- AI data centers are creating a much needed boom for the American trucking industry
- But the boom might not last for long as the requirements for truckers fall significantly once construction finishes
- Moratoriums and poor opinions of AI data centers could also quell the demand
American truckers are being hired by AI data center developers to ship goods and construction materials to rural data center projects, with the trucking industry across the US seeing a boom in demand.
As a result of this, truckers have a significantly higher opinion of AI data centers than their compatriots. But this freight hauling boom is having some knock on effects on truckers themselves, the businesses they work for, and the rest of America.
A shortage of truckers is boosting pay, but the price of fuel – which has been steadily increasing since the outbreak of the war with Iran – and the increased maintenance that comes with an active fleet are costing companies a fortune.
Will the trucking boom last?
With many AI data centers being built in rural areas where land prices are cheap, much of the construction materials, components, and generators are being taken by road in regions where infrastructure isn’t built to sustain such traffic. This is having a knock-on effect on local trucking with fleets being hired to help upgrade local infrastructure to meet new demand.
In the short-term, the AI data center boom has been good for business, and has provided many trucking companies with some stability in work. The war in Iran has pushed fuel prices to new all-time highs, with diesel reaching $5.85 a gallon, making it increasingly expensive to fuel fleets of trucks especially at a time when demand for trucking has dropped substantially.
But given the mass opposition to AI data centers being seen across the US, and the accompanying moratoriums on construction multiple states are putting into place, the boom may be somewhat short-lived in the long term.
This is especially true once the current demand for capacity is met. Once a data center is built it only requires a small workforce, and the demand for freight drops off a cliff.
AI companies, take note
AI data centers are one of the key topics of the US midterm elections. Candidates opposed to data centers are seeing surges in support, while some of the biggest AI companies are funneling money through superPACs into candidates likely to support the construction of data centers.
This is hardly helping the reputation of AI and the companies behind it, with new attention being drawn to the money that often decides the direction and policies of American politics.
The trucking boom is therefore a lesson for AI companies to learn. If you provide actual, tangible benefits to people’s lives and jobs, opinions improve.
