ECONOMY

TRUCKING INDUSTRY FACES DRIVER SHORTAGE

By Union-Tribune
12:01 a.m., March 22, 2012
Updated 2:16 p.m. , March 21, 2012

Trucking companies are struggling to find qualified drivers even as the unemployment rate remains high.

Driver turnover rose to 89 percent in the third quarter of 2011, the highest since 2008 and the fourth consecutive quarter of increases, according to data from the American Trucking Associations. That’s mostly because new regulations and job prospects in other industries are creating a “quality shortage” of available workers, said Bob Costello, chief economist for the Arlington, Va.-based group.

The increase in turnover is troubling because as the economic expansion continues to gain strength, trucking is “an industry that has jobs and may not be able to fill them,” said Charles Clowdis, managing director of transportation advisory services at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Mass. To attract and retain drivers, trucking companies will need to offer higher pay, which will probably necessitate rate increases, he said.

Newfound stability in construction is partially to blame for poaching candidates as hiring in this industry picks up, said Thom Albrecht, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets. Construction work offers a “better quality of life,” he said: Instead of spending several days on the road, people can work the same number of hours, make a comparable salary and go home every night.

Worker mobility between these industries caused many people to take trucking jobs during the recession, Clowdis said. Those who obtain a commercial driver’s license often get one that’s “all-encompassing,” qualifying them to drive both a dump truck, for example, and an 18-wheeler.

New regulations intended to increase truck safety also are affecting hiring. Safety records are now posted online for infractions that include speeding tickets, moving violations and improperly secured loads, an analyst said. The resulting shrinkage in available drivers has cost the industry as much as 3 percent of capacity. Forthcoming changes include further limits on the number of hours that drivers can work and requiring onboard trip recorders.

Bloomberg News

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