driver shortage|truck driver Archives - Truck Drivers USA

Trucking industry official warns 1 million truckers needed over next decade to meet demand

Author Writer — Mon, 16 May 2022 19:18:51 +0000

We all know that driver shortage is a real problem, but after hearing from the American Trucking Associations president and CEO, Chris Spears, it is clear that there is an immense number of trucks but not enough drivers to drive them. The predicted need for 1 million drivers over the next decade is only to maintain our current economic demand. It does not account for any surges in population or potential shortages that could put everyone behind. The efforts that have been made are not meeting the demands of the industry and there needs to be “aggressive” steps taken to improve the outlook. A simple example of how this impacts our daily lives is the clear driver shortage we’ve been dealing with, paired with a fuel shortage that will have a rippling effect on the greater public and economic stability of our country. The pandemic is when truckers initially started to look for other jobs as COVID mandated shutdowns impacted the operations of the trucking industry. What is scary is that even with the pandemic there were drivers that maintained their routes and delivered essentials such as groceries, medical supplies, COVID-19 vaccinations and tests, and more. If there isn’t a concentrated effort within the next 5 – 10 years, it’ll be very difficult to continue life as we know it today.

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KLLM increases pay up to 33% to recruit and retain drivers

Author Writer — Sat, 22 Jan 2022 21:22:46 +0000

KLLM Transport Services, a large US trucking company, has made major pay changes to recruit new drivers and retain existing drivers. Pay was increased up to 33%. This even included newly trained student drivers. The president of KLM, Jim Richards stated in a press release, “KLLM drivers have been nothing short of remarkable over the last few years through some challenging times in the transportation industry. They’ve stepped up to the plate every time they’ve been asked to keep food on the shelves and stores stocked.”

OTR drivers will receive the highest pay increase; while, regional company drivers and independent contractors will see a 10-16% increase. Richards stated that new driver pay could range from $120,000 to $150,000 in their first year.

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Data suggests that round-the-clock port operations aren’t working because truckers aren’t showing up to collect cargo

Author Writer — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 08:00:34 +0000

President Joe Biden ordered California ports to stay open all night to ease supply chain jams — but data shows that truckers aren’t showing up to collect the cargo, Mary Hanbury reported for Business Insider.

Around half of Maersk’s 2,000 available appointments for truckers at its giant terminal on the Port of Long Beach went unused one Friday, The Washington Post reported.

Experts say truckers aren’t showing up because they either don’t have the chassis available to hold the cargo or because warehouses are full. And the industry is still grappling with a record shortage of drivers.

The ports of LA and Long Beach have remained clogged for months because of the global supply chain crisis. Now, some say Biden’s all-hours schedule won’t resolve the supply chain jams on its own because it doesn’t address the entire supply chain.

“This level of operations is not an overnight, simple solution to implement – and does not solve the broader supply chain capacity challenges and shortage of workers in trucking, warehouse, and supply chain jobs,” Narin Phol, regional managing director of Maersk North America, said at an industry conference in South Carolina on Monday, The Post reported.

The US is also currently short of 80,000 truck drivers, which means there aren’t always enough people to collect the cargo that’s clogging the docks.

The California ports have announced that they will impose new fines on containers that are left on the docks for several days.

“Key issues such as chassis availability and empty container returns still need to be addressed,” the National Retail Federation said, according to The Post. “We encourage ocean carriers to continue to work with importers and truckers to move cargo as quickly as possible and not just pass along the cost of the fee, which will further exacerbate the problems.”

Story courtesy of Business Insider

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