Truck driving jobs hard to fill even in bad economy

Maria

Diet Coke
Staff member
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Tribe Transportation is a growing company that just added 10 new trucks to its tractor-trailer fleet. The problem has been hiring people to drive them.

So far the Georgia-based company has filled four of the jobs, leaving six vacancies. The new hires are mostly veteran truckers in their 50s, men who probably won't spend too many more years behind the wheel, said Matt Handte, Tribe's executive vice president for sales and operations,

"It blows my mind that I'm looking for that many people and I can't find them," said Handte, who's also struggling to hire logistics brokers who line up freight transportation for customers such as PepsiCo, H.J. Heinze Co. and General Mills. "They aren't lined up at the door."

Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday.

U.S. companies are expected to create more than 115,000 truck driver jobs per year through 2016, but the number of Americans getting trained to fill those jobs each year is barely 10 percent of the total demand, said Page Siplon, executive director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics.

"Trucking accounts for how we move 80 percent of cargo in our nation" said Siplon, whose center is part of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. "If we don't have enough workers, it's going to be slower and more costly to move products. If I can't move as much product to the shelves as I want to, the cost to consumers goes up."

Siplon looked at a range of supply-chain jobs — from truck drivers and warehouse workers to air cargo supervisors — using career-specific employment forecasts by the U.S. Department of Labor and then comparing those numbers with Education Department statistics showing how many degrees and certifications for those jobs are being earned each year.

The results found truck drivers will account for 43 percent of expected growth in logistics jobs, but those will also be the positions with the fewest workers trained to fill them.

That doesn't surprise Tom Pronk, vice president of recruiting for C.R. England, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based company that employs 7,500 truck drivers who deliver foods from companies such as Hershey, Nestle, ConAgra and Coca-Cola to retailers.

"We have an endless need basically in the industry," Pronk said. "Everybody I talk to is very thirsty for drivers. My personal opinion is it's only going to get worse before it gets better."

Truck drivers make decent money. The Department of Labor says the median yearly wage for tractor-trailer drivers is $37,770, with some drivers earning more than $57,000. Handte and Pronk both said some drivers can clear $100,000 a year.

Both men said older drivers are feeling pressured to retire by federal safety regulations enacted in 2010 that keep a closer watch on drivers' work hours, drug testing any tickets and traffic citations they get on the job. And the job can be hard to sell to younger workers who don't think it's worth the money to spend days and weeks on the road away from their families.

full story
 
The driver shortage is just an ATA conspiracy to flood the industry with excess labor so they can drive wages down.

The ATA will keep whining about this so-called "driver shortage" even if there were two qualified CDL holders for every available driver job opening. They're attempting to manipulate the economic principle of supply vs demand to tip the balance in their favor.

http://www.truckersforum.net/forum/layover-tavern/72539-probably-should-comedy-section-but.html
 
The driver shortage is just an ATA conspiracy to flood the industry with excess labor so they can drive wages down.

The ATA will keep whining about this so-called "driver shortage" even if there were two qualified CDL holders for every available driver job opening. They're attempting to manipulate the economic principle of supply vs demand to tip the balance in their favor.

That's odd, I don't see the ATA mentioned once in this article.

As for a conspiracy, I really doubt it. If anything, a shortage of qualified drivers should drive wages up, not down. Anytime there is a high demand for qualified workers to fill positions the workers (well at least the smart ones) can demand more for their skills and the employers can either give it to them or have empty spots where the worker should be.
 
That's odd, I don't see the ATA mentioned once in this article.

As for a conspiracy, I really doubt it. If anything, a shortage of qualified drivers should drive wages up, not down. Anytime there is a high demand for qualified workers to fill positions the workers (well at least the smart ones) can demand more for their skills and the employers can either give it to them or have empty spots where the worker should be.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

They whine about a "shortage" during a period of high unemployment, and guess what'll happen? Lots of people will say "hey, I should get into trucking, .. beats this McDonald's crap". Market gets flooded with new entrants, wages go down.
 
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Tribe Transportation is a growing company that just added 10 new trucks to its tractor-trailer fleet. The problem has been hiring people to drive them.

So far the Georgia-based company has filled four of the jobs, leaving six vacancies. The new hires are mostly veteran truckers in their 50s, men who probably won't spend too many more years behind the wheel, said Matt Handte, Tribe's executive vice president for sales and operations,

"It blows my mind that I'm looking for that many people and I can't find them," said Handte, who's also struggling to hire logistics brokers who line up freight transportation for customers such as PepsiCo, H.J. Heinze Co. and General Mills. "They aren't lined up at the door."

Even amid a struggling economy with high unemployment, trucking companies had a tough time hiring young drivers willing to hit the road for long hauls. Now the U.S. is speeding toward a critical shortage of truck drivers in the next few years as the economy recovers and demand for goods increases, an expert in the inner-workings of supply chains said in a report Tuesday.

U.S. companies are expected to create more than 115,000 truck driver jobs per year through 2016, but the number of Americans getting trained to fill those jobs each year is barely 10 percent of the total demand, said Page Siplon, executive director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics.

"Trucking accounts for how we move 80 percent of cargo in our nation" said Siplon, whose center is part of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. "If we don't have enough workers, it's going to be slower and more costly to move products. If I can't move as much product to the shelves as I want to, the cost to consumers goes up."

Siplon looked at a range of supply-chain jobs — from truck drivers and warehouse workers to air cargo supervisors — using career-specific employment forecasts by the U.S. Department of Labor and then comparing those numbers with Education Department statistics showing how many degrees and certifications for those jobs are being earned each year.

The results found truck drivers will account for 43 percent of expected growth in logistics jobs, but those will also be the positions with the fewest workers trained to fill them.

That doesn't surprise Tom Pronk, vice president of recruiting for C.R. England, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based company that employs 7,500 truck drivers who deliver foods from companies such as Hershey, Nestle, ConAgra and Coca-Cola to retailers.

"We have an endless need basically in the industry," Pronk said. "Everybody I talk to is very thirsty for drivers. My personal opinion is it's only going to get worse before it gets better."

Truck drivers make decent money. The Department of Labor says the median yearly wage for tractor-trailer drivers is $37,770, with some drivers earning more than $57,000. Handte and Pronk both said some drivers can clear $100,000 a year.

Both men said older drivers are feeling pressured to retire by federal safety regulations enacted in 2010 that keep a closer watch on drivers' work hours, drug testing any tickets and traffic citations they get on the job. And the job can be hard to sell to younger workers who don't think it's worth the money to spend days and weeks on the road away from their families.

full story

Even this says it would cost more, ie drivers wages would go up!
 
Still say it belongs in the comedy section. It's part of good Ol Son O' Chester recruiting. See they tell you that for six months commitment they will give you this great (Hey when your making 16k a year 37k sounds like a gold rush) job, then they get you to Salt Lake, or Dallas, or Burns Harbor and start getting you your license and they start whispering about the" real money" in trucking. Being an O/O of course.Now now no talk of only being a lease this is a sales pitch PT Barnum would have shot his load over. And how the merry Sons O' Chester are such good honest christian men they want to help you earn those big bucks while making a little extra for themselves(1). All you have to do is sign on to be your own business and off to the big old world of Bubba Big Rigger. They will with no money down allow you to lease their truck at fair(I am curious if they say that with a straight face) rate and pour the miles to you to help you pay off the lease.

What happens then? Why of course you lease yet another truck from them:thumbsup: The fact you never own a truck is inconsequential to the fact most likely you won't last 6 months. And they will use another paid for puff piece to sucker:headslap: eeerrr I mean give a helping hand to another downtrodden under employed wide eyed idealist searching for that American dream.






Ok The last was a bit over the top.




1: I am always curious to know where the extra money for the employee and the company comes from. I guess they get a special rate for giving the loaad to one truck over another.
 
how many years have we heard the same ol $hit and the people that should know better[the truckers] still swallow it hook,line,and sinker, and as far as wages and rates going up, that myth has been around forever also the bottom line is until the truckers stand together and demand their fair share it ain't gonna happen, and we all have seen how the truckers today stick together.
 
1st it was to convince the Fed to allow them visa's/green cards to the Hispanic's because of the driver shortage, now same song & dance to get the east european/Nameyourstan/Asian non Inglish speakers their visa's/green cards... they will work for 20 cents per mile.... or less
 
Even this says it would cost more, ie drivers wages would go up!

If the "driver shortage" was for real, then yes, driver wages would go up.

By pretending there's a shortage when there isn't, they're working to increase the supply of drivers to meet this imaginary "demand", thus tipping the supply vs. demand balance in their favor, and driving wages down.

The only shortage these big ATA member fleets are experiencing in reality, is a shortage of drivers willing to work for slave wages & stay on the road away from their families for months at a time.
 
If the "driver shortage" was for real, then yes, driver wages would go up.

By pretending there's a shortage when there isn't, they're working to increase the supply of drivers to meet this imaginary "demand", thus tipping the supply vs. demand balance in their favor, and driving wages down.

The only shortage these big ATA member fleets are experiencing in reality, is a shortage of drivers willing to work for slave wages & stay on the road away from their families for months at a time.

ExFarkingZactly!
 
I will only believe there's a shortage of drivers when wages go up and benefits improve. Maybe there will truly be a shortage in a few more years- I wouldn't be surprised. But there isn't one now, because wages are stagnant. We see article after article crying about shortages- it's starting to sound like crying wolf.
 

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