You’ve heard it before: The average company driver is male, white and in his mid-fifties. He makes close to $50,000 a year. For the most part, he also enjoys being a truck driver, though one-fourth of drivers will leave their employers at some point this year.
These are just a few indicators revealed by a Truckers News survey. The survey was highlighted in Trucker’s News sister publication, CCJ, this week.
The survey results are hardly shocking, but they do stress how prevalent the problem of aging drivers has become.
“Only 4.5% of company driver respondents to the Truckers News survey were less than 35 years old,” CCJ Editor Jeff Crissey wrote in his article.
The survey of Truckers News subscribers received 407 responses, 71.3% of whom identified themselves as company drivers.
“The survey results underscore the aging driver workforce dilemma,”Crissey writes. “It is a problem today, but it soon will be the biggest crisis in the trucking industry as the demand for drivers continues to increase and their average age rises with every flip of the calendar.”
By some estimates, the trucking industry will need to hire an additional 240,000 drivers over the current headcount by 2022 as a slew of pending regulations, including the electronic logging device mandate and drug and alcohol clearinghouse database, further constrain the labor market.
The burning question continues to be this, Crissey writes: How will fleets attract and retain new, younger drivers?
Many fleets have shifted to a more regional freight strategy to allow drivers to get home more often, an important consideration for those with young families. Others put an emphasis on outfitting their fleets with late-model rigs boasting the latest technology, providing drivers with the comforts of home while on the road.
Some fleets have targeted military veterans with varying degrees of success. But it takes more than a website touting “We Hire Veterans” to have a meaningful impact in your recruiting efforts.
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