Truck drivers are the backbone of the economy, without them it would simply not be possible to distribute goods to their desired locations.

The trucking industry in America delivers more goods than the train network, planes or even the massive cargo ships. In reality it is almost impossible to get any product delivered without using a truck; even the planes, trains, and ships need to be supplied via truck.

The Industry

However, concerns have been rising for some time over the current state of the industry; an industry that, if for any reason stopped working, would bring the economy to a halt. Derek Leathers, the chief operating officer of Werner Enterprises hinted at the issues when he said “It’s not just finding qualified drivers, it’s demographics in general.” His words were issued at the FTR Transportation Conference in Indianapolis last week; he is also reported to have said–

“The problem is going to get worse; it’s not going to get better.”

Staff Turnover

Part of the issue is the incredibly high rate of staff turnover in the majority of trucking companies; an issue that is now affecting both small and large businesses. The average turnover of staff is over ninety percent; this means that most firms are expending vast amounts of capital on hiring and training new employees every year. The cost of this is borne by the shippers. The cost and rate of this turnover are compacted by the increase in wages being offered; the average trucker now earns ten percent more than they did a year ago. This fact has been confirmed by Werner Enterprises, who are currently the fifth largest trucking company in the USA.
Werner Enterprises has been focused on high pay increase as a way of investing in the future, at least two-thirds of every rate increased levied on suppliers is going directly to the truck drivers in a bid to maximize retention and ensure the company has drivers available to deliver goods to their valued customers.

Economic Growth

In addition to the issues regarding staff turnover, truck companies are dealing with an ever-increasing demand for their services; a direct result of the growth in the economy. Both of these factors are placing strains on a struggling infrastructure. There are less parking places, busier roads, and far more safety concerns. There is also an increasing amount of legislation that makes it difficult for any trucker to complete a long distance drop. Derek Leathers did note that the most viable solution would not be attractive: “We could solve the driver shortage in a hurry with another terrible recession, but I don’t think anyone wants to take that route.”

Aging Staff

Current concerns pale slightly against the backdrop of the age of the average trucker. Just two years ago twenty-nine percent of all truckers were in the 45 to 54 age bracket; six percent of truckers were over 65 and just fewer than five percent were between, 25-34.
This means there are already more drivers who are above retirement age than those available to replace them. Unemployment is now nearly as little as five percent that leaves a real issue as to whether there are enough drivers to replace the current 45 to 54-year-olds, as they retire in the next ten to twenty years. With the majority of truck drivers in the upper age bands, something must be done to attract new drivers before the shortage becomes a crisis.

The American Transport Research Institute (ATRI) raises this point in its latest report on the industry; it also notes that the percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds working in the trucking industry has been steadily declining for the past twenty years.

Solutions

One solution is to increase the pay of drivers, in effect to buy a way out of the problem. However, this will not be enough by itself; Derek Leathers notes “Collaboration is really significant and working together really helps.” He goes on to note the crux of the problem “It is unusual now that shippers don’t ask me what else they can do to be driver friendly.”

Brad Parkhurst, carrier relations leader with manufacturer Owen Corning was also at the FTR conference and noted: “We’ve looked at our facilities, and we realize some of them aren’t where we’d like them to be in terms of driver amenities,” he also went onto say “we are also looking at which of our customers can let drivers stay overnight”.

These points illustrate the desperate need to improve driver conditions and safety by collaborating between manufacturers, truckers and customers. It is only through this that a disastrous driver shortage will be averted.