The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that rising costs in the trucking industry have overtaken the driver shortage as the biggest concern for employers, according to a new report from an industry non-profit. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post says that one-third of business owners now see higher overheads such as fuel, equipment, insurance and labour as their biggest challenge, results from a Trucking HR Canada survey show. The outcome marks the first time in a decade that a dearth of drivers has not been at the top of companies' worry list. "We have seen a bit of a slowdown, so the hiring of drivers hasn't been that front-and-centre concern that we've seen over the last many years," Trucking HR's Angela Splinter said. "I think it's a reflection of what we're seeing in our economy right now." Nonetheless, labour woes remain significant, as vacancies will top 40,000 by decade-end unless more support to attract and keep workers is provided, Ms. Splinter said. Helping to ease the pressure is the growing number of women driving big rigs. The number of female drivers shot up 43 per cent to nearly 14,300 between 2016 and 2021, though the total still amounts to less than 5 per cent of all drivers.