Long-haul carriers have a lengthy history of high driver turnover as the demands of the road take their toll on individuals. The current shortage, however, couldn’t have come at a worse time. While the number of drivers on the road decreases, the U.S. government predicts an increase in freight being pulled by trucks over the next century.
"We're not getting any new blood coming into the business," Jeff Mason of Randall-Reilly Publishing, told Sauk-Valley, an Illinois-based news service. "We've got to find new sources of people interested in driving."
Trucking companies are responding to the shortage by appealing to a wide spectrum of candidates for long-haul driving positions. Some of the diverse candidates include husband and wife driving teams. These are mostly middle-aged people whose children have left home and who are looking for a new career. With the husband and wife both in the cab together, such teams ensure that drivers are able to spend plenty of time with their families and still keep their routes and schedule.
Minorities also stand to gain from the new recruiting campaigns. In a recently released report, the American Trucking Association (ATA) predicts that the number of male drivers who identify themselves as ‘Hispanic’ or ‘other’ will grow by 2 percent and 4 percent respectively. According to the ATA, the number of female drivers will remain steady while the white male demographic will shrink by about 6 percent.
The shortage arrives at a challenging time for the transportation industry. Rail-freight is already operating at a fixed capacity and air-freight is becoming progressively more expensive. Nationwide, companies are increasingly turning to motor carriers to move their goods around the country. The Federal government has predicted that the number of trucks operating on U.S. highways will increase by 31 percent between 2004 and 2117.
Problems due to the lack of drivers have already arisen. The lower number of trucks on the road has caused a backlog of goods in factories allowing no room for mistakes and less shipping flexibility. Conair, based in Phoenix, reports increased difficulty moving product out of its facilities. "They're basically forcing us to be logistical geniuses," said Kevin Paul, Conair’s import manager, in an interview with the Arizona Republic.
Adding to the already dire circumstances, the core demographic of long-haul drivers— middle-aged, white men— is shrinking at a faster rate than the companies can recruit. Recent government figures predict the number of middle-aged, white males will drop by 3 million people over the next six years.
The chairman of Salt Lake City-based C.R. England reports that his company is working hard to stop the 140 percent annual turnover among his long-haul drivers. "We're short-handed right now by 100 drivers," Dan England told Sauk-Valley. "We target anybody we can find who meets our qualifications,"
In an effort to appeal to women and family-oriented drivers, England has begun to introduce “regional runs” and “dedicated routes” for individual drivers. This offers married or older drivers a more fixed, regular schedule.
England is not alone; Swift Transportation and Knight Transportation, two of the biggest carrier companies in the United States, are offering similar incentives.
Swift advertises on its recruitment website that it has seven "comfort zone" operating regions. This, they claim, means that regional drivers will be home at least one day a week. The website also states that Swift has more than 750 driving teams; this is attractive to husbands and wives.
Rob Reich, head recruiter for Wisconsin-based Schneider National, told Sauk-Valley that his company, which has 15,000 drivers, has doubled the number of women drivers it employs in the last four years. Schneider National is also partnering with AARP to offer more employment opportunities to older Americans.
Despite the current movement to attract a broader demographic to long-haul positions, experienced truckers are careful to point out that the job is still just as demanding. Former long-haul driver Charles Blagg, now a Truck Driving Instructor at Glendale Community College, warns people to strongly consider the consequences of taking long-haul jobs. "It's not like you're on vacation all the time," he told the Arizona Republic. "It's a hard life out there."
The ATA concludes its report by highlighting the importance of both retention and recruitment. “The industry must retain the substantial number of drivers currently in the age 45-54 cohort as they become the age 55-64 group of 2014. And the industry must absorb a higher share of drivers in fast-growing minority groups.” Failure to diversify, the report predicts, will cause trucking companies to continue to experience problems over the next decade.
