Don't use other pin pullers, You could get hurt! 
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Where have all the truckers gone?
But this shortfall adds up to a lucrative chance for new drivers.
After schooling that lasts six to eight weeks, truck drivers are getting numerous job offers, solid salaries, big bonuses and more time at home.
These incentives were too good for Sid Fox to turn down.
“They’re giving me what I want,” said the 35-year-old trucking student, who has netted three job offers even though he won’t graduate from Tidewater Community College for a few weeks.
A new driver can make as much as $40,000 a year. And with the demand for truckers increasing, Fox could earn a lot more within a few years .
Nationwide, the trucking industry needs 20,000 long-haul drivers to keep up with freight demands, analysts say. If the shortage persists, the American Trucking Associations forecasts a 111,000 driver shortfall by 2014 .
Port carriers complain the deficit is hurting profits, slowing growth, turning away customers and leading to higher fees. They, along with the Hampton Roads Maritime Association, want to stop the trend.
Their solution: recruit drivers with better incentives, which includes lobbying for relaxed insurance regulations, more training programs and low-interest loans or federal grants to help drivers buy and operate their own trucks.
A survey financed by the maritime association identified ways to better recruit drivers. Now the group hopes the results will sway the Virginia Employment Commission and the federal Department of Labor to offer grants that can help port carriers provide more incentives.
The port continues to grow, increasing the need for truckers. Major retail chains such as Wal-Mart and Target recently have built large distribution warehouses in Hampton Roads, which brings more freight to the port.
Without enough drivers, shipments bottleneck, just as they did last summer in Southern California during the peak shipping season. Containers packed with Asian imports flooded the docks, creating a backup that slowed shipments.
Trucking companies and the maritime group predict a shortage of as many as 75 drivers on a busy day during this peak season – enough to possibly trigger another bottleneck.
“We want this campaign to work,” said Chick Rosemond , part of the port’s campaign and vice president of sales and marketing for Wyatt Transfer , a Richmond-based trucking company. “We need to be able to recruit people successfully.”
Better salaries are helping. These days, the shortage has forced the industry to offer guaranteed wages and other incentives.
Typically, port drivers, who often own their trucks, have been paid by the number of containers they haul in a day. Other truckers have worked on a per-mile rate.
“There’s a lot of companies doing tricks,” said Paul Remick , personnel manager for Givens Inc. , a Chesapeake trucking firm with about 140 drivers . “They’re always looking for ways to boost interest.”
Finding enough people interested in trucking – an industry characterized by stereotypes – has been the challenge, carriers say. Finding qualified folks makes it even harder.
Hampton Roads shipping companies are focusing more on people leaving the military, retirees from other industries and those in less lucrative careers.
“I’ve been driving in the military for eight years, and I like it,” said Danielle Pace , a trucking student at TCC set to graduate this week . However, t his 26-year-old single mother of two has a requirement she wants employers to meet.
“I want to be home every night,” Pace said. Chances are, industry executives say, carriers will meet her demand.
Recently, t rucking companies have resumed recruiting younger drivers . People 25 and younger usually pay higher insurance premiums because of inexperience, and f ederal law prohibits drivers younger than 21 from hauling on interstates, prompting some carriers to search for older drivers.
All truckers receive criminal background checks and drug and alcohol testing.
But once carriers sign up truckers, another problem arises: retention. “A lot of guys don’t realize what they’re getting into,” Remick said.
“You’re living in a truck. You’re showering at road stops. It can be lonely. You can get burned out.”
Retaining drivers “is paramount on everyone’s minds,” said Larry Maida , safety director for Chesapeake-based D.D. Jones Transfer and Warehouse, which has about 80 truckers.
Drivers have been leaving the industry for years , unsatisfied with pay or long hours on the road. Many drivers work 14-hour days , which is the federal maximum.
Experienced truckers earn $50,000 to $60,000 a year . Owner-operators often gross in the six figures , but that’s before truck payments, insurance costs, maintenance fees and rising oil prices.
“I don’t think the public realizes how difficult it is,” Maida said, echoing the sentiment of others in the industry. “It’s not as easy as just holding onto a wheel.”
Like others, Maida’s company has noticed the growing driver deficit for about seven years. So, too, have trucking schools.
TCC, which houses its six-week trucking program at the Portsmouth branch , certifies about 50 new drivers a year. By hiring two more instructors, buying three new trucks and adding night and weekend classes, the school hopes to double its graduation rate within the next year.
“Rather than turning people away, we want to expand,” said Mike Summers , TCC’s vice president of student affairs. “We’ve anticipated this shortage.”
Tuition and fees for TCC, a publicly funded school, are about $1,200 . Private schools such as Advanced Technology Institute in Virginia Beach and Shippers’ Choice of Virginia Inc. in Hampton cost as much as $6,000 .
“Price really doesn’t matter anymore because most companies will reimburse the cost,” Shippers’ Choice Vice President Charlie Longo said.
Shippers’ Choice has no plans to expand its Hampton school. The reason, Longo said: “We’re just having a hard time finding enough people to meet our demands.”
That, in turn, hurts the trucking industry, analysts say, increasing the shortage.
“We have so much stuff that needs to be moved every day by trucks,” Longo said. “This really is a crisis.”
After schooling that lasts six to eight weeks, truck drivers are getting numerous job offers, solid salaries, big bonuses and more time at home.
These incentives were too good for Sid Fox to turn down.
“They’re giving me what I want,” said the 35-year-old trucking student, who has netted three job offers even though he won’t graduate from Tidewater Community College for a few weeks.
A new driver can make as much as $40,000 a year. And with the demand for truckers increasing, Fox could earn a lot more within a few years .
Nationwide, the trucking industry needs 20,000 long-haul drivers to keep up with freight demands, analysts say. If the shortage persists, the American Trucking Associations forecasts a 111,000 driver shortfall by 2014 .
Port carriers complain the deficit is hurting profits, slowing growth, turning away customers and leading to higher fees. They, along with the Hampton Roads Maritime Association, want to stop the trend.
Their solution: recruit drivers with better incentives, which includes lobbying for relaxed insurance regulations, more training programs and low-interest loans or federal grants to help drivers buy and operate their own trucks.
A survey financed by the maritime association identified ways to better recruit drivers. Now the group hopes the results will sway the Virginia Employment Commission and the federal Department of Labor to offer grants that can help port carriers provide more incentives.
The port continues to grow, increasing the need for truckers. Major retail chains such as Wal-Mart and Target recently have built large distribution warehouses in Hampton Roads, which brings more freight to the port.
Without enough drivers, shipments bottleneck, just as they did last summer in Southern California during the peak shipping season. Containers packed with Asian imports flooded the docks, creating a backup that slowed shipments.
Trucking companies and the maritime group predict a shortage of as many as 75 drivers on a busy day during this peak season – enough to possibly trigger another bottleneck.
“We want this campaign to work,” said Chick Rosemond , part of the port’s campaign and vice president of sales and marketing for Wyatt Transfer , a Richmond-based trucking company. “We need to be able to recruit people successfully.”
Better salaries are helping. These days, the shortage has forced the industry to offer guaranteed wages and other incentives.
Typically, port drivers, who often own their trucks, have been paid by the number of containers they haul in a day. Other truckers have worked on a per-mile rate.
“There’s a lot of companies doing tricks,” said Paul Remick , personnel manager for Givens Inc. , a Chesapeake trucking firm with about 140 drivers . “They’re always looking for ways to boost interest.”
Finding enough people interested in trucking – an industry characterized by stereotypes – has been the challenge, carriers say. Finding qualified folks makes it even harder.
Hampton Roads shipping companies are focusing more on people leaving the military, retirees from other industries and those in less lucrative careers.
“I’ve been driving in the military for eight years, and I like it,” said Danielle Pace , a trucking student at TCC set to graduate this week . However, t his 26-year-old single mother of two has a requirement she wants employers to meet.
“I want to be home every night,” Pace said. Chances are, industry executives say, carriers will meet her demand.
Recently, t rucking companies have resumed recruiting younger drivers . People 25 and younger usually pay higher insurance premiums because of inexperience, and f ederal law prohibits drivers younger than 21 from hauling on interstates, prompting some carriers to search for older drivers.
All truckers receive criminal background checks and drug and alcohol testing.
But once carriers sign up truckers, another problem arises: retention. “A lot of guys don’t realize what they’re getting into,” Remick said.
“You’re living in a truck. You’re showering at road stops. It can be lonely. You can get burned out.”
Retaining drivers “is paramount on everyone’s minds,” said Larry Maida , safety director for Chesapeake-based D.D. Jones Transfer and Warehouse, which has about 80 truckers.
Drivers have been leaving the industry for years , unsatisfied with pay or long hours on the road. Many drivers work 14-hour days , which is the federal maximum.
Experienced truckers earn $50,000 to $60,000 a year . Owner-operators often gross in the six figures , but that’s before truck payments, insurance costs, maintenance fees and rising oil prices.
“I don’t think the public realizes how difficult it is,” Maida said, echoing the sentiment of others in the industry. “It’s not as easy as just holding onto a wheel.”
Like others, Maida’s company has noticed the growing driver deficit for about seven years. So, too, have trucking schools.
TCC, which houses its six-week trucking program at the Portsmouth branch , certifies about 50 new drivers a year. By hiring two more instructors, buying three new trucks and adding night and weekend classes, the school hopes to double its graduation rate within the next year.
“Rather than turning people away, we want to expand,” said Mike Summers , TCC’s vice president of student affairs. “We’ve anticipated this shortage.”
Tuition and fees for TCC, a publicly funded school, are about $1,200 . Private schools such as Advanced Technology Institute in Virginia Beach and Shippers’ Choice of Virginia Inc. in Hampton cost as much as $6,000 .
“Price really doesn’t matter anymore because most companies will reimburse the cost,” Shippers’ Choice Vice President Charlie Longo said.
Shippers’ Choice has no plans to expand its Hampton school. The reason, Longo said: “We’re just having a hard time finding enough people to meet our demands.”
That, in turn, hurts the trucking industry, analysts say, increasing the shortage.
“We have so much stuff that needs to be moved every day by trucks,” Longo said. “This really is a crisis.”
