Driver Availability Problems Begin to Surface in LTL Sector
or the first time in the current economic cycle, less-than-truckload carriers said finding qualified drivers was a growing concern as the expanding economy lured employees to other jobs and as low pay and increased security measures deterred people from entering the industry.
Although LTL fleets said their need for drivers was not nearly as severe as in the truckload sector, some said it already had reached levels that limited their ability to take on new business.
“In a down economy, people will say they have to work somewhere and will take a job like [truck driving]. But in a rebounding economy, they start to look around. The worst thing you can do is take on too much business and not have enough drivers. Then your service suffers,” Chuck Hammel, president of Pitt Ohio Express, said in an interview.
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