* Michigan - Trucking industry capacity constraints raise concern over driver shortage
West MICH,USA -Mi Biz, by John Wiegand -12 October 2014: -- As manufacturing activity increases in West Michigan, many companies are finding their warehouses stocked with ready-to-ship inventory... The trucking industry’s current talent pool is also on the decline with many drivers nearing retirement age. Forty-five percent of the industry is age 55 or older, while less than 11 percent are under age 30... Increased regulation of service hour restrictictions by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has also expedited many a driver’s exit from the industry. The new regulations cut operational hours and count time spent at weigh stations and other facilities as time on the road... While wages for drivers have been on the upswing, the majority are paid by the mile, and the new requirements cut into their pay — prompting many to find new carriers or walk away from the industry entirely... The current drivers’ market in the trucking industry places the onus on firms to prioritize driver retention, especially since drivers can often be lured away by a five-cent raise or a better route. With the shortage of drivers already affecting the bottom lines of both carriers and their clients, organizations throughout the industry have made an effort to treat their drivers better... Carriers are upping wages to compensate for increased restrictions and promoting shorter routes that allow employees to return home at night versus long-haul positions. Larger companies are investing in improved stops for truckers as well as high-tech vehicles to help recruit new employees...
* Massachusetts - Truck driving jobs plentiful as economy recovers
(Photo: Truck-driving student Miguel Martinez backed a tractor-trailer to a loading dock)
Boston,MASS,USA -The Boston Globe, by Megan Woolhouse -October 13, 2014: -- A. Duie Pyle, headquartered in West Chester, Pa., typically pays drivers-in-training about $14 an hour while they learn, often recruiting from the company’s warehouse workers. Eventually, they can earn as much as $70,000 a year, with generous benefits, by working 55 to 59 hours a week, said Peter L. Dannecker, director of loss prevention... He said, is baffled by the difficulty recruiting good candidates, particularly since many of Pyle’s drivers don’t go on overnight trips... One reason transportation companies have difficulty recruiting drivers is the pay, a new tractor-trailer driver earns $43,000 a year at most, while average trucker pay runs $50,000 to $60,000 a year... For many would-be truckers, that money isn’t worth the lifestyle trade-offs, including long hours of driving, seedy truck stops, time away from family, and high divorce rates... Truck driving companies, such as A. Duie Pyle, are trying to change the image of truck driving. The Northborough facility, opened in 2008, is a sparkling clean, modern office-and-warehouse complex with a truck wash and a maintenance shop nearby... Labels: truckers shortage
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