Projected driver shortage to tripple by 2026 but companies keep closing?!

There is no real entry-level driver shortage in the US. That is a myth. The true shortages are with drivers that have 3 to 5 or more years of experience. Most people can only stand so much of the BS that is part of being a trucker today. They get out of it. These are the ones that are tough to replace.

I know a guy that is closing up his trucking business soon. Actually, by now he might have done it. Had several drivers with 20+ years and over time they got out of it. One driver lost his medical card because of diabetes and had to leave. The owner decided it was easier to just quit and sell off the equipment than hire these 90 day know it all wonder drivers. So he just gave it up.

 

What's so good about any of this.
All this shows is how unstable this whole industry is.
You got a bunch of medium size companies who
Go bankrupt after a 6 month slow down.

Then you got the normal garbage local dirt
Hauling job for 16 bucks an hour that nobody wants.
They were paying the samething 20 years ago.
They wonder why nobody wants to do it.

Very few trucking jobs pay enough for all the
Hours worked and all the responsibilities that
Come with it.
That's why companies are always hiring.
Nobody wants to pay what the job is worth.

 

Most of the blame can be placed directly on the ATA. These companies dont want to pay what we are worth. Easier to hire new drivers at $35k vs paying for experience.

 

The number one reason it doesn't happen is the ease in which people can enter the industry. Very few "living wage" jobs are attainable with such a small investment. Company paid training, a couple weeks in school and voila, your're a wheel holder. Heck, short of fast food, few other jobs exist where you don't even need a HS diploma..

Just look at the questions that get asked in the New Driver forum... "I'm a felon, dope head, ex-con with little to no experience and several tickets/crashes/DUI on my record, where can I get a job?"

So long as our standards are so low, the wages will remain low and turnover will remain high. There will always be folks from the groups I mentioned above ready to take on that job at .40cpm or better yet become their own "boss" with a nothing down, no money out of pocket Lease/Owner program.

If that's not bad enough, I hear about the proposed changes that will allow 18 year old kids to drive Interstate. So now, Dad with 2 kids and a mortgage gets to compete with Johnny who still lives at home and needs X Box money for a job. I wonder who will work for less?? Worse yet there are programs being discussed saying the solution to the "Shortage" is to have the Megas sponsor drivers right out of prison....If that doesn't keep wages low, nothing will....

 

I've only been in the industry for 10 years and it's been like this since I've been involved.

One would think the high turnover rates would not be sustainable, however, it continues unchecked, seemingly.

I have a friend who runs an operating center for a larger company who's model has been entry level drivers with a turnover ratio of up to 140%. They are trying their darndest to retain drivers long term, with things like new trucks with amenities like DISH, guaranteed pay, etc.

It's not working...

In fact, this individual told me they are now "scraping the bottom of the barrel for drivers." Their words, not mine.

Some contend that if the pay is raised, the problem of retention goes away. I would say that's partially true.

However, there is a changing demographics occurring right before our eyes. With the easy access of information via the internet and the ability of younger folks considering a career/change, are reading in real time the information about our industry, and it is primarily negative.

The OTR lifestyle is brutal, it will chew you up and spit you out. Yet, most of these megas expect drivers to spend weeks on end doing it. That's something that a lot of individuals, even with decent pay, are just not willing to do these days, unless they are desperate for income and have no other options.

 

This comes up every year. You are not the first to ask this. Nor will you be the last to ask it.
The shortage is partly fake news. The other part is lack of decent pay on the part of mega carriers. Slavery is alive and well. Mega fleets love to under pay their new drivers and claim it because you are inexperienced. So many of hte new drivers will leave as the pay they get is the same as flipping burgers at a local McDonalds

 

People often tell me I am full of it when I say this. However, given the enormous popularity of this movie, this particular scene shows one of the primary problems. Most people consider trucking a (fallback) career and leave it just as soon as they can. I watched this movie about a month ago. Even to this day, I wince when I see this scene!