The Great Truck Driver Shortage

Interstate Dedicated Truck

You probably got into trucking by complete accident. You started growing or brokering plants and all of a sudden, you were in the trucking business too! How did that happen? Don’t worry, you are not alone; I ask myself the same question every day.

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As with all of the challenges we face each day, except for the drain on cash part, the actual physical trucks aren’t really the problem. No, the real problem is the drivers, or rather, the lack of good ones.

There is good reason for this shortage — and it is getting worse.

Demographics

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People are getting older. This seems obvious, but what I mean is that the general population is getting older, and a lot of the good old drivers of the past are retiring or close to retirement. Typically these empty seats would be filled by new drivers entering the market. The problem is, nobody wants to be a driver anymore.

Studies by the American Trucking Association, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and other trade groups show that becoming a truck driver is about as alluring as a new military recruit getting posted to Afghanistan as a first deployment. It sounded good on paper, but when reality sets in, young people don’t want to be truck drivers.

Road Conditions

Our population is rising, and road congestion increases because of it. Traffic jams are commonplace (and getting worse), and the government can’t pass the Department of Transportation (DOT) bill to improve things. This transportation bill is usually one of the easiest to pass through Congress.
Even the government is happy to tell us all how much worse traffic congestion is going to get in the next few decades. It is like getting a new job in an office and having to share your space with three people on your first day, only to be told that you will have seven or eight people in your office in the coming years. You may decide to look for another line of work.

Government Intelligence

Most of you who read my columns know that I just love the government and hope they interfere with more areas of the industry. For those new to my columns, that last comment was sarcasm. I could go on and on about several of the government’s ideas, but I am going to point out only one. In fact, I am about to inform you of one of the most amazing government-suggested rules that will pass Congress in 2013.

The rule is that drivers will need to pass a medical exam and obtain a medical card in order to get a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or to renew one. Now, on the surface of it, this sounds like a great idea. Even I thought so. However, what the government seems to think is healthy for a driver is a lot different than reality. Several proposals say that a driver has to have a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30, which would mean the driver is no more than just overweight.

I am 5’9” and weigh 227 pounds. My BMI is 33. According to the government, I am obese, but I wear 36-inch pants, run and play soccer on the weekends and work out a couple of times a week. Trust me, I am pretty fit for a 44-year-old male. But the government says I am obese — and to get a commercial driver’s license my doctor would need to provide me with a written course of action that I must follow to get my BMI to “healthy” in a set period of time — or I won’t get my CDL renewed.

I don’t know about your drivers, but most of mine would never, and don’t want to, pass this test. They will just walk away from the industry, retire or claim disability. Even if they wanted to renew their CDL, most of my drivers (like yours) are not the type to work toward “buns of steel” and go on a low-calorie diet. Heck, they are truck drivers. They sit in one place all day, every day. Of course they are overweight.

Work Ethic

What happened to the driver that was willing to tailgate as part of the job and didn’t expect to get paid more for doing it? Where are the drivers willing to take a 15-stop load and merchandise the product? Yes, there are a few, but many drivers have been spoiled by the proliferation of regional trucking and distribution center loads where “one drop, one pick, no touch” is the mantra.

As soon as a driver has experienced this world of nirvana, our freight is the bottom of the list. A driver I interviewed the other day told me, “All I do is drive. Everything else is extra, and you need to give me the help to do it.” He was unemployed at the time, and I bet he is still unemployed.

The Competition

There is a driver shortage. We all know this. It is also getting worse quickly. The good drivers want, and get, the easiest freight, the best pay, a sign-on bonus, regional freight (long haul freight was so last decade), benefits and new equipment. And once you sit in a brand new cab, it is hard to go back. The large national and regional carriers can offer so much more than we lowly growers — and they are working hard to secure all the good drivers.

This trend won’t change in our lifetimes, so we have to manage through the issues and be creative. We need to pay well and set realistic driver expectations. Increase pay for employment longevity, which works well for us, and look at your delivery circles and decide what your drivers should and will do. Let them do those tasks to keep them happy and outsource the rest to a third-party logistics provider or trucking company.

ind out what matters to your drivers. Some want to be home every night, and others actually want to be away for a night or two each week. If you give them what they feel is important, they may stay. You can also be creative by, say, letting a driver come into the office to dispatch the other trucks every other month, so all the drivers rotate out of the truck occasionally. Or, pay driver incentives for the actions you want to promote, such as better merchandising, lower claims and damage, more empty rack returns, etc.

Letting a driver know that he or she is so much more than just a driver is empowering. Let them know they are the face of the company. I have seen drivers stay at a company and even recruit friends because they got a simple uniform and were told they were in the customer service department.
Who else can better represent you than a happy, smiling, uniformed driver that loves his driving job?

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Avatar for Anon Anon says:

Tim you are dead on target with this. We are going to outsource our trucking needs as soon as our trucks end their leases and the owned trucks finally fall apart. Drivers are impossible to find and when you find one they are impossible to please.

Avatar for Jeff Demp Jeff Demp says:

Our trucking kills us. when it is season we cannot get enough and when it is off season i cannot keep them busy. we will be using a broker going forward. overall it is cheaper. we also got the InMotion Global TMS Tim has for managing our distribution. It is amazing for managing our loads and its totally free. i rec you give it a try if you move product.

Avatar for Mike Mike says:

It is a little late to be talking about paying the"boy" a bit extra and a nice pat on the back to show he is appreciated? Divers are leaving trucking as fast as they can get out the door. Go to any truckstop and notice they are filled with Immigrunt drivers…legal and not so legal. The atmosphere has changed for the worse and most young people have better things to do…good luck finding a driver.

Avatar for Rob Rob says:

If there is truely a driver shortage why is it then I am having a problem getting a job with a good company. I have 3+ years experience but because I was out of trucking for 2 years, trying to find a job in my chosen field the only driving job I can get is with a little company with junk for equipment and wants you to run illegally. youoti run

The trucking rates are too low i have 2 ref. trailers have tractors sitting as i can not charge enough to hire good drivers like yourself and most of my customers do not want my drivers to run legal, or pay enough to put a team in a truck

Avatar for jason jason says:

i liked driving back in the 80s and 90s but mto made be leave because of trying to find things so they can nail you for something.Yes driving was fun but the money wasn t there for me the way it should.I do miss the freedom of driving but not all the rules and mto and scales problems.Right now you also see more accidents in trucking now then back then,That makes other trucker look bad and mto come down harder. Yes also medicals cost to much .If you don t get one they drop your license to a g not a dz. Companys want you but mto and government want your money in everyway.To many rules in trucking now then back then .They are watching and checking harder .I would drive again i miss it but if the government cared without thinking about their pocket and care about drivers and stop with so many rules.Seems like trucking gets a head hee come the more rules what you can and can not do.i am know 46 have a job i go home and i have time for family’I also make the same with less hours then what i made back when i did drive.Younger people want to make money and enjoy them selves ‘They don t want someone pushing to get a load fast somewhere plus traffic and break downs.Things need to change fast.

Avatar for steve steve says:

In Canada most truck drivers are getting other jobs after 2 years of driving truck. Many other jobs are paying better and the fed. dept. of labour is not ensuring the CTA members pay their drivers fairly and on time.