Some fleet managers are reporting signs of an extreme driver shortage in certain areas, reportsย Heavy Duty Trucking:โFor several years now, trucking industry analysts have been predicting we were getting close to the edge of a cliff when it comes to the driver shortage โ a point where drivers will become so scarce in relation to the freight to be hauled that some ends up sitting on the docks, and carrier rates go up,โ the article states.
One fleet exec told the magazine he thinks weโre already there.
The safety director for a 160-truck regional fleet in the Midwest, with 28 years of military and civilian logistics experience, says he has โput freight on everything except the Space Shuttle and the Spruce Goose.โ
โIf you talk to shippers, you are going to find they are in fact paying higher rates and have been for the past six months. I get emails everyday from larger carriers or 3PLs begging for trucks,โ he says. โThis has been going on since late last fall.โ
He tells HDT heโs seeing unheard-of rates. Hereโs a couple examples:
- One large retail company was offering $600 per day plus fuel surcharge to run 250-350 miles per day with preloaded trailers in drop-and-hook operations.
- Another ad was offering a lane for $2, 460 per load for team drivers and $2, 300 per load for solo drivers. โThis lane was getting moved at 110 cpm four months ago,โ he tells me. โ30% rate increase in four months on a lane with very high capacity.โ
He says his advertising cost per hired driver has gone from $75 to $1,100. โThe drivers are just no longer here.โ
