“Those closures then have an impact on truckers, and it cascades down the line.”
While some retail chains are closing stores, I have seen no indication that overall retail sales, including Amazon sales have decreased.
Those good still have to be shipped by truck, they may shipped to an Amazon distribution center, but they are still being shipped.
No, they are shipped via the USPS, UPS, FEDEX and the like.
I'm talking about big freight vehicles. As the number of truckers dwindles, then the big freight builders have less demand which will then impact those workers. It will also affect the facilities, such as truck stops repair facilities etc., that cater to and service truckers.
You have to realize that when an outlet ceases to exist it most likely affects many truckers who are transporting various types of goods to those outlets. Even the smaller truckers are then affected because they no longer have a store from which they deliver from. The smaller trucks and their drivers will have increased opportunities from the delivery services that it will most likely absorb some but not all, but the need for larger capacity trucks will be diminished without question.
I didn't even get into the local affects from their closures, which causes negative affects to the entire community.