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Retail shipping rates across the country are rising due a U.S. shortage of 51,000 truck drivers, projected to rise to 100,000 by 2021, USA Today reports. 

The details: New regulations on the freight industry restricting the hours drivers can work without a break are reducing interest in the job. Plus, baby boomers are retiring from the truck driving business and millennials have been unwilling to replace them. 

The U.S. has a massive shortage of truck drivers

There may be a 100,000 driver shortage by 2021

Freight trucks parked in a service center parking lot. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Retail shipping rates across the country are rising due a U.S. shortage of 51,000 truck drivers, projected to rise to 100,000 by 2021, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="USA Today reports." data-vars-click-url="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/04/26/truck-driver-shortage-raises-prices/535870002/" data-vars-content-id="cd98a79e-8e36-4b6f-8244-bb4e60129e71" data-vars-headline="The U.S. has a massive shortage of truck drivers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/04/26/truck-driver-shortage-raises-prices/535870002/" target="_blank">USA Today reports.</a> The details: New regulations on the freight industry restricting the hours drivers can work without a break are reducing interest in the job. Plus, baby boomers are retiring from the truck driving business and millennials have been unwilling to replace them.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

The U.S. has a massive shortage of truck drivers

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