Monthly Archives: October 2015

New ATA Report Shows Growing Shortage of Qualified Truck Drivers

Analysis Shows Driver Shortage of 48,000 Now, Possibly 175,000 by 2024 

According to a new analysis by the American Trucking Associations, the shortage of truck drivers has grown to nearly 48,000 and could expand further due to industry growth and a retiring workforce.  “The ability to find enough qualified drivers is one of our industry’s biggest challenges,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “This latest report plainly lays out the problem – as well as some possible solutions – to the driver shortage.”

The report, ATA’s fourth major analysis since 2005, shows that by the end of 2015, the driver shortage will reach nearly 48,000. If current trends hold, the shortage may balloon to almost 175,000 by 2024.

“An important thing we learned in this analysis is that this isn’t strictly a numbers problem, it is a quality problem too,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “Fleets consistently report receiving applications for open positions, but that many of those candidates do not meet the criteria to be hired. According our research, 88% of carriers said most applicants are not qualified.”

Other key findings of the report:

• Over the next decade, trucking will need to hire 890,000 new drivers, or an average of 89,000 per year.
• Roughly half, 45%, of demand for drivers comes from the need to replace retiring drivers; industry growth is the second leading driver of new hiring, accounting for 33% of the need.
• ATA’s analysis does not factor in the impact of federal regulations – like electronic logging – on the shortage.

“Our work shows the great and growing need for drivers,” Costello said, “but we also highlight several solutions including increasing driver pay, getting drivers more time at home, as well as improving the image of the driver and their treatment by all companies in the supply chain. Make no mistake, the driver shortage is a challenge, but it is not an insurmountable one.”

Trucking industry lost 4,000 jobs in September

FMCSA grants another exemption from 30-minute rest break reg

Van Freight Rates Fall 2¢, but Demand Is Up in the Northwest

Roadcheck 2015 results: Lowest rates of out-of-service violations since 1991

The results are in, and the 2015 edition of International Roadcheck resulted in the lowest rates of out-of-service violations since the event started keeping records in 1991, according to the international association of commercial vehicle enforcement agencies.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which sponsors the three-day commercial vehicle enforcement operation in the U.S. and Canada, announced the results via press release on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

From June 2 to June 4, commercial motor vehicle inspectors across North America completed 69,472 truck and bus inspections. Of the 69,472 total inspections during this year’s Roadcheck, 44,989 were North American Standard Level I Inspections, which is the most thorough roadside inspection. A CVSA spokesman confirmed for Land Line that no Mexican authorities participated in this year’s enforcement campaign.

Of Level I Inspections, inspectors found 1,623 or 3.6 percent of drivers and 9,732 or 21.6 percent of vehicles with out-of-service (OOS) violations, historically the lowest rates for which CVSA has data, back to 1991, according to the release. Of all inspections, 777 seat belt violations were issued.

Brake adjustment and brake systems were the top OOS violations for vehicles in 2015, accounting for 43 percent of all vehicle violations. Hours-of-service violations were the top violation for drivers, accounting for 46 percent of all violations.

Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a category of violations. The special emphasis for 2015 was cargo securement. During the event, inspectors issued 2,439 violations for load securement. The leading load securement violations, by number of violations issued, were:

Failure to prevent shifting/loss of load;
Failure to secure truck equipment (tarps, dunnage, doors, tailgates, spare tires);
Damaged tie downs (typically unacceptable wear on chain or cuts and tears on web straps);
Insufficient tie downs; and
Loose tie downs. Load securement enforcement is a normal part of Level I Inspections, but securing cargo and equipment are vital to safe operations.
“CVSA’s International Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial motor vehicles in the world, with nearly 17 trucks or buses inspected, on average, every minute, over three days,” said Collin B. Mooney, CVSA acting executive director. “However, we must remember that the work done over that 72-hour period represents only a fraction of what’s accomplished every day by approximately 13,000 CVSA-certified local, state, provincial, territorial and federal inspectors at hundreds of inspection locations across North America.”
Since its inception in 1988, International Roadcheck has performed more than 1.4 million inspections. Learn more about International Roadcheck here.

Facts at a glance

2015 driver inspection results (per CVSA)
All inspections that included drivers: 95.2 percent of drivers had no OOS violations, and 4.8 percent were placed out of service (4.8 percent were out of service in 2014).
Level I inspections: 96.4 percent of drivers had no OOS violations, and 3.6 percent were placed out of service (4.0 percent were out of service in 2014).
HazMat: 98.5 percent of drivers carrying HM had no OOS violations, and 1.5 percent were placed out of service (3 percent were out of service in 2014).
Passenger carrying vehicles: 98.1 percent of drivers had no OOS violations, and 1.9 percent were placed out of service (3.9 percent were placed out of service in 2014).

Vehicle results for 2015 were as follows:
All inspections that included vehicles: 82.5 percent of vehicles had no OOS violations, and 17.5 percent were placed out of service (18.7 percent were out of service in 2014).
Level I inspections: 78.4 percent of vehicles had no OOS violations, and 21.6 percent were placed out of service (23 percent were out of service in 2014).
HazMat inspections: 88.5 percent of vehicles carrying HM had no OOS violations, and 11.5 percent were placed out of service (16 percent were out of service in 2014).
Passenger-carrying vehicles: 92.4 percent of vehicles had no OOS violations, and 7.6 percent were placed out of service (9.3 percent were out of service in 2014).