We’ve been hearing about the driver shortage in pretty vague terms for many years, so it’s probably time to put some numbers to the popular talking point.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has estimated that the overall trucking industry was short somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000-plus professional drivers and that figure could potentially balloon to nearly double that by 2030 if steps aren’t taken to mitigate that.

A few years back, ATA’s leadership noted that, nationwide, fleets would have to hire around 1.2 million drivers over the next decade just to keep up with demand and a workforce that’s aging out of the industry.

That’s part of the reason fleets continue to integrate more light- and medium-duty vehicles that don’t require a CDL to operate. It might not completely solve the problem, but it does help serve as a stopgap as more CDL-ready drivers are recruited, trained and retained over the next several years.

Broadly speaking, trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) under 26,000 pounds tend to be the ones that don’t require drives to possess a CDL.

Most of the major OEMs offer ample choices for your fleet’s non-CDL drivers.

For example, Peterbilt, a PACCAR company offers its 535 and 536 models with GVWRs up to 19,500 and 26,000 pounds, respectively. Typically, Peterbilt markets the 535 primarily for the rental market, but they do have a place in delivery fleets, especially in urban environments. But the 536 does offer a bit more flexibility as a commercial delivery vehicle.
 Another PACCAR brand, Kenworth, markets the T180, available in 4x2 straight truck configurations with a GVWR up to 19,000 pounds and specifically touts the vehicle’s acumen in urban delivery. It’s got standard hydraulic brakes and is powered by a 6.7-liter PACCAR PX-7 engine.

Daimler Truck North America, meanwhile, is known for its medium-duty Freightliner M2 106 model, configured as a box truck or refrigerated vehicle, with a GVWR up to 26,000 pounds. Last year, Freightliner announced that the M2 106 Plus was among the models that would begin featuring LED headlights for enhanced visibility and safety.  

Another leading OEM, International, positions its MV series (as well as the electric eMV line) medium-duty vehicle for non-CDL operation and was designed, the company says, for increased maneuverability, visibility and safety.

Now, because we’ve been framing the need for non-CDL vehicles in the context of the driver shortage, we should address a recent back-and-forth between ATA and freight industry data, intelligence and analytics provider FreightWaves. FreightWaves has directly called out ATA for perpetuating what it called a driver shortage “myth.” Two years ago, ATA, countered that claim — calling FreightWaves’s position an act of “self-promotion” — by pointing out that it’s not the only organization reporting on the issue, noting that trucking groups across the world have been publishing similar findings. Commonalities across national borders, ATA noted, include an aging workforce, barriers to entry for younger workers, underrepresentation of women, and lifestyle preferences precluding many job-seekers from considering trucking. 

More recently, in fall 2025, ATA chief economist Bob Costello reiterated that a shortage exists, but clarified that it is one of “quality” rather than “quantity” of drivers. FreightWaves CEO, in a subsequent blog post, characterized the clarification as “caving.” 

 Regardless of who’s right or wrong (truth is often likely somewhere in the middle), beverage fleets have been struggling with recruitment and retention in the midst of a demographically changing workforce. Non-CDL vehicles are just one set of tools in their arsenal to enable them to attract and retain a team with a diverse set of skill levels.