A shortage of available commercial drivers threatens truckload carriers with higher costs, and shippers with much higher rates. What is the driver shortage, and why does one exist when opportunities are plentiful and unemployment is high?
The Driver Shortage
Truck drivers are the basic unit of transportation capacity and the glue that holds supply chains together. No container or straight truck or trailer moves without, at some point, a truck driver. Even so, trucking companies, especially truckload carriers, often have great difficulty finding, hiring and keeping drivers. Nearly every period of economic growth is accompanied by a driver "shortage," including the recovery that began in 2009.
Is today¹s shortage truly a demographic lack of available qualified drivers, or is it a market shortage created by comparatively low pay and unsatisfactory working conditions? How will federal regulations governing licensing, medical testing, safety enforcement and how long drivers may work affect demand and supply? Unless trucking companies, logistics providers and shippers work together to finally resolve trucking¹s ³driver problem,² transportation and logistics costs will rise substantially, and supply chains will be put at risk.
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07 Jun 2013
The Journal of Commerce For-Hire Trucking Employment Index remained flat at 95.8 in May, after rising eight-tenths of a percent in April to its highest reading since September 2008.
15 May 2013
Demand uncertainty, price volatility and shorter product cycles have focused corporate attention on transportation strategies like never before, according to a senior executive at C.H. Robinson Worldwide.
09 May 2013
Shippers attending the 2013 NASSTRAC Shipper Conference and Transportation Expo in Orlando last month mentioned little trouble finding a truck when they need one, and at a price they’re willing to pay. But they have to work harder to get that truck, and they’re more likely to find it through a logistics provider or broker.
06 May 2013
The Journal of Commerce For-Hire Trucking Employment Index rose nine-tenths of a percent in April, as the national unemployment average dropped to 7.5 percent.
05 Apr 2013
The Journal of Commerce For-Hire Trucking Employment Index fell 0.5 percentage points to 94.9 in March, the first decline for the motor carrier hiring barometer since September 2012.
03 Apr 2013
There’s been no shortage of market-defining action in the first three months of 2013. Who's up and who's down?
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YRC Worldwide’s new CEO James Welch details the progress of the turnaround efforts for the $5 billion trucking operator.
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Jun 5, 2013 2:00PM EDT
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Q&A: Hours of Service: Putting the Drive Back in Drivers