Is the driver market flooded or what?

The trucking companies aren't the problem, it's the insurance companies that run the industry. And your right it doesn't make much sense to keep paying for a CDL unless you are a commercial driver. In order to drive you'll probably have to find a small company or take another CDL class and a refresher isn't going to cut it with most companies. Most of the large carriers want you to take a course that is at least 160 hrs.
The only large carrier I know of that will take a driver without recent experience is Maverick. There might be more but I am not aware of who that would be.

 

All drivers are required to have, " Current Experience", to be considered active. This is just a preventative measure to insure that drivers are aware of current laws and procedures....

 

Most of the company's that have schools will take refreshers.
You will have to go to the company school for a while, and pay for it at a reduced rate.
Then you will have to go out with a trainer, also sometimes for a shorter stretch than a new driver. Parts of this depend on you though.
I did a refresher at Central Ref a few years back, since I had been local most of my driving time.
I went to the school for a week, then went out with a trainer for like 2.5 weeks. Then upgraded.
Several others that did refreshers in that same school around that time had to stay for the full 2 weeks and with a trainer for 3-4 weeks. They just could not drive.
I think they had gotten the CDL at some point and really had no experience.
Check around with the training company's though, then talk to the training dept.
See what they can do for you.
Most large carriers are self insured. They provide themselves insurance by having there own bond. Smaller carriers cannot do this due to the amount of money they have to have available.

 

Remember the old fashion way of finding a trucking job. You might try getting out to the companies and asking in person. A good company does not need to advertise and you never know when they might need a driver. If you apply on-line or call, what you've heard so far will be the standard answer you'll hear. This method works best with smaller companies and you might find a great job. If it doesn't work then you can go the way the bigger companies want. However, I worked for a huge comopany and it was a great job. They now require you to apply on line, but after you do that (if there's an opening) it's just like the old days. So you really never know until you go out and find these companies yourself because some of the good larger companies are self-insured and they hire they're way.

 

My husband used to train for Werner, and while we were with them, we built from 1 truck to 6 - all training. I know that a genuinely new driver had to stay onboard with a trainer a lot longer than a driver in training just to re-certify. The trainee is paid a salary, with a bonus if they don't take Home Time. When you finish training, I don't know what your obligations are. I have heard that sometimes, after training, there is no job available. I would check with the o\o's driving with Werner, and see if any of them are hiring. We are. I've seen a lot of people who hate that company. But from our 5 year experience with them, they generally treat O\O's very well.