Wanted: 400,000 truck drivers [View All]

[sinkingfeeling]

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/09/news/economy/truck_driver_shortage/index.htm?hpt=T2

The U.S. trucking industry will need to hire about 200,000 drivers by the end of this year, and will need to add another 200,000 by the end of 2011, according to the state of logistics report from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

A number of factors will feed into this need for drivers, including retirements, tougher safety regulations designed to get drivers with bad records off the road and the need to replace drivers who were laid-off during the recession, according to the report. Overall the industry lost almost 150,000 driving jobs since the start of 2008.

The median pay for a trucker stood at $37,730 in May of 2009, and Wilson said that wage probably fell in the last year as miles driven were reduced. But more miles and the driver shortage are likely to increase wages in the years ahead, she said.

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My son drove for JB Hunt for awhile. Driving school is usually paid for by the hiring trucking company and then you need to drive for them for a set time. My son maintains his commercial license to this day.