The trucking crisis has been afflicting the industry for a number of years. With the most recent one being one of the hardest hits yet, many are wondering if this will continue to snowball or will it flatten out?

Skilled Drivers Are Leaving

The die-hard trucking champs have started to think about what they are going to do when they hit the age of retirement. Well, this has happened drastically over an extremely short amount of time. When these guys started their jobs, the world was a different place. Truckers were looked at as hardworking Americans. They had the open road and were respected by both locals and police alike. Now, the industry is seen as far removed from the original idea than it ever was. Many drivers have seen this progression through the years and have decided retirement sounds great. The quickly depleting skilled workforce has now left a massive gap for the rest of the industry to fill.

Not Enough New Recruits

The trucking crisis stems from the outgoing of skilled labor and the lack of interest in many new recruits. Most who venture into the industry by today’s measures, go through a CDL training class and can gain sponsorships, but depending on the level of training that someone might receive fluctuates depending on where you go. Recruiters will constantly tell you one thing, and give you another. When starting in the trucking industry there is an extensive amount of navigation for a fresh recruit.

Where is the Appeal?

The industry used to pay well, have respectable hours and the like, but more recently things have drastically changed. The first is that the time away from home means a lack of family life, quality time, and time for yourself. The second is that trucking is one of the most dangerous jobs out there today. With traffic accidents making up for a large total of daily deaths, these truckers brave the highways and byways to get your products delivered. Unfortunately, the idea of the trucker has also changed. From a policy perspective, they look like another reason to find a criminal, traffic doesn’t particularly enjoy truckers either. They find them a nuisance and will make drastic moves around the truck itself. This can cause an accident for which the trucker can be at fault.

Essentially, the trucking crisis comes down to appeal. Some of those truck drivers retiring will be able to afford a retirement where the average salary of a new recruit will have them paying for retirement when they’re double the age of the experienced trucker.

Trucking Crisis Improvements

In order to appeal to new recruits, the trucking industry as a whole has begun to offer more flexible schedules, better pay and higher health benefits. The image has changed as well. Instead of the hardworking trucker icon, it has become a more revised and formal job. With many dawning company uniforms and standards, the trucking industry has drastically ebbed and flowed.