Posted on 08/03/2018 7:32:32 AM PDT by mac_truck
Some 500,000 nonlocal, for-hire truckers are delivering freight in the U.S., and the industry needs 51,000 more, experts say.
The average driver is 50 years old, and only 6 percent are women.
Trucking companies including Saia, Titanium Transportation, ArcBest and Ryder System have all noted wage increases for drivers on recent earnings calls as the shortage worsens.
Trucks hauled more than 70 percent of freight tonnage in the U.S. last year, generating $676 billion in revenues, according to the American Trucking Associations. But the industry is grappling with a growing problem — a shortage of qualified drivers, as its current workforce ages and the labor market continues to tighten.
"We have more freight than we know what to do with, but in order to haul that freight, you've got to have more drivers — trucks don't drive themselves," said Bob Costello, the association's chief economist. "We have a couple of demographics problems in the industry — we have a high average age of the current truck drivers. We need to do a better job to get females in as truck drivers. The supply side is tight as well."
The crunch is being felt in industries from construction to retail as the labor shortage's ripple effect grows.
C.R. England, a Salt Lake City-based trucking company, works with big companies like Nestle and Walmart and employs some 6,500 drivers, but Chairman Dan England said it could use 500 more.
"It's frustrating for us not to be able to meet the goals we have set in terms of growth. … We do have to disappoint customers on a regular basis. Every day we have many loads that are called in, we just can't answer the calls and put a truck there," said England, whose company has been in his family for four generations.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
At least that burger flipper is home every night.
Truckers are one job group that gets drug tested both regularly & randomly.
The p;st 2 generations have endorsed drug use.
They cannot pass the tests to get the ob or to hold the job.
I know we need more drivers, but I have absolutely NO SYMPATHY for people who want a job & still use drugs.
Was in Fernley, Nevada a week ago today. Train came thru. 4 diesel engines and I counted 120 cars. Most of those cars had semi-trailers on them, stacked double deck.
There is still alot of freight moved my rail, but when it gets to a major freight yard, it still needs to be moved locally. As expansive as the rail system is in the country, it doesn’t go everywhere.
“Sometimes I think Drago is a troll on FreeRep for the technology giants.”
If you don’t think self-driving cars and trucks are coming, you’re not keeping up. Who knows if the 10+ years estimate is accurate? But it is coming.
There was essentially no such thing as a smart phone before 2007. There were attempts, such as Palm Treo along with feature phones with Internet access, but there was no real general-purpose computing on your phone. Today, it’s hard to find a cell phone that is not a smart phone.
To me, 10 years, give or take, seems pretty realistic. On the one hand, there are many vehicles on the road which would be difficult to retrofit with self-driving technology even when the computer / software side is ready to go. So this will be the biggest delay. On the other hand, when self-driving vehicles become safer than humans—which will happen quickly—insurance will make human drivers too expensive... unless, of course, government intervention delays this natural outcome of free markets.
Basically, the technology is already here. Like it or not, it is the future. That being said, the salaries of over-the-road drivers do not add that much to the cost of goods. So their driving jobs will probably be the last to go. Taxis and ride-sharing will be impacted sooner. It will probably be cheaper for the average person to use driverless ride-sharing than to own.
Even today the availability of ride-sharing makes it more feasible to reduce the number of vehicles owned per household. For families with two or more cars, it may already be cheaper in terms of car insurance, gas, and maintenance, to use ride-sharing as a supplement to a main family vehicle. Since the cost of the driver is the largest part of the cost of ride-sharing, when the driver is no longer necessary, ride-sharing will become competitive with car ownership.
A computer will never replace a truck driver. If you have ever driven a truck you would know why.
Yep. Once 5g hits...and is nationwide... self-driving cars and trucks are easy. Right now it is the bandwidth problem and a dead-zones problem. Within 10 years...this won’t be a problem. One only has to think back 10-15 years as to where we WERE then...and remember Moore’s Law...and the conclusion is obvious...or at least it should be.
Not that much. 40,000 pounds of beef with a 10 cent per pound increase in freight would generate an additional $4000 in revenue.
Apples and oranges.
“A computer will never replace a truck driver. If you have ever driven a truck you would know why.”
Your comment reminds me of a guy I did contract computer work for in the late 90s. He was a smart guy. He owned a network consulting company. But when I told him he HAD to get his business online, he said he thought the Internet thing was a fad. During the brief period I worked for him, he changed his mind because Novell (back when Novell existed and was the first name in computer networking) told all of their affiliates that ordering was being moved to the web exclusively. That’s when he saw the writing on the wall.
As someone who did spend over 5 years as a delivery driver requiring a CDL with several endorsements, and as someone who drove passenger buses for a couple of years, I would say you’re overestimating the complexity of the job. Sure, there are a lot of human tasks that computers and robotics are more capable of performing, but we are approaching an era in which generalized AI and robotics will allow computers to do MOST of what humans can do.
I’ve also got a longer work history in IT. I’ve done computer programming, among other things.
But you really don’t have to be an expert to see where things are heading. We used to use key maps to plan our delivery and pickup routes. Today, GPS on our smart phones provides most of the information we need.
Peterbilt and Kenworth are both built by Paccar. Kenworth is the flagship.
Computers won’t replace truck drivers.
Easier to enter the trucking profession these days also.
Yep. I kinda saw them as Chevy and Cadillac.
I used to ride my bike by one of the plants on my commute. But that was decades ago.
Non Sequitur.
I compared computer technology with computer technology.
“Next time you see your nephew, mention that you heard wages and benefits are up in the industry...good truckers are hard to find.”
He knows that, from his perspective it’s not worth it.
Huh???
he is right peterbilt is the best ever made i spent 30 years driving them.
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