They still talk about my Epic Fail at Truck Driver School.
Posted on 07/24/2012 12:04:38 PM PDT by Signalman
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- During tough economic times with high unemployment, Americans should be jumping at any chance to work, but trucking companies are struggling to hire drivers.
There are as many as 200,000 job openings nationwide for long haul truckers, according to David Heller, director of safety and policy for the Truckload Carriers Association.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also sees the demand for truckers increasing, up from the 1.5 million drivers on the road now. It expects trucking to add 330,100 jobs between 2010 and 2020, an increase of 20%.
But these positions are difficult to fill, and even harder to keep filled.
"Nobody wants to drive a truck," said Heller.
The pay isn't bad: Truckers earn a median annual wage of $37,930, which is $4,000 more than the median wage for all jobs, according to the BLS. The top 10% of truck drivers make more than $58,000 per year.
So why do so many long-haul trucking jobs remain unfilled?
First, it's difficult to get certified. The biggest hurdle for the unemployed is probably getting a commercial driver's license, which requires a training course that's up to eight weeks long and costs about $6,000.
"Drivers are put under intense scrutiny before they get into the industry, and for good reason," said Brett Aquila, trucker and creator of the blog TruckingTruth. "It's incredibly risky putting someone behind the wheel of an 80,000 pound truck with your company's name on it."
And when drivers do get on the road, they find the long-haul lifestyle isn't easy, living for weeks at a time in the cramped confines of the back of the truck.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
—LOWELL GEORGE
They still talk about my Epic Fail at Truck Driver School.
The world's largest package delivery company reported higher profit and revenue for the second quarter, but both missed Wall Street estimates. The stock is falling close to 4 percent in pre-market trading.
Like many other companies that complain of unfilled jobs, I never read about them offering job training programs at company expense. I heard this guy just a few days ago - I have all these jobs for engineers, math trained people, Technical people - no one is qualified so we need to import more foreigners ... REALLY NOW ... Then where is the job training program ? Where? Are you telling me that there are not many Americans who have the ability to be trained ... if he is saying that - HE IS LYING...
The same problem exists with other companies. When Lowe’s opened a store here, they had a hard time finding anyone that could pass a drug test.
The military has lots of big-rig drivers.
And that, right there, is the crux of why so many jobs are going unfilled. There are a lot of unemployed people who cannot pass a drug test.
There’s jobs open on mine sites across the west, driving haul trucks and such. $18 to $20/hour, with bennies, to start.
Buuuuut.... you not only have to piddle in a cup, you have to give a hair sample. And right there, you see about 50% of applicants drop out.
In obtaining trucking, most O/O’s will require a drug test and the CDL requires a physical. Again, right there, a big chunk of the applicant pool just became ineligible.
[United Parcel Service (UPS: News ) on Tuesday cut its earnings forecast for the year, as a drop in Asian exports raised concerns about the global economy.]
I saw this this morning on FOX Business. UPS is a big barometer of U.S. small business activity.
There is also the prospect of being WATCH every 3 feet you move your truck - or don’t move it ... by GPS systems ... There is good and bad in GPS usage - but it is not an appealing aspect of trucking jobs...
On the job training is for entry level jobs at entry level companies. Not all companies are willing to do that. There are quite a few trucking firms will to train and “pay” (it’s a loan) for the certification, but there are also quite a few that aren’t. Being somebody’s first job in a field is an immense risk, the people have lower skills, and it’s the first job where many find out they don’t like that field as much as they thought, so then all that expense for the training goes down the toilet.
There are a million ways the government can prohibit you from getting a drivers license. From DUI to child support issues.
I remember talking to an owner of a trucking company, who said he implored his employees to not drive when they were NOT working. Always let your wife drive while not on duty. All you have to do is have a cop accuse you of being high on pot, after blowing 0 in the breathalyzer, and there goes your job.
Yes - what you say can well be true ... but much of the time it is just an excuse - cop out... in the engineering, and technical fields especially - they just want cheaper foreign imported workers
You can get a higher income at many other jobs that are a lot less stressful, too.
Yes. Exactly! This is the direction companies must go. There is no alternative. Companies need to take a more active roll in education as well. The entire business/employee dynamic needs to be rethought. The old way of doing things isn't working any more.
I don’t envy long-haul truckers one bit. I think that’s a tough job. Oh sure, there are super-ultra comfortable cabs you might see in ads and they certainly exist. I think those would lull me to sleep. Your average trucker has what I would consider a fairly crappy life. That doesn’t mean someone else might like it and do well with it. I think it’s a lot of responsibility and accountability to rules and regs for entirely average pay.
They just want cheaper workers period.
My son tried trucking. He concluded there was no money to be made as a solo driver.
As a new solo driver, he was assigned runs with multiple stops or left waiting for several days in a stop for his next assignment. Add in modern rules about length of day (including stops) and time driving with GPS monitoring, and he was barely making enough money to cover his food & medical insurance.
I’m sure some companies are already doing that.
I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop: people declaring “truck driver is a job Americans won’t do” and...
American’s won’t do it at the price companies want to pay. But, I’m sure, there are plenty of Americans that would do it for more money.
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