Midwest, United States unemployment rate is below 4 percent right now. That figure is significantly lower in a lot of states. The economy benefits greatly from the low unemployment rate, but the trucking industry’s search for truck drivers and jobs requiring a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) is suffering.
According to James Walker, an expert in the trucking sector, increased employment opportunities are brought about by low unemployment. Sadly, it also decreases the number of CDL drivers on the road.
“All of the Baby Boomers are either retiring or moving up in the world. Since this industry requires a lot of travel, it prevents a lot of people from wanting to become a truck driver,” said Walker.
A waste management company was recently fined by the city in the Midwest for missing trash pickup dates. The business started offering signing bonuses after claiming it needed more drivers to complete its routes. The demand for trucks to move goods has outpaced the supply of drivers as the global economy has grown. As a result, freight carriers have had to raise their rates and businesses have had to increase product prices, sometimes by as much as 20%.
Delay in deliveries is a problem for other businesses nationwide. Younger generations have shown less interest in the industry, the shortage of drivers has been growing for some time, and the pay was not competitive for the number of hours spent away from home. Large fleets also deal with the issue of driver burnout; the most recent statistics show that turnover increased to a 95 percent annual percentage rate in 2017.
In order to meet demand, the country needs 50,000 additional drivers, according to the American Trucking Association.
Nowadays, a lot of businesses provide sizable sign-on bonuses as a perk. But the majority of drivers simply switch companies instead of addressing the shortage.
We need to make it simpler for women, young people, and people of color to obtain CDLs, according to Darren Hawkins, chief executive of YRC Trucking, one of the country’s largest freight carriers. “There’s an industry problem, and that is, we have to do a better job of attracting new people into the driving occupation, previous audiences we haven’t reached,” Mr. Hawkins said. “We currently lack tens of thousands of drivers, according to the American Trucking Associations, and this shortage will only get worse. We must therefore reveal other parts.”
Facing record driver shortages, trucking companies “are making the adjustments because they have to,” said The National Minority Trucking Association’s founder is Kevin Reid. “The industry has not focused on recruiting and retaining the next generation,” Mr. Reid said. “The trucking industry requires a rebranding. Trucking in the 1970s and 1980s had a certain coolness about it. How are we going to reach the upcoming generation of truckers since we don’t currently have that?”
An African American truck driver from Raleigh, North Carolina, Kristina Jackson, 22,, is exactly the type of person the trucking industry wants to attract. She desired a job after college that would let her travel and be self-sufficient financially. Before being persuaded to give it a shot by her boyfriend’s father, a trucker himself, she had never given trucking any thought.
She has been driving for a year, but she is still constantly told that she is unique in the field.
“When people found out I was in trucking, they were shocked because of my gender and age,” she said. “You immediately picture a senior white male. You don’t look like a trucker, people tell me.’ “What does a trucker look like?” I enquire.'”
According to Ms. Jackson, more teenagers could easily be persuaded to work in the field, and she also mentioned that she personally recruited 10 of her friends who are in their 20s. However, she believes that up to this point, recruiters have done a poor job of highlighting the young truckers in the sector.
“When people think of truckers, they don’t see our faces,” Of young drivers, Ms. Jackson said.
According to a 2017 report published by the American Trucking Associations, only a small percentage of truck drivers are women or people of color. Additionally, 94 percent of truck drivers are white and male.
The Lack of CDLs Has Solutions.
Providing drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 with interstate driving privileges is one way to address the shortage. The CDL law currently prohibits drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 from operating a vehicle interstate. The US Department of Transportation has now launched a military driver program that enables service members between the ages of 18 and 21 to drive between states.
By relaxing federal regulations and encouraging nontraditional drivers like women, teenagers, and minorities to drive big rigs, the Trump administration and the industry are also attempting to solve the issue. You can get a great paying job with benefits by passing your CDL Test and driving commercial vehicles and trucks that need a CDL. Using this tool’s CDL Test Questions, you must first pass your CDL Test in order to obtain your CDL Permit (CLP).
even for local jobs that don’t require traveling. Starting salaries with benefits range from $50,000 to $100,000.
There are countless employment options in the area, including driving positions for dump trucks, garbage trucks, concrete trucks, side dumps, and even school buses.
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