DRIVERS SHORTAGE * USA - Fleets acknowledge driver shortage a problem, report finds

Columbus,OH,USA -Truck News (CAN) -May 6, 2011: -- A shortage of drivers is already weighing on the minds of many US fleet managers, according to the findings of the Q2 2011 Fleet Sentiment Report...  The report surveyed 52 fleets operating 77,000 power units and 132,000 trailers in the US and was conducted by research firm CKCVR...  More than 70% of fleets surveyed indicated the driver shortage is either impacting their fleet now or may in the future. Forty-two per cent said they are currently having trouble keeping seats filled and must limit the number of new units they can add to their fleet...  Another 32% who claim to be unaffected now, still believe the shortage of drivers could impact their fleet in the future, the survey found...  The Fleet Sentiment Buynig Index fell to a reading of 90.5, yet still points toward continued strong demand for medium- and heavy-duty power units and trailers, CKCVR reports...  (Image from msnbcmedia1: A recent study by the American Trucking Association concluded that 82,000 new truckers were needed.)

TRUCKERS' SHORTAGE * Belgium - More than 2300 drivers lost each year in road transport

Deficit of 2,350 drivers per year

Brussels,Belgium -Truck & Business, by Claude Yvens -29 April 2011: -- The consequences of the economic crisis are not yet fully absorbed that, already, the driver shortage becomes a concern for the size of Belgian transport. Already, they are no less than 1200 to 1500 drivers who go missing each year in Belgium...  NSSO figures include only people who have a contract of employment in one industry. They thus exclude areas such as the move, trading of fuel (in which companies must have permissions of transport), but also independents and drivers under temporary contracts. They take the cons by foreign drivers working under contract in Belgium...  The latest available figures relate to the fourth quarter of 2009, where 59,804 workers were employed in road transport, only 59.75% as drivers (or 35,732 persons). This proportion is indeed declining for years, confirming the shift towards the logistics activities...  Another calculation of the number of vehicles bearing license to transport reports 55,600 trucks used by the sector in November 2010...   If 3000 drivers each year leave the road transport sector, while only 650 new drivers joining the ranks, the annual shortfall thus reaches 2350 drivers per year... 

DRIVER SHORTAGE * USA - The real reasons for

A driver can apparently bring home their pay so low now that it’s equivalent in value to an unemployment check? - Don Schneider: "...  Need to be paid $75,000 a year"

Berne,IN,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -March 22, 2011: -- “Bottom line: a driver is entrusted with a $140,000 tractor and trailer and often times well over a half million dollars worth of cargo, and then he’s treated like a second class citizen by the shipper, the consignee, his dispatcher, and the very citizenry he’s serving” Steve Myers, Moser Motor Sales... And it’s that lack of respect towards the truck driving profession that’s really crippling the industry’s ability to recruit and keep drivers... That’s the crux of the problem right there in a nutshell. No one wants their kids to be truck drivers, because driving a truck for a living is looked down upon. And in fact, Richard Stocking, president and COO of Swift Transportation, noted that he’s not encouraging any of his three sons to go down the truck driving career path either... But are we surprised by this? The Department of Labor, for example, files the position of “truck driver” in the “unskilled labor” category... The reason the driver shortage continues to grow even though the national unemployment rate still hovers above 9%: A driver can apparently bring home their pay so low now that it’s equivalent in value to an unemployment check? ... Don Schneider (founder of TL carrier Schneider National) once noted back in the late 1990s that truck drivers would eventually need to be paid $75,000 a year in order to attract the “best and brightest” into the profession... “But if we really want to raise wages to this level, if we really want to commit to this kind of change, we need the shipper’s help to do it” ... In short, solving the driver shortage issue is going to require change on a very broad front, in terms of pay and perception...

* When the industry as a whole has been scrapping the bottom of the talent barrel for that past 15 years what you see at the truck stops is the result ...

Kenton,TENN,USA -Fleet Owner: COMMENT by Timothy Brady -March 22nd, 2011: ... Most trucking recruiters and they’ll tell you their job is to sell the carrier to the potential recruit by telling them what the recruit wants to hear. Avoid the negatives at all costs... One of the largest problems in finding the best and brightest for the industry goes right back to basics. What other career in America allows an employer to pay less as the job becomes more dangerous? Being paid by the mile, not being compensated for time waiting to be loaded or unloaded or waiting to be dispatched pushes the trucker to put “miles” under their seat. But if weather, road construction, accidents, congestion slows the trucker down, he earns less. Couple that with the stronger enforcement through CSA and the lack of flexibility in the HOS (particularly in the 14 hour rule), and you have a formula for a worsening driver shortage. It seems the industry wants the government to babysit its drivers through the HOS, CSA and EOBRs because trucking is unwilling to provide the proper training and pay truckers a wage in line with their responsibility and required skills... Finally all straight per mile pay must be done away with. It should be a per day or a per mile pay and day per rate for employee drivers and lease operators a percentage of Line haul plus all extras related to movement of a load. Alternatively, continue to deal with increasing trucking regulations, failures of service and bring drivers into the industry that require constant baby-sitting to be sure they are dong their job correctly... (Caterpillar truck: A complex control panel of a modern truck)

DRIVERS' SHORTAGE * USA & Canada - New rules in effect for truckers

* Iowa/USA - New regulations in the trucking industry have some industry observers concerned about a driver shortage

(Photo by Dawn J. Sagert: Steve Cummings, of Waterloo, a trailer mechanic and wash bay manager at Gray Transportation, washes the cab of a semi Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Waterloo, Iowa. Cummings says the trucks are washed for each new driver, which is generally weekly)

Waterloo,IO,USA -Cedar Valley Business, by JIM OFFNER -February 28, 2011: ...  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has made changes in rules to place more responsibility for safety, log books and hours of service on the shoulders of drivers. In the past, rules focused more on the companies that employed drivers...  Some industry participants estimate the changes could cull the number of eligible drivers by as much as 30 percent...  An aging driver pool and tougher safety regulations will cut into driver ranks by an estimated 200,000, said Jeremy Geertsma, an Expeditors' Detroit district manager...  Some have called the new rules the most comprehensive regulatory change in years...  But carriers also say the changes have a legitimate purpose...   He noted state departments of transportation can't suspend licenses, but drivers are graded based on their adherence to the rules. Drivers who don't follow the rules will be assessed penalty points that could cost them job opportunities and prime-level pay, said Darrin Gray, president of Gray Transportation in Waterlo...  The new rules help carriers get a gauge on driver qualifications, Gray noted...

* Ontario/Canada - Looking for a new career? ...   Growth seen for jobs in trucking industry

Brantford,ONT,Canada -The Expositor -2 March 2011:  ...  If so, you might want to be at the Best Western Brant Park Inn, Holiday Drive, on Wednesday. That's when a number of trucking companies from across North America, some of which have terminals and offices in the Brantford area, will be looking to hire professional drivers...  Two information sessions are scheduled at 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. People attending the sessions will hear from trucking representatives, who hope to dispel some of the myths about their industry. Among those taking part will be Jayne Gunn, a longtime Brantford resident who is the Ontario recruiter for Sunbury Transportation, which has its head office in Fredericton, N.B...  Ross Jessop, the health and safety manager for Transport Sales and Services in Caledonia, also will be at the information sessions. "Some of us have had our secure world turned upside down and are starting all over again" ...  He noted that he thinks the economy is starting to turn for the better and the transportation industry will benefit... (Photo from citytowninfo: A heavy truck driver)

* Indiana/USA - PAM Transport Continues Sign-On Bonus for New Truck Drivers

Indianapolis,IND,USA -Vocus/PRWEB -March 01, 2011: -- PAM Transport, in partnership with Driver Solutions, will continue to offer a $1,200.00 sign-on bonus to new drivers that complete company sponsored CDL training and earn their CDL (Commercial Driver’s License). This is a limited-time bonus that has been made available to help meet the new driver demand that currently exists in the trucking industry... In order to qualify for the bonus, new drivers must attend company sponsored CDL training to learn the basic skills needed to start a trucking job. The 3 week training covers everything from classroom knowledge to the hands-on driving skills that will be needed to pass the CDL skills test. Drivers that qualify for a job opportunity with PAM Transport will be eligible to receive the bonus after they complete all necessary training requirements...

* Illinois/USA - Trucking company to hire 50 employees

Orion,ILL,USA -CBS 4QC -4 March 2011: -- A local trucking company can barely keep up with demand, so they're hiring 50 more employees... Tennant Truck Lines in Orion plans to hire drivers and office staff. A company spokesperson says the trucking industry is picking back up from the recession... Tennant's biggest client is John Deere. To find out more, call their office at 800-367-9223 and ask for the recruiter... (Photo from hankstruckpictures: Tennant Truck Lines' heavy truck)

* Wiscosin - Marten Transport increases driver pay

Mondovi, Wis,USA -Truck Net, by dgehman -3 Feb 2011:  --  Marten Transport, a Wisconsin-based certified top paying carrier, continues to lead the trucking industry as a premium employer with another raise in driver pay announced as effective April 1...  These new increases, along with driver base rates on Marten Transport’s Fair Pay sliding scale, allow drivers with one year of prior experience to earn as much as $0.415 per mile; drivers with five years of prior experience to earn as much as $0.445 per mile; and senior drivers to earn as much as $0.485 per mile...  In addition to maintaining pay levels during the economic downturn, Marten held its mileage rates and increased accessorial pay. Last year, the company also raised layover pay to lead the industry at $100 per day... (Photo from marten: header photo)

* Illinois - Q-C trucking company plans to put more drivers on road

(Photo by Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES: Danny Goldizen of East Moline moves around trailers at Tennant Truck Line in Moline)

Orion,ILL,USA -The Quad-City Times, by Doug Schorpp -March 6, 2011: -- Aaron Tennant is aggressively looking for about 40 new employees to fill the demand for drivers for his company, Tennant Truck Line... His company survived the recent recession. In fact, it is doing well enough to need more drivers now. He said Tennant was one of a few trucking companies that did not have to lay off employees in recent years because of the sagging economy... Tennant runs large machinery for Deere & Co. and Case IH as well as other manufacturers from the East Coast to as far west as Colorado. His home office and one terminal are located off U.S. 150 in Orion, Ill...   Tennant also has terminals in Augusta, Ga., off U.S. 6 in Moline and in downtown Moline. There are personnel in Baltimore who handle port arrangements... The biggest need is for experienced truck drivers both local and over-the-road needs...

* USA - Unemployment Rate Falls Below 9% for First Time Since 2009. Trucking Industry Adds More Than 11,000 Jobs

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -4 March 2011: -- The U.S. unemployment rate fell below 9% in February for the first time in almost two years as employers added 192,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday...  The trucking industry added 11,200 new jobs to its payrolls, the biggest gain in recent months, Labor figures showed...  The rate drop, from 9% in January to 8.9% in February, was the first time it has been below 9% since April 2009...  Besides trucking, employment also rose in manufacturing, construction and temporary help agencies, while state and local government payrolls declined...

Shortage of truck drivers * India - May turn speed bump for economy

A growing shortage of young men to climb into the driver’s seat may seem a prosaic problem at a time when an expanding network of interstate highways

Shortage of drivers in Mumbai
Mumbai,India -Live Mint, by Shally Seth -24 Feb 2011: -- The loneliness of the long-distance trucker may have been romanticized in novels and films, but hard realities such as punishing work schedules and harassment at octroi posts have created a shortage of truck drivers in India at a time when easier and more attractive employment options are available to young men...  A growing shortage of young men to climb into the driver’s seat may seem a prosaic problem at a time when an expanding network of interstate highways and the creation of a seamless national market after the introduction of the goods and services tax could make it easier for companies and distributors to ferry industrial inputs and finished goods around the country. But officials in the logistics industry and fleet owners warn that the looming driver shortage could eventually harm economic activity...  Twenty-five-year-old Bittu Singh echoes the woes of his profession when he complains: “No one likes a truck driver. Everyone harasses us”  His typical day involves haggling with the men manning toll booths, paying off policemen and managing the paperwork needed to ferry cargo to and from Mumbai in his truck...  N.L. Gupta, managing director of Caravan Roadways Ltd, which owns 300 trucks, said: “Competition to get freight from clients was always there. Now there’s competition to get drivers.” He added that 5-15% of the fleet is idling at most transport firms at any point of time due to shortage of drivers. Gupta said his own fleet expansion plans have been hit...  The makers and buyers of trucks warn of the wider implications of the looming driver shortage. Vijay Sankeshwar, chairman of VRL Logistics Ltd, said: “If the government, transporters and vehicle makers do not take adequate steps to improve the condition of truck drivers, the days are not far when everything will come to a standstill,” he said...   “Pet paalna hai, jo naseeb mein hai, so hoga (We have to earn our livelihood, what’s written is your destiny),” said a stoic Bittu Singh, as he stands up to get behind the wheels for his next journey from the trucking centre in Kalamboli in Panvel near Mumbai...

DRIVERS SHORTAGE * UK - HGV driver vacancies up 130% year-on-year

HGV driver vacancies hit a three-year high in October but the spike could also signal a large scale driver shortage

London,EN,UK -Road Transport, by Christopher Walton -18 November 2010:  --  According to Skills for Logistics (SfL), the number of unfilled jobs for HGV drivers rose by 130% to 25,720, compared to 11,041 in October 2009 and 8,787 in October 2008. Van driver vacancies also rose steeply, from 7,000 in October 2009 to 10,193...  Vacancies throughout the transport sector, from postal workers to transport and warehouse managers, are up 60% year-on-year from 54,460 in October 2009 to 87,422 in October 2010...  Mick Jackson, chief executive of SfL, welcomes the increase, because "reflect a build-up to the Christmas peak [and] the year-on-year increase for October looks like a heartening signal of growth in the economy," and urges operators to "carefully plan their driver requirements for 2011" and look at options for recruiting younger UK-based employees rather than return to recruiting from Eastern Europe as happened in the last shortage... ( Picture by Lewis Whyld/PA -Lorry drivers park on the A40 in west London )