As we begin the new year, trucking companies throughout North America are facing the same challenge - - - finding qualified truck drivers. There are several forces shaping the supply of drivers.

The coronavirus is making drivers sick and some have not come back; the virus is also causing older drivers to retire. A surge in business volumes is being experienced in various sectors of the freight economy. Strong market demand and capacity shortages are encouraging more requests from shippers for committed capacity. Having done their homework, some of the biggest shippers are prepared to pay a premium to secure the capacity they need.

As increasing numbers of people work from home, and with the closure of many restaurants and stores, there has been a remarkable upswing in Ecommerce activity. Thousands of drivers have been added to the workforce to perform local deliveries. During this period, an estimated 30,000 drivers have been disqualified in the new U.S. Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.

Trucking companies are creating a range of programs to recruit and retain drivers. Roehl Transport (https://www.roehl.jobs) announced a new program to add truck driving jobs to qualified people who stepped away from their commercial driving career for other non-driving employment. “The Roehl Relaunch Program is open to former truck drivers who may have left trucking for positions in construction, manufacturing, retail, and other industries as well as current drivers in local trucking jobs who may not be getting the income they need . . . Drivers who complete the Relaunch program will be given credit for their prior experience rather than starting over at entry level driver pay rates.”

Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules in the United States, that came into effect on Dec. 18, 2017, most trucks built after 2000 had to be equipped with an ELD (Electronic Logging Device). Fleets already using older electronic onboard recorders are grandfathered until December 2019.

The CCMTA (Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators) is coming forward with a Canadian ELD Mandate proposal. The Canadian ELD rules will closely mirror the US mandate to keep cross-border regulations consistent.

Regardless of when the Canadian government publishes the final rule on ELDs, which will likely be within the next year, any driver operating a commercial motor vehicle south of the border is already required to follow U.S. Hours of Service rules and regulations. Canadian carriers that make cross-border deliveries were also required to have an ELD solution by the December 2017 deadline.

Today we received some unexpected good news in the United States as the unemployment rate fell to 8.6%.  In Canada the news wasn’t as good as the unemployment rate increased to 7.4 percent.  Without counting those people who have given up looking for work or who are underemployed (e.g. performing a job below their level of expertise and education at a wage inferior to what they should be earning), there are about 14 million people unemployed in North America (e.g. 13.3 million in the United States and 1.3 million in Canada). 

FTR Associates estimated that there was a shortage of 200,000 drivers in the United States in the first quarter of 2011.  How does one explain the fact that out of a pool of 13.3 million unemployed people (plus millions more if you include those who are underemployed), we cannot find 100,000 to 200,000 individuals to fill these jobs?

Here are some thoughts on this apparent anomaly.  There were 3.2 million commercial drivers in the United States in 2008, including 1.8 million heavy haul or tractor-trailer drivers, according to the U.S. Labor Department.  By May 2010, the number of big rig drivers had dropped 18.4 percent to about 1.5 million.  In other words, there are 300,000 drivers that left the labour force that should be available to fill the available jobs.  Why is it so hard to convince them to come back to work?

One of the most frequently mentioned reasons is compensation.  In the United States, experienced truck drivers can make $50,000 a year at some truckload carriers.  According to a BLS survey, the average wage was $39,450 in 2010 while the median wage was $37,770.  The survey indicated that 75% earn less than $47,000 per annum. 

The trucking industry has a long term practice of paying its drivers by the mile.  While there is certain fairness to this approach since it correlates directly with the amount of miles driven and hours worked, it also injects a level of uncertainty into the driver’s weekly pay package.  Inconsistent load availability translates into inconsistent pay.