It is frequently said that we can't stop progress. While it is indisputable that we as individuals and a society have benefitted from many aspects of progress, many of us still have concerns about the ever-increasing pace of change. Technology is integral to all aspects of life and work. The question that comes to mind is: Where do movers fit in?

Within the last month, there was a news story that described the first self-driving truck's recent beer delivery. Technology disrupters are envisioning a freight industry with driverless/cab-less trucks in 20 to 30 years. As someone who started his career as a truck driver and is a representative to an industry reliant on truck drivers, I have a large degree of trepidation about the continuous discussion of the future of trucking being dominated by self-driving trucks.

I don't have any answers, but I can say that commercial trucking, of which moving and storage is just a very small segment, has long been a critical employer in our economy and one of an ever-shrinking list of blue collar jobs to provide middle-class income.

Below, there are two photos of Fifth Avenue in New York City that demonstrate how quickly things changed in transportation technology at the turn of the 20th century. The photo from 1900 shows a street packed with horse-drawn wagons and carriages. The photo from 1913 shows that same street without a single horse.


New York City in 1900



New York City in 1913

November 2016 - CMSA Communicator