CDL vs. Non-CDL Driver Shortages: What Employers Need to Know

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Not every driver role is the same, and neither is the process of filling one. That distinction matters more than most employers realize, and ignoring it is one of the more common reasons transportation hiring stalls.

CDL drivers and non-CDL drivers come from different talent pools, move through different compliance requirements, and carry different risks when a hire goes wrong. Treating both roles with the same hiring approach does not save time. It creates problems specific to each one.

The Shortage Behind Both Role Types

Before getting into what separates CDL and non-CDL hiring, it helps to understand what they share. Both are feeling the pressure of a workforce that has been shrinking from the top for years. According to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the average truck driver is now 47 years old, retirements are accelerating, and only 20.4% of truck drivers are younger than 35, compared to nearly 35% of the broader U.S. labor force.¹ That retirement pressure does not hit CDL and non-CDL driver roles the same way. The shortage is the same problem at the source. What it looks like on the ground, and what it takes to hire through it, is different for each.

For a fuller picture of what that demographic shift means for transportation employers long-term, download The Silver Wave: Retirement Trends, Rising Demand, and the New Reality of Driver Staffing

Why CDL Driver Roles Take Longer to Fill Than Employers Expect

CDL drivers include long-haul truckers, regional delivery drivers, tanker operators, and others who require a Commercial Driver’s License to operate commercially. The most common mistake employers make with these roles is underestimating the hiring timeline before they ever post the opening.

Licensing is the first constraint. Getting a CDL takes time, money, and formal training. Most employers cannot afford to wait for a candidate to finish the process, which means they are drawing from a pool that is already licensed and already being recruited by everyone else. The ATRI research adds another layer to this: as experienced CDL drivers retire, a growing share of those who remain are moving toward owner-operator and single-truck operations rather than fleet employment. In February 2025, 7.1% of CDL holders worked for a one-truck operation, up from 6.2% in 2016, while the share employed by large fleets declined from 52.1% to 46.1% in the same period.¹ Retirement is not the only force shrinking the available pool. Experienced drivers are also moving out of the for-hire market entirely.

Endorsements narrow it further. Roles requiring credentials for hazardous materials, tankers, or combination vehicles pull from a smaller subset of an already competitive field. An employer who needs a specific endorsement is not competing for all CDL drivers. They are competing for a fraction of them.

Then there is compliance. CDL hiring is regulated in ways that non-CDL hiring is not. Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) reviews, Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse checks, Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requirements all have to be completed before a driver starts. Each step takes time. When employers do not account for that timeline upfront, roles stay open longer than they should, and operations absorb the gap.

Why Non-CDL Roles Are Harder to Fill Well Than They Look

Non-CDL roles include box truck drivers, last-mile delivery drivers, warehouse shuttle operators, and others who do not require a commercial license to perform the work. These roles have a wider candidate pool, and that can create a false sense of ease. A larger pool does not mean a better match. It means more screening work, not less.

The candidates are there. The problem is that without the right filters, employers end up moving fast on hires who are not well-suited to the physical demands, the schedule, or the pace of the work. Turnover in non-CDL roles often happens within the first few days, not because the candidate was unqualified on paper, but because the role was not accurately represented, or the screening process did not surface the right fit before the offer went out.

Speed and volume compound this. Non-CDL roles frequently need to be filled quickly and in larger numbers than CDL roles. When a position stays open, it does not just affect one route. It adds load to the rest of the team and creates downstream pressure that is hard to absorb for long. The urgency to fill fast is real, but moving fast without screening carefully is what turns one open role into a recurring one.

What Happens When Employers Use the Same Approach for Both

A generalist hiring strategy does not fail because it is careless. It fails because CDL and non-CDL roles punish the same mistakes differently.

For CDL driver roles, the cost of moving too fast is compliance exposure. Skipping or rushing steps in the screening process to close a role faster creates legal and safety risk that outlasts the hire. For non-CDL roles, the cost of moving too slowly is operational. Waiting for a perfect candidate while routes go uncovered is a decision with real consequences.

When the same process is applied to both, employers tend to underserve one of them. Either CDL compliance gets compressed to match a non-CDL timeline, or non-CDL volume hiring gets slowed down by a process built for a different kind of scrutiny. Neither outcome is good, and both are avoidable.

Hire for Both Roles Without Compromising Either

CDL and non-CDL driver hiring are not two versions of the same problem. They require distinct approaches, realistic timelines, and screening criteria built around the specific demands of each role type.

Spectra360 recruits for both CDL and non-CDL driver roles with compliance built into every step of the process. Connect with us to talk through your hiring needs.

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