Again, HR professionals are trying to figure out why there’s a driver shortage, the extent of the shortage, and what they can do to improve the situation for their carrier.
It’s not rocket science people. When drivers are paid the same today as they were three decades ago, there is a problem. In those three decades, the fuel prices have risen by at least 600%; Insurance premiums have risen similarly but drivers wages have remained virtually stagnant.
The other insult to the driver is that those with thirty years of experience, earn the same as that raw recruit fresh out of truck driving school. There is no career path, no advancement. It used to be that an experienced hand could earn significantly more because he had figured out how to make the rules work for him instead of against him. Now, the way the rules are, there is no such thing as making the system work for you, you work for the system, therefore, your ability to earn is marginalized.
With fewer and fewer souls coming into the industry, the choices for drivers is more and more restricted. Unless and until there is a methodology to bring in fresh blood into the industry, then all recruiters can hope to attract are the churners. Immigration is bringing in fresh blood but little else is on the horizon.
What would help domestic fulfillment of driving positions would be for truck driving to become a skilled trade with attendant skills training at basic and advanced levels and pay and perks to be associated with skill levels attained and longevity within the industry, not within a carriers employment.
