truck driver shortage

Truck Parking Woes Hinder Driver Recruitment

February 25, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Yesterday, we reported on the difficulties around truck parking availability that have been exacerbated by urban traffic challenges and the recent e-commerce boom. As frustrating as this issue has been for existing truck drivers, the lack of parking poses another problem for the industry: retaining and recruiting truckers during the ongoing truck driver shortage.

“There are people who want to be truck drivers, but sometimes they can’t become drivers because they don’t know where to park,” said Roehl Transportation’s vice president of driver employment, Tim Norlin. As residential truck parking has become more frequently banned in various cities, drivers may be deterred from joining the industry if they have nowhere to park while they’re at home.

This is a major challenge for drivers recruitment efforts, as many fleets have prioritized a focus on offering ample time at home for truckers. These conversations around truck parking availability typically begin early on in the recruitment process, Norlin added.

“More than half of our drivers are home every week,” he said. “If other carriers are doing the same thing, it is compounding that issue. We try to find out what [a driver’s] plan is, and if it is to park in the street in front of their house…it is getting more and more challenging, and it is not just [within] the major metro areas. A lot of smaller cities don’t want trucks in their parking lots.”

This is also doubly difficult on drivers who need especially safe areas to park in, such as female drivers; this problem is making recruiting women into the trucking industry as tricky as ever.

“Women are almost 50% of the workforce in general, but in trucking, they are 6.5-to-8% of drivers,” said Dan Murray, American Transportation Research Institute’s senior vice president. “They have told us time and time again–safety and security is their biggest issue. They need lighting, fences, and restrooms.”

Some mobile apps are coming into play to hopefully make finding available parking easier, such as Trucker Path; the app’s chief marketing officer, Chris Oliver, noted that parking on the East Coast has been more difficult than on the West Coast because of overall population density.

“There are certainly large metropolitan areas in both the East and the West, but the big difference is the space between those large metro areas,” he explained.

Through crowdsourcing information (like sending pop-up questions to ask about available spaces or if a lot is full), Trucker Path is able to offer real-time parking availability information directly to commercial drivers.

“This is made possible via geofences we’ve established around all of the known parking locations,” said Oliver.

In addition, American Trucking Associations, ATRI, and Natso, a truck stop-and travel plaza-representing trade association, have collaborated to create the Truck Parking Leadership Initiative, from which the app, Park My Truck, was born. In the app, rest areas, truck stops, and other locations are able to report the number of spaces available in their lots at any given time.

Everyone involved in the shipping process can help with parking challenges, from customers and receivers to distribution centers and shippers, noted Shawn Brown, Cargo Transporters’ vice president of safety.

“It is so huge that internally, we remind our customer service team of the importance of knowing ahead of time places [in which] we can and cannot park, so the drivers know,” he explained. “That is as important as the rate.”

Often, even if a trucker can park at the location of a shipper or receiver, there are not enough of the amenities a driver may need readily available. Because of this, industry members are urging that all parties honor delivery and pickup times as closely to the given schedule as possible.

“Just because you drive a truck with a sleeper berth, it doesn’t solve your problems for all of life’s basic necessities,” said president of the Minnesota Trucking Association, John Hausladen. “You need access to food, restrooms, and showers. If you’re not on duty, [you need to be] able to interact with others.”

Making known that safe, reliable parking is available will be a major key to boosting recruitment numbers, Brown added.

Drivers “can be more productive with their time away from home, make more money, and have less stress” when safe parking is available, he said. “A happy driver leads to reduced turnover, and [peace of mind] can bring more drivers into the industry.”

On the drivers’ part, trip planning should always include a plan for parking, as well, Roehl’s Norlin added.

“Don’t just drive to an area and hope to park,” he said. “Plan or know from experience where to park. It’s all about [security]. We need a gated, secured location for drivers to park, and it is getting harder and harder for drivers to find.”

The Most Recent Method of Finding New Truckers: Recruiting Out of High School

January 22, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Carriers have been scrambling more than ever before to acquire new truck drivers as the industry continues experiencing what seems like a never-ending trucker shortage. From pay boosts, added benefits, and sign-on bonuses to potential initiatives allowing drivers under the age of 21 to begin operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce, the methods of expanding the pool of available truck drivers are changing constantly. The latest attempt: recruiting young drivers out of high school.

“What we’re trying to do, as a nonprofit trade association, is raise awareness of the trucking industry,” said Lindsey Trent, president of The Next Generation in Trucking Association. “We’re doing that in several ways. Recently, I gave a presentation to the American School Counselor Association, so all of the school counselors across the United States got to hear a general presentation about the trucking industry and the different jobs that are in trucking.”

Next Generation’s aim is to change stereotypes around the tucking profession that many professionals–and parents–believe. According to Trent, the main mindset the association would like to change is that the only path to success is a college-to-workforce path that often comes with high amounts of student loans, and therefore, debt.

“We’re not about pushing students into this industry [quickly],” said Dave Dien, Next Generation board member and teacher at Patterson High School in Patterson, California. “We want to make sure that those who choose this industry are well-fitted and they have the proper skills and foundation to do well.”

For the last five years, students at Patterson High have been able to enroll in the Next Generation program during their senior year and acquire a commercial driver license. As of now, 20 of the school’s students are enrolled in the program, which requires 180 hours of classroom instruction, 110 hours of training behind the wheel, and an additional 30 hours of training in a truck-driving simulator.

Now, the program is working to allow junior-year students to enroll in the program as soon as next year, which would offer them an additional 200 hours of instruction in a classroom setting before progressing to commercial driver license training, specifically.

According to Trent, Next Generation has adapted its curriculum to be flexible enough for a majority of school districts, with schools across the country showing interest in incorporating it into their career guidance programs.

“There’s a buzz about it now,” said Dein. “The best word that advertises is word-of-mouth. Students who have graduated [from] the program–they’re finding success in the industry. There [have been] a lot more students that want to take the class because they hear about it.”

With the available flexibility the program offers, “it seems that it has changed the mindset of what they thought trucking was about,” Dein said in regards to students enrolled in the program.

Because the DRIVE-Safe Act has been signed into law by President Biden, Trent and Dein predict that even more students will begin to find interest in their program and in the trucking industry as a whole. Part of the DRIVE-Safe Act’s initiative is the pilot program allowing drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 to drive interstate in commercial motor vehicles.

“Once you have 18-year-olds driving interstate, we feel that the next step is really going after that career and technical education funding to build programs at the state level,” said Don Lefeve, board member of Next Generation and former CEO of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association. “That’s working not only to get them interested while in high school, but really to partner with community colleges and private truck schools that may be in their area to help deliver the skills training for them.”

Attempts to increase interest among young drivers is common, but many safety advocates worry that such young, inexperienced drivers lack the maturity or patience needed to work as a safe truck driver. Addressing the driver shortage is important, of course–but the safety of American roadways should always remain top priority, noted Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson.

“You can’t give the key to an 80,000-pound, dangerous truck to an inexperienced driver,” he said. “There is no substitute for good experience–you don’t just pick up driving right away. A car–let alone a commercial vehicle–is way too dangerous to operate without sufficient experience. There’s a certain maturity that it takes to drive a vehicle with this amount of weight and complexity. They’re not easy vehicles to operate, and companies need to be very cautious about bending safety rules despite the pressures to hire new drivers.”

More Concerns Arise Regarding Young Trucker Pilot Program

January 21, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

In the midst of the ongoing truck driver shortage, many carriers and industry members have been backing the proposed pilot program that would allow drivers under the age of 21 to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce. Now, safety advocates within the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are begging the question, will these young truck drivers even be able to find insurance?

Until now, drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 were only permitted to drive within intrastate commerce by most states.

“We expect it will be difficult for many motor carriers to afford insurance coverage for younger drivers,” said Todd Spencer, President and CEO of OOIDA in a letter offered as commentary for the program proposal. Spencer’s opinions on the pilot program have mostly appeared to be in opposition, although OOIDA hasn’t stated its exact stance on the matter.

Spencer explained that a majority of carriers would have trouble insuring riskier young truckers.

“Small-business motor carriers are especially unlikely to take the risk of insuring under-21 drivers without evaluating the costs and benefits to their operations,” Spencer continued. “In all likelihood, only self-insured carriers will be willing to provide coverage for under-21 interstate drivers.”

The Apprenticeship Pilot Program, proposed by FMCSA, would allow for these young driver apprentices (who already have commercial driver licenses) to undergo two probationary training periods before becoming permitted to operate within interstate commerce: one training period alongside an experienced trucker while completing 120 hours of on-duty time, with 80 of those hours in a truck; the other with no other driver necessary while completing 280 on-duty hours, with 160 of those hours in a truck.

OOIDA’S most pressing concern is that FMCSA will not collect sufficient data throughout the program and won’t be able to make an efficient decision in regards to the safety concerns at hand surrounding young drivers operating CMVs in an interstate capacity.

“FMCSA must incorporate more specific data collection methods that will better determine whether under-21 drivers can safely operate in interstate commerce,” continued Spencer in his letter.

Additionally, OOIDA “would like to see more details about how the safety data collected will be compared with other drivers, including how the control group will be selected,” wrote Spencer, claiming that FMCSA has yet to declare proper definition for the composition of the control group itself.

The study should also analyze problems around long detention times and involve safety and crash data around intrastate drivers, OOIDA says, as the main argument in support of the program is that young drivers are already able to operate within intrastate routes. Additionally, data collection on program participant performance should be continuous, Spencer said. “We strongly believe the APP must monitor and analyze apprentice performance after they have completed the required probationary periods,” he continued in his letter.

There should also be a concrete timeline regarding the length of the APP, according to OOIDA. “How will the agency decide whether APP should be extended, expanded, or discontinued in the final data analysis?” asked Spencer. “If crashes and fatalities occur during the program, will those be made public?”

Many public comments echoed OOIDA’s concerns, with some commenters expressing worries that young drivers will be easily overwhelmed with the demands of the industry today, or that they will just not have the maturity needed for overall safety in their day-to-day routes.

“As a 42-year veteran trucker [and] owner with a five-million-mile, no-accident safety record, I feel that younger drivers do not have the patience and ability to control [their] emotions,” said industry member Marc Edleston in a public comment. “Driving is more than operating a large vehicle. You encounter bad weather conditions, bad road conditions, and most of all–other bad drivers. One must always be extremely patient.”

OOIDA believes that overall, the program is likely a chance for FMCSA to push forward more of its agenda, with Spencer stating that the APP “is another opportunity to examine the cause of excessively high driver turnover rates.”

FMCSA Rushes Young Driver Pilot Initiative to Help Ease Shortage

January 15, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is currently urging the White House to offer emergency, expedited approval of the driver apprenticeship program that came as part of 2021’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

President Biden’s DRIVE-Safe Act–included in his Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act–would implement an initiative allowing drivers between 18- and 21-years of age to be able to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce–a change from the previous regulation which only allowed drivers in that age range to work within intrastate operations. The push to expedite this approval process is a scrambling effort by federal regulators to find methods of easing the current, long-lasting truck driver shortage.

FMCSA has asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to launch the pilot by this week, a pilot that would allow drivers with intrastate commercial driver licenses to work within these new parameters and that would require trucking companies to properly monitor their drivers who are part of the program.

Soon, around 4,500 carriers will likely begin enrolling more than 40,000 into the pilot program, FMCSA predicts, as the industry voices their belief that this initiative will help bring about the highly-needed number of new drivers entering the industry and alleviate the ongoing shortage.

Is rushing this program into fruition the safest course of action? Most likely not, says Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson.

“The labor market is very difficult right now for the industry, and for trucking companies in particular,” he explained. “But despite the pressure of the shortage, carriers just cannot hire unsafe or unqualified drivers. It’s just not the way to go–it’s too dangerous, and the risks are too high.”

Hopefully, then, these drivers will indeed undergo rigorous training and be heavily monitored while participating in the program. According to the pilot’s outline, young drivers will be able to operate within interstate commerce under the supervision of an experienced driver during their probationary period–the “experienced driver” must have had a commercial driver license and have been employed for at least the last two years with at least five years of experience, and be over the age of 26.

Out of two probationary periods, these drivers must first: complete 120 hours of on-duty time with 80 of those operating a CMV, with employer-confirmed efficiency in speed and space management, lane control, mirror scanning, evening driving, rural driving, interstate and city driving, safety awareness, hours-of-service compliance, and proper left and right turns. During the second probationary period, drivers must: complete 280 hours of on-duty time with 160 of those operating a CMV, with employer-confirmed efficiency in pre-trip inspections, coupling and uncoupling procedures, trip planning and map reading, load weighing and distribution, backing and maneuvering within small spaces, and fueling procedures.

Following these probationary periods, the young drivers can then begin driving commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce alongside an experienced driver. The pilot program also mandates data collection in regards to any incidents occurring that involve an apprentice, as well as any other apprentice-related safety data.

“Additional data will include crash data (incident reports, police reports, insurance reports, inspection data, citation data, safety event data as recorded by all safety systems installed on vehicles, to include advanced driver assistance systems, automatic emergency braking systems, onboard monitoring systems, and forward-facing and in-cab video systems), as well as exposure data, record of duty status logs, on-duty time, driving time, and time spent away from home terminal,” said FMCSA. “This data will be submitted monthly through participating motor carriers.”

Trucking companies can absolutely not skirt around any of these guidelines or safety procedures, Levinson noted, which may be a temptation for carriers rushing to find new drivers to fill vacant roles and meet current consumer demand.

“These drivers are operating 80,000 pounds of metal, and they can wipe out with devastating consequences,” he explained. “Companies have to make sure they’re hiring experienced drivers, that are trained well and that know the safety rules.”

2022 Set to See Similar–If Not Worse–Trucker Shortage, Experts Say

January 13, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“I wish I had a crystal ball to be able to see the future,” said CPC Logistics vice president of operations and safety, Daniel Most, of the trucker shortage continuing into 2022. “I think there’s still going to be a shortage that’s significant because of the supply and demand. There is still going to be a lot of freight to move next year and the same [amount] or fewer drivers.”

The truck driver shortage is clearly not being left behind in 2021, many experts say, with American Trucking Associations estimating that at least 80,000 drivers are currently needed in the industry. By 2030, that number could reach higher than 160,000, all thanks to a lack of truck driver retention and recruitment, as well as higher demand than ever brought about by the surge in e-commerce following the pandemic.

Now, many carriers are scrambling to find ways to address the situation, such as offering high pay boosts, sign-on bonuses, and added benefits. Because of this, ATA now believes that trucker incomes are rising at a rate of five times more than they have in the past, and longhaul weekly driver earnings have risen by 25%–at least–since early 2019.

Still, these temporary incentives only come as carriers throughout the industry have to work harder than ever to remain competitive in the midst of an incredibly limited pool of truck drivers seeking new jobs.

“I think as long as the freight market continues to do what it’s been doing and from everything that I’ve been hearing from the folks we work with, I don’t expect that to change, at least through the first two quarters [of the year] and possibly the first three quarters,” said Professional Driver Agency’s director of operations, Scott Dismuke.

A shift in truck driver perception and culture may be the key to solving this ongoing issue, he noted.

“I think it’s just going to be more of the same at this point,” Dismuke said. Unless we can start getting more drivers–newer drivers–attracted to the market, we’re still going to be up against the wall.”

In regards to current truckers being removed from the nation’s roadways due to failing alcohol or drug tests, the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse has reported 93,808 such violations since 2020, with a majority of those forgoing any return to the industry once their commercial driver licenses were revoked.

“Only 20,000 of them have done what they needed to do to get their license reinstated,” said CPC Logistics’ Most. “There’s 80,000 right there, and we’ll be on pace to lose another 50,000 to 60,000, potentially, next year. And then there are all the retirements. With the aging driver force, can we get the younger population interested in this type of job?“

Additionally, trucking companies need to begin heavily prioritizing regular communication with drivers while they’re on the road–so that truckers feel connected and supported, especially if any potential obstacles or vehicle troubles occur during a drive, Dismuke added.

“When it comes to the drivers that are in the market right now and new drivers entering the market, I think we’re in for more of the same,” he explained. “Carriers knowing what their drivers are saying right now is probably more important than it’s ever been, because you have to have the ability to identify and intervene in order to retain drivers right now.”

The boom in e-commerce will cause the current demand for freight to remain high, if not grow even more, Dismuke said, and 2022’s shortage severity will depend on just how much worse that demand becomes.

Finally, the ongoing shortage in semiconductor chips has exacerbated the issue as the available supply of equipment has become lower than usual.

“I think, once you get this whole chip thing figured out–a lot of the chips come from Malaysia–I think you could possibly see a pickup in the auto-hauling side of things,” he said. “Then, depending on what happens with the president’s restructure bill, you could see an increase in a lot of the construction…which would be good for flatbed [capability]. I think there are still a couple of issues that we need to wait and see what happens [with] that could actually increase what is already a very heavy freight market.”

A Look Back on 2021’s Top Industry Events

January 12, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

2021 was a year like no other for the trucking industry, complete with vaccine mandate debates, higher-than-ever demand from the latest surge in e-commerce, supply chain disruptions, and an ongoing need for major infrastructure improvements.

Here’s a look back at some of the most prominent news the industry saw during the second year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Supply Chain Woes Continue

Truckers and ship workers alike waited for solutions in regards to crowded ports with long pickup and unloading lines, which were often reaching numbers of nearly 100 ships waiting to unload at a time. Now, supply chain disruptions have been a common concern among industry members and the public alike, with folks constantly worried about store shelves staying stocked and members of Congress struggling to find ways to more quickly create solutions.

These issues did urge the White House, along with Congress, to negotiate new legislation aiming to improve vast amounts of American infrastructure, though.

Infrastructure Bill Passes

The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was approved, allocating $115 billion for bridge and highway improvement projects across the nation, passed by 215 Democrats and 13 Republicans voting in its favor.

Truck Driver Shortage

The trucker shortage is still one of the most pressing issues to impact the industry, with trucking companies rolling out pay boosts and benefit improvements to incentivize more trucking candidates to come on board.

Additionally, the Biden administration announced its plans to boost retention of current truckers and recruitment of new ones with the 90-day Biden-Harris Trucking Action Plan. In the plan, carriers, drivers, and unions will be invited to listening sessions to find ways of improving trucker work-life balance, pay, and detention and delay issues. Additionally, experts will work to find ways of attracting more military veterans into the industry, supporting pilot program training and licensing for drivers between 18- and 21-years-old to drive within interstate commerce, incentivizing more women to explore careers in trucking, providing assistance to states with CDL process challenges, and creating further apprenticeship opportunities for drivers.

COVID-19 Rages On

The workforce of truck drivers has dwindled further as some catch the disease, and others leave due to health concerns or a refusal to become vaccinated. Mandatory vaccinations and testing are both in the works for the industry, especially for companies with 100 or more employees. The mandate has reached the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on the issue last week.

Additionally, both U.S. and Canadian governments will set forth requirements next month mandating that truckers crossing borders be fully vaccinated.

Still, freight demand is at unprecedented highs as more and more people complete most of their shopping online, a culture of e-commerce that skyrocketed at the beginning of stay-at-home orders early on in the pandemic.

Electric Vehicles Take Reign

Various truck and passenger vehicle manufacturers are expanding choices when it comes to electric vehicles, with many states beginning to mandate electric-vehicle-only manufacturing laws that will come into effect in the coming years.

With these technological changes, many truck drivers are having to learn to adapt to a plethora of new in-cab software and phone application usage while on the job–a modern shift that is believed to be causing many older truck drivers to leave the industry early.

Truck Driver Pay Expectations Reach New Heights

Carriers constantly announced pay jumps for their truckers in 2021, with many also boosting driver benefits multiple times over the span of the year. In fact, driver pay ranked third in the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual list of top industry issues.

Fleets, in a bid to retain and recruit as many truckers as needed in the midst of the driver shortage, began offering sign-on bonuses as high as $15,000, with others increasing accessorial pay and health benefits, along with various new compensation programs to give drivers more control in regards to how they’re paid.

Mitigating pay losses during long shipping and receiving wait times continues to be an issue for truckers, but Biden’s Trucking Action Plan will aim to “lay the foundation for a next-generation trucking workforce that will strengthen U.S. competitiveness and support millions of good driving jobs for years to come.”