Adding to America's chronic driver shortage is the less well-known shortage of warehousemen, according 20th annual Third-Party Logistics Study released at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals conference in San Diego.

"The logistics industry is facing an unprecedented labour shortage," says the report.

This shortage of trained individuals to replace a rapidly aging workforce in trucking and warehousing will ultimately raise transport and storage costs for shippers, reported IHS media.

"While the labour shortage spans the whole supply chain, the shortages among warehouse workers and truck drivers are expected to be the worse," said the study, conducted by CSCMP and Capgemini Consulting.

Views of 3PLs and shippers differ on how to fix it. Meredith Moot, senior associate at Korn Ferry International, said 52 per cent of the shippers surveyed feel they can rely on their 3PLs to address the labour shortage.

Yet 79 per cent of the 3PLs reported they feel unprepared for the impact of the labour shortage on their supply chain.

"Finding talent today is hard and will get harder," Ms Moot said. Trucking is dominated by an aging driver force that faces retirement. Experienced drivers must be replaced by a new type of employee who is more tech savvy, she said.

Some companies in trucking and warehousing are addressing the problem by providing in-house training, mentoring and online training courses to attract young talent and promote the workers within their organisations.

"We must focus on home-grown talent, training and cross-training," she said.