Has anyone ever seen evidence of the driver shortage?

Not really you are just still green here

 

I started in 97, and heard driver shortage since then.....
And driver strike/shutdown too....lol

 

I didn't read the training requirements but would one of the requirments be no newbies training newbies?How about thelength of training how many hours is that going to be?Or is that up to the companies?Transam and Western is I think less then two weeks.I'm all for better training but I don't see it happening.

 

There will always be a shortage of owner operators willing to run their trucks @ $0.69 per mile as well as a severe shortage of company drivers willing to work for 25% of that amount.

 

That's ok. Boston trumps Denver guy.
Oh.. And we have the best seafood. Best football team. And ya. I'll take my 25 hr no trailer no chains. I drive through snow just fine without them.

 

I see a driver shortage. At least a shortage of drivers worth hiring. I interviewed a dozen guys, had road tests, etc. I eventually gave up and got one of my non--cdl drivers to get his license.

 

I don't believe there is a driver shortage at all, there is a huge shortage of people who are going to commit themselves to the job of driving OTR for any length of time though. If you work for a mega carrier and calculate how much you net for the hours you actually work, you will find that it's not all that impressive of an amount for what you have to accomplish on a daily basis.

When I went through the the Swift Driving Academy, nearly four years ago, there was an older instructor there who conducted a portion of the classroom instruction. I believe his name was Jerry and he said this to the class, "A year from now, 90% of you will not be in trucking" or something to that effect. It's easy to understand why.

Also, the companies are being super picky these days about who they will hire from my perspective. I've been blackballed by Swift and Knight because I only work 3 months and quit, take 6 months off and then try to hire on again. To be honest, I can only tolerate the OTR lifestyle about that long for .38 CPM with a bonus of up to .05 CPM being dangled in my face that I will never qualify for.

So who says there is a driver shortage? If it's the mainstream media I don't believe a thing they say. With the low growth economy, there is no shortage of people who have to work. If it's the trucking companies, it's because the living conditions in the truck generally suck with the lack of an APU, wages are super low, truck stop prices suck, irregular hours, DOT looking to give you that revenue ticket, crappy parking in a place with no facilities, byzantine safety rules (no U turns, ever), driver facing cameras and the list could go on.

On top of all that, I was told by many people in various institutions, that once you get an education no one can ever take that away from you. That does not apply in trucking because if you do not have recent experience they want you do to a refresher course a lot of times. Sometimes they will make you go out with a trainer again. At some point the whole system just reveals itself as an industry so regulated and rule bound that it's just not worth the hassle of putting up with.

Also, no driver can forget that the companies are working day and night to get their fleets automated at the earliest green light. They hate drivers and all the B.S. that comes with them.

 

$15.50 per hour. Do you really consider that "good money"?