Industry Feels Driver Shortage

Big trucks seem to rule Interstate 540 these days. In less than 30 minutes last Friday morning, more than 108 commercial trucks pulled through the southbound weigh station on I-540 in Springdale.

Sgt. Howard Besett of the Arkansas Highway Police said it was an average count but one that continues to grow each year.

On the surface, it may appear that trucks and truck drivers are plentiful in the natural state. But, despite the number of trucks on Arkansas highways, the trucking industry continues to struggle with a growing shortage of drivers — giving carriers plenty of reason to make the drivers they have feel special.

This week the National Trucking Association is teaming up with national, regional and local carriers to say “thanks” to the men the women who drive the big rigs as part of Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

“The trucking industry is the backbone of America’s economy and the hard working drivers who haul the loads and make those just-in-time deliveries deserve our nation’s thanks,” Bill Graves, president and chief executive officer for the American Truckers Association, said in a recent press release.

The widely reported driver shortages within the industry constantly challenges carriers to keep their trucks moving, Graves said.

The American Trucking Association reports a current shortage of between 11,000 and 20,000 long haul drivers and it continues to grow as more veteran drivers reach retirement and younger drivers leave the profession.

Lane Kidd, director of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said it is filling the over-the-road — or long haul — driver jobs where the shortage is severe.

“To make matters worse it is the OTR driver segment who moves 70 percent of the country’s freight,” Kidd said.

In Arkansas, there are approximately 1,400 to 2,000 long-haul drivers needed, Kidd said.

“The driver shortage is worse than ever. Several truckload carriers noted that the difficulty in finding enough drivers to fill company trucks negatively impacted recent second quarter results,” Stephens Inc. analyst, Mark Rosa said in an e-mail statement. “While most companies recognize the need for pay increases, the problem is so grand in scale that it can only help so much. Currently, the shortfall is about 20,000 drivers and is expected to exceed 110,000 by 2014.”

Kirk Thompson, the president and chief executive officer of Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., said recently that driver pay might have to double to ease the shortage. J.B. Hunt Transport reports employing approximately 12,000 company drivers.

“It (driver shortage) is the number one limitation on the truckload industry keeping the current number of trucks on the road, much less thinking of adding any capacity to keep up with GDP growth. Over the longer term, shippers will likely see intermittent freight movement bottle-necks and even stoppages due to not enough capacity to keep up with the demand,” Thompson said in a recent e-mail interview with Reuters.

The growing shortage is all the more reason to make the drivers you have feel appreciated, said Jerry Orler, president of Van Buren-based USA Truck Inc.

Orler said USA Truck cooked lunch at the Van Buren and West Memphis terminals this week and gave their drivers gift bags. USA Truck employs approximately 2,500 drivers.

ABF Freight System Inc. said it spread the wealth and prizes throughout the entire company during the week with drawings for a big screen television, iPods and other gifts. Each of the company’s 288 terminals will also plan their own celebration. ABF is a subsidiary of Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. and has 2,646 drivers.

Willis Shaw Express of Elm Springs has 750 drivers and took part in the state trucking festivities south of Conway on I-40 at Mayflower yesterday. Drivers got lunch and a goodie bag that included a 60-minute phone card as part of the national association’s “Phone home” campaign.

Clark Gray, spokesman for P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. of Tontitown, said the trucking company has 2,200 drivers and has had good success in recruiting new drivers to the business by offering training scholarships and having a “no-touch” freight policy.

P.A.M. will cook for its drivers at seven locations during the week and give out prizes at fueling stations across the country, Gray said.

Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employs 8,000 drivers and refers to this week as “transportation appreciation week.”

In addition to the festivities planned for the drivers at stores and terminals, each driver is given the chance to raise money for a local school. For every accident-free mile they drive during the week, the Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club Foundation will make a financial contribution of 5 cents to a local school, according to company press release.