, cost analysts, powerful negotiators, solution-driven, creative thinkers, and intimately aware of the big picture while still focused on the myopic minutiae of every detail involved.
BCS works every day to match the best of the candidates with the most coveted positions in the logistics market. We understand intimately how the field can be unbalanced and we can assist in finding the best fitting people for the strongest companies. Being in one of the fastest growing sectors presents wonderful challenges for us and we look forward to the new challenges each year brings.