Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/710445
28 // OWNER OPERATOR // AUGUST 2016 News & Notes Survey underscores aging driver problem sheds light on job's challenges By Jeff Crissey Meet the average company driver. He's in his mid-50s, white and has an annual salary in the high 40-thousand-dollar range. He ei- ther loves or is at least satis- fied with the career he's cho- sen, but there's a one-in-four chance he leaves his current employer by the end of the year. His typical one-way length of haul is around 500 miles. He's paid by the mile but would prefer to be paid by the hour. He's likely to recom- mend a career in trucking to a friend but doesn't want his children to haul freight for a living. These are the findings of sister publication, Truckers News, in its "2016 Job Per- ceptions and Challenges Sur- vey" completed in April. The e-mailed survey to Truckers News subscribers received 407 responses, 71.3 percent (roughly 290) of which iden- tified themselves as company drivers. The survey results under- score the aging driver work- force dilemma. 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 driv- ers 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. "Efforts to counterbalance a driver shortage need to look at increasing the driver pool to keep up with growing de- mand, not simply prevent it from shrinking," said trans- portation economist John Larkin, managing director for Stifel. Of course, that's easier said than done. The million- dollar question remains: How will fleets attract and retain new, younger drivers? Many fleets have shifted to a more regional freight strat- egy to allow drivers to get home more often, an impor- tant consideration for those with young families. Others put an emphasis on outfitting their fleets with late-model rigs boasting the latest tech- nology, providing drivers with the comforts of home while on the road. Some fleets have targeted military veterans with vary- ing degrees of success. But it takes more than a website touting "We Hire Veterans" to have a meaningful impact in your recruiting efforts. TMC Transportation, the 2,587-truck flat- Only 4.5 percent of company driver respondents to the Truckers News survey were less than 35 years old.