Editorial: Where to Find Tomorrow's Truckers

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Comments from the director of the Air Express Motor Carriers Conference once again underscore trucking’s critical need to find more drivers.

As his group prepared for its annual meeting this week in Las Vegas, Brian Lagana warned that a shortage of drivers may prevent his members from moving all the freight that shippers would like them to haul.

With some projections showing that global air freight tonnage will grow by 11.5% this year, carriers are finding it impossible to get enough drivers to keep all their rigs on the road.

In addition to the problems traditional trucking companies have in attracting enough drivers, the air freight niche also employs a higher level of tracking technology, requiring drivers to be familiar with the equipment. This exacerbates driver shortages, according to the conference.

Higher pay, better working conditions and improved scheduling are all being tried by various carriers to lure drivers, although it appears that some programs are better at attracting other companies’ drivers than they are at creating new ones.

The direct cost of training a driver is close to $10,000, according to information from the Truckload Carriers Association, so losing a driver to a competitor is a serious occurrence.

dd to that the possibility of having to refuse loads because of a lack of drivers, and the potential costs to the industry of an insufficient work force are compounded.

For the full story, see the March 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.