Fair to assume the driver shortage is real?

WOW! They will come along, I'm sure of it.
Here is wishing you the best of luck though!

 

i'd consider a job like that

but I like hauling tank, and I don't want to move to Iowa

 

I must be one of those idiots (But truly I think I am fairly intelligent) because I work for a mega company as a company driver. I've been with them for two years and I do a good job. I've spoken with many other drivers of other companies, and O/O drivers, and for the life of me I'm not sure they are better off. It seems where you benefit in one area, you lose in another. One guy I spoke with gets paid very well, but has to pay his own tolls and other expenses, and seldom gets home when he wants. It seems that for all the hassles and other junk he puts up with, the added money doesn't compensate well, not to me at least.
As for shortage of drivers? My company recently said they have more drivers than trucks, but plenty of freight.

 

I like your "How I Feel" picture. That's me, too.

 

I been driving since 1984, and to most carriers I have zero experience. This is due to the fact nobody pics up a phone and calls a former employer these days, they just use DAC. To DAC a lot of good drivers don't exist and likely never will!
Maybe that's where some of the missing drivers went, maybe they just said screw you and bought log trucks, lol.

From some of the trucks I see around here, that are "needing drivers" its a ###### good thing there isnt "a driver in every truck" because most of those trucks would be cluttering up the shoulders of the interstate!
I don't believe there is a shortage of drivers, I think there is a shortage of decent employers!

 

Swift is increasing pay and concentrating on doing better by their drivers. True, the pay is not the greatest but it's about 'standard' insomuch as the industry is concerned. Sometimes you do feel like a slave when you get a bad week of horrible trips that eat all your time but give you few miles and your paycheck suffers. But I have had great weeks, too. I'm on a sliding scale so sometimes I make above my base pay per mile. There are also bonuses for safe driving, etc. Most of the people who complain about Swift are usually those that had poor experiences with them (very possible because some terminals really suck) or they themselves were the problem and blame Swift.
One thing to keep in mind, if Swift and others are so bad, why do people still drive for them? There are drivers who have been with the company for years and are still driving for them. They could go elsewhere but don't. They could be driver leaders, but prefer to drive. I think it's all a matter of individual experience and perspective. So far, I'm happy. This could change, but only if the company decides to go backwards instead of forwards in it's attitude, and if that happens then I guess they are wanting to go out of business. Not likely since Swift seems to be growing every year and wants to keep that trend.

 

Driver shortage's are most likely due to the area that they haul.

I dispatch out New Jersey, we get very busy during the winter season (when the Great Lakes are closed to vessel's) hauling steel out of the Philadelphia area back to OH, MI, IL, IN, WV and more.

But everything changes year to year, day to day... right down to the minute.