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SHORTAGE of DRIVERS * USA - Trucking: "the best blue-collar job"
A shortage of drivers and high demand for interstate transport is turning truck driving into a secure career for those who get their commercial license
Miami,FL,USA -The Miami Herald, by LISA BOLIVAR -7 Nov 2009: ... Dominique Penen said she sees long-haul trucking -- delivering loads to 48 states -- as a way to see the country and get paid while doing it ... The Commercial Driver's License School in Miami, president and director, Albert Hanley, said she isn't alone, although women make up less than a third of the country's big-rig truck drivers. His school is seeing a growing number of female truckers and other nontraditional students, such as husband-and-wife teams of retiring boomers who are selling their possessions and becoming driving teams as a way to see the country... Unlike most other fields in the current economy, trucking is healthy. Truckers are in demand, Hanley said... There is a "fundamental shortage of people in the industry,'' Hanley said, attributing the decline to career truckers retiring and the education system encouraging young people to pursue college and white-collar jobs... Tuition at CDL is $5,995 for 3 ½ weeks of training. Trucking companies that hire drivers frequently offer a tuition payback program for students, Hanley said...* Mixed News About Truck Driving
Marlboro,MA,USA -City Town, by Yaffa Klugerman -November 9, 2009: -- Although many continue to flock to truck driving training programs, the recession is clearly taking its toll on the industry... The Miami Herald reports (see above) that many see truck driving as a career which is always in high demand. Not everyone agrees... The Spectrum in Utah reports that at a recent gathering to express gratitude for truck drivers in honor of Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Terry Smith of the Utah Trucking Association noted that many drivers have experienced significant pay cuts. The reason: During financially unstable times, less freight is moved... Russ Anderson, for example, a truck driver for Delta Valley Trucking, said that he had taken a 25 percent pay cut since September. "I'm hoping for it to pick back up," he told the Spectrum, "but I'm not holding my breath"... His experience is backed up by data from the Journal of Commerce, which reports that the trucking industry lost 8,700 jobs last month... The City Wire in Fort Smith, Arkansas, likewise reports that the American Trucking Association noted the September truck tonnage index fell by .3 percent, and was down by 7.3 percent compared to last year... The City Wire also points to other signs that the industry is in trouble: In October, USA Truck in Van Buren announced a net loss of $1.6 million in the third quarter, while Arkansas Best Corp. in Fort Smith announced a third quarter net loss of $5.6 million... Said Robert A. Davidson, president and CEO of Arkansas Best. "It is unclear when business levels will benefit from a significant improvement in our nation's economy"...
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