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Sep 6, 2013

TRUCKERS JOB * USA & Canada: & DRIVER SHORTAGE

* Driver shortage: Many are called, fewer are chosen

Overdrive, by Kevin Jones -September 02, 2013: -- The last capacity crunch, roughly 2004-08, is considered to have been a great time for the industry by some participants... Steve Williams, chief executive officer of Maverick USA, looks no further than his bottom line to know that the balance of transportation supply and demand again has shifted in favor of carriers, even if it’s not a repeat of 2004... Maverick, a longtime flatbed carrier that has expanded by adding specialized glass and refrigerated divisions, is “almost back” to its pre-recession seated truck count... Williams calls 2012’s turnover “normal” at 58 percent, which is well below the industry average for large truckload carriers – typically about 100 percent. Maverick also grew by 250 trucks, its best total for a year without an acquisition. Along with financial and safety performances that were “stellar,” the year was the company’s best ever for recruiting, he says... By this summer, the fleet was reduced by 105 trucks, while turnover was up slightly. However, recruiting statistics are “unbelievably different,” as Williams details... Year-to-date in 2012: 16,316 leads processed, with 674 drivers hired; YTD 2013: 30,210 leads – or nearly double 2012’s to-date total – yet only 559 hires, or 115 fewer... 


* Texas - Want to be a highly successful carrier? Pay your employees more

Austin,TXS,USA -Today's Trucking/Heavy Duty Trucking -Aug 29, 2013: -- According to a 2013 Texas Trucking Industry Study, highly successful companies (HSS) offer more benefits to recruit and retain drivers when compared to all other trucking companies... In terms of recruitment, 91 percent of the HSS regards driver referrals as useful, compared to 66 percent of all other companies. The study also found HSS companies are twice as likely as all others to pay referral bonuses to referring drivers and the HSS companies that do pay bonuses appear to pay higher bonuses than all other companies: 
- The average HSS bonus was $532 per driver referral compared to $321 for all others... As for benefits and pay structure, HSS companies appear to be more likely to offer these benefits tracked in the report than all other companies in 2013: 

 °  Driver recognition awards: 67% vs. 45% 
°  Bonus-pay for accident-free driving: 62% vs. 44% 
°  Health care insurance: 57% vs. 34% 
°  Longevity bonus: 52% vs. 37% 
°  Commissions on sales: 35% vs. 22% 
°  Fuel surcharge pay: 33% vs. 21% 
°  Signing bonuses: 24% vs. 19% 401(k) 
°  Retirement plan: 33% vs. 14% 

 Eighty-six percent of successful companies also used use contract drivers, compared to 42 percent of all other companies. Still, it's good to mix it up: 76 percent of HSS companies employ a mix of both contract drivers and employee drivers, compared to only 30 percent of all other companies... To qualify as "highly successful," companies had to report revenue growth in 2012, a net profit margin of at least 10 percent in 2012, and a minimum of 11 drivers. The survey includes responses from 300 trucking company owners, CEOs and senior executives at Texas-based trucking companies...


* Virginia - Trucking Industry still facing driver shortage. 

 (Photo by andrewweigel - Oil trucks in New Jersey belonging to Mitchell Supreme Fuel Co.)
Arlington,VA,USA -Politix/Topix, by Dain Fitzgerald -Sep 2, 2013: -- It was reported over a year that the trucking industry was in a bad way, unable to find replacements for a generation of drivers set to retire. That problem remains, informs NPR... The American Trucking Association says thousands of truckers are still needed to tackle the nation's oil and natural gas boom turning much of the heartland into a patchwork of newly prosperous cities and towns. But while bad news for the industry as a whole, it's good news for truckers who are on the upside of a bidding war to attract drivers... Entry-level pay is between $40,000 and $50,000, claims aspiring trucker James Stone of Pasadena, Texas... Unfortunately, say those tasked with hiring, many would-be drivers can't pass a drug test or have checkered driving histories. And the long stints away from home, while somewhat flexible, deter some applicants despite the relatively strong starting pay... The worker shortage isn't helped by recent Department of Transportation safety regulations mandating a shortening of the work week from from 82 to 72 hours. It acts a brake, so to speak, on the monetary incentives that might entice some young drivers on to the roads...

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