Fair to assume the driver shortage is real?

Just got off the phone with a friend of mine, and she said where she works they're dying for drivers(local driving) and I can work there soon as I finish CDL training. I notice almost every company is raising wages a little at a time, even the ones that seem to be notoriously cheap.

Been sifting through various posts/threads and the general consensus seems to be the driver shortage is all smoke and mirrors.

So what's the opinion now for 2015-2020, I think the shortage is real and wages will need to keep going up to attract anybody. I was going to get into trucking with a buddy of mine about 5-6 years ago to do team driving and a local company wouldn't even acknowledge your existence without 1-2 years experience OTR, now I can pick almost any local gig I want fresh out of school.

 

Good point, but a lot of those guys can't get a cdl or they'd be driving already. Wouldn't believe how many guys I worked on the rigs with that lost their CDL for life or can't get one due to past criminal history. Oilfield is a lot more forgiving about that stuff. Well, maybe not now, but they have been for years. A good chunk of those laid off won't be able to get a job at most carriers.

 

Couldn't tell you, I am not an insurance agent, but they obviously don't care, they just need drivers and don't mind paying the premium.

 

I see this a lot and believe that to an extent, but I also see younger people have about 0 interest in driving a truck local or OTR, heck some of these kids I see don't even want a car anymore! Lot's of drivers will be retiring soon and I just don't see the younger generation flooding in to fill the empty spots. I also see cheapskate companies raising wages and I don't really see that happening if this is just a typical business cycle. I could be completely wrong, but I am just observing what's going on and how companies are acting compared to how they were when I first thought about driving and of course reading through these forums.