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Truck driver jobs become hard to fill

Aging truckers are retiring and contributing to a national shortage.

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By Tristan Navera and Drew Simon
Staff Writers 8:32 PM Friday, July 22, 2011

DAYTON – Local trucking firms and their customers are feeling the squeeze as a nationwide shortage of truck drivers grows.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says the current shortage will to grow to 200,000 drivers by next year, and two million truck driving positions will need to be filled by 2018. The industry employs nearly 3.5 million drivers each year.

The shortage of drivers, coupled with a reduction in warehouses due to the tight economy, makes it difficult for trucking companies to move freight on time, said Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express, a Dayton-based trucking company.

Businesses are increasingly relying on a “rolling inventory” of trucks to get items directly where they need to be.

“People don’t want inventories. Everybody wants merchandise just in time.” Burch said.

Nearly 80 percent of all goods are trucked at some point in the distribution chain, said Burch, citing figures from American Trucking Association. Jet Express moves roughly six million pounds of cargo each day.

The shortage of drivers stems from a lack of new drivers coming in to fill the jobs of drivers who are retiring. The rigors of the job, changing attitudes toward life on the road, and the cost of training and licensing can dissuade people from considering a career as a driver, Burch said.

“Our industry is very much an aging work force. A lot of truckers are retiring and we as an industry have done a poor job of promoting ourselves.” Burch said.

Today’s drivers want to be home more and enjoy “a regular lifestyle.” Burch said. The industry has adapted by creating “relay points” around the country where drivers switch out cargo bound for cross-country destinations. This allows drivers additional time closer to home, but the job still requires drivers be away from home “quite a bit,” he said.

Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Association, said drivers’ often earn well over $30,000 year to start and more than $50,000 within seven years. But myriad requirements, including expensive training and an excellent driving record, scare some prospects away. “You can’t just hire anybody off the street. You have to have a CDL.” he said, referring to a certified driver’s license. “Because of the training needed, that’s going to cost you money. There are some roadblocks driving people away.”

Tom Hicswa, director of the Truck Driver Training Institute at Clark State Community College, can attest to that.

“Enrollment has definitely been on the decline, the big reason there definitely is a driver shortage,” Hicswa said. Hicswa said he once trained 15 drivers a month. That has dropped to seven to 10 drivers a month. Many of the people who come to his school are laid off from other professions, and for many of them, the classes are too expensive. Federal government dollars meant to offset the costs are also drying up, he said.

A five-week course to obtain a Class A license costs about $5,700 and includes all training needed to operate a large truck or 18-wheel vehicle including hazmat training, maintenance and defensive driving, as well as 120 hours of behind-the-wheel training. A Class B license costs about $3,400 but is far more restrictive and includes mostly smaller trucks.

“My gut feeling is it’s going to continue to decrease or stay where it’s at,” Hicswa said of enrollment.

Ken Hahn, 42, of Troy, entered the trucking industry in 2008. Hahn was working at a local bank when he suffered an injury that prevented him to do his job. The trucking industry became a promising option for him.

“It’s freedom. It’s not really about the money,” said Hahn, who worked at Schneider National Inc. for three years, before being hired at Piqua Transfer in March. “I just enjoy seeing the country.”

The father of two has traveled to all 48 contiguous states. He said recently enacted federal regulation might be steering potential drivers away from the industry.

In January the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration introduced a new report card like system to keep record of the driving habits of CDL drivers.

“It almost scares me,” said Hahn, who is a third-generation truck driver. “But, there aren’t a lot of jobs out there. Follow guidelines and everything will be alright.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2206 or tnavera@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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