160 Driving Academy, a truck driving school in Lenexa, is trying to “bridge the gap between people who want higher paying jobs and a national need for more truck drivers.” The program is hoping to achieve its goal of having 150 graduates a year, with the 2 year old program already seeing 100 graduates come through so far. 160 Driving Academy also hopes to entice people who may not be interested in the traditional college experience. Read more…
The Utah Transit Authority continues to look for bus drivers, as a tight labor market makes filling these positions a struggle. The shortage has even forced the UTA to cut back, and even eliminate, some bus routes earlier in December. While companies like UPS, FedEx and Amazon continue to hire, “truck driving companies are having a shortage all the way around. Schools are having trouble finding school bus drivers.” Read more…
While many truck drivers and economists no longer believe there is a truck driver shortage, there are many lawmakers in Washington who do. Recently, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona introduced a bill that would “do away with certain requirements for obtaining a commercial’s driver license.” There are lawmakers who believe such a law would help ease the purported shortage by “helping hardworking Americans and slashing costs for all.” Read more…
With the trucking industry in dire need of workers, high schools such as Williamsport High School are introducing trucking courses as part of a nationwide push to steer young drivers towards the industry. As the American Trucking Association “projects that trucking companies will need to hire nearly 1.2 million drivers over the next decade,” it is imperative that an aging workforce is supplemented with more youthful recruits, including teenagers. Read more…
Numbers of drivers continue to decrease as the labor crisis in the trucking industry worsens. According to payroll data from the U.S. Labor Department, “the trucking sector lost 11,400 jobs month-over-month in September. That’s the largest decrease since April 2009.” With the average age of applicants too close to retirement, and a general lack of over-the-road drivers, there’s no immediate respite for the industry in sight. Read more…
Though Walmart’s plan of hiring 40,000 new employees ahead of the busy holiday season is lower than last year, holiday season staffing is as strong as ever. Amongst the positions quickly filling up are “approximately 1,500 full-time, permanent truck drivers with starting pay up to $110,000 a year.” Read more…
Teresa Maki, owner of T Enterprises, a Pasco private trucking school certified in Commercial Driving License (CDL) training by the state Department of Licensing, exclaims that the trucking industry has exploded and enrollment in her school has nearly doubled since 2020. Maki goes on to claim that “employers hiring new drivers have increased significantly. Before, they could easily find someone with a little bit more experience, but now they just can’t find enough drivers.” Read more…
John Esparza, chief executive officer of the Texas Trucking Association, insists that “a shortage of commercial truck drivers is contributing to increasing supply chain issues” within the state. With nearly 200,000 commercial truck drivers, the most in the nation, Texas is continuing to lose a generation of truck drivers and not replacing them accordingly. The median wage in the state for truck drivers, $47,000, is certainly not helping the issue either. Read more…
The Coca-Cola company has pledged to donate “$1 million to the Technical Colleges System of Georgia’s (TCSG) Commercial Truck Driving Program to support what its executives call critical training and job opportunities for Georgians.” The company goes on to say that “businesses and consumers rely on Georgia’s trucking industry, which is facing a driver shortage that has been particularly heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic,” and this donation will hopefully help address the issue. Read more…
With the current trucker shortage probably doubling by 2030 according to the ATA, it has become imperative that the issue is addressed immediately. There are many factors contributing to the continued shortage, amongst them are: “high average age of truckers and an increasing number of retirements,” “the inability of some candidates to pass a drug test,” “and a federal law prohibiting truckers younger than 21 years old from crossing state lines.” Read more…
