Canada US Drivers???????

lowmiler88

lowmiler88

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Feb 22, 2008
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Is anyone else finding a complete lack of drivers at the moment? We would hire 10 drivers right now if we could find them and no we do not have empty trucks we are just really busy and it has been growing every month. We have advertised just about everywhere, we pay 60 to 75 a year, new equipment, home every weekend and just cannot even get applications I'm just wondering if anyone else is having the same problem?
 
Hwy drivers

We're having the same problem, when looking for hwy drivers. Getting a lot of calls for local work though.
 
Same problem here:
looking for qualified highway and local driver with the same results as lowmiler.
 
We are in the same boat. The recent tough times have driven (no pun intended) alot of drivers out of the business. Money does not seem to be the main issue. I can only imagine what this will do to freight rates as the economy continues to improve.
 
A/Z Flatbed Positions Available

We're having a difficult time finding drivers also.Whether it's for Company Drivers or Owner/Operators.
Does anyone have suggestions on sites that we might place our ads? We've tried the local job bank, service Canada job bank, newpapers, etc. Although some are showing as viewed tremendously, we aren't getting many responses.
:confused:
 
I do monitor that site to see if Driver's are advertising.
The one time we advertised on the site, we had 99% of the applications from out of the country.
It's very frustrating finding anyone right now.
 
I have had success in simply hanging out at a truck stop for the day and introducing myself to owner operators and drivers. You would be surprised at how many out there are not happy with their present employers but dont have the time to go out and look for another job. Tell them you are busy, tell them you need good people, tell them you are tired of spending thousands of dollars on advertising and getting poor candidates. Be upfront, tell them exactly what is expected and how much they can earn. Do not try to sugar coat it.
You will get a lot of negative replys, but just like making sales calls if you get good results from one in ten you are making progress.
Another good way is to offer a reward to your existing drivers if they can bring on any new recruits. The standard amount is $500.00 to $1000.00 but only if the new one is still there 6 months later. No one can explain the true picture to a prospective driver better than someone already doing the job. If your company is as good as you say it is your existing guys should be willing to help and make a few bucks at the same time.
Good luck!
 
Transcore has a program which they discussed at their conference a couple weeks ago - DriverLink.com: Online Transportation Jobs.

It is a database of over 40,000 drivers seeking work - in all areas - credentials and experience noted. You browse for the exact driver you are looking for and the database does the search for you...

I brought the information and gave to the appropriate person at our company - I have heard nothing but good things from others in the industry that have used this recruitment resource also...
 
whatiship;19087Another good way is to offer a reward to your existing drivers if they can bring on any new recruits. The standard amount is $500.00 to $1000.00 but only if the new one is still there 6 months later. No one can explain the true picture to a prospective driver better than someone already doing the job. If your company is as good as you say it is your existing guys should be willing to help and make a few bucks at the same time. Good luck![/QUOTE said:
Your BEST recruiters are your existing drivers and owner/operators. If you're not offering a minimum of $500 per qualified and retained driver and owner/operator you are insulting them and wasting their time. 9Bump to $1000 and see the interest your existing staff has in this. I like the 6 month minimum as at that point in time you have adequate time to decide as to whether or not you wish to keep the applicant.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the input from everyone.
We did offer the driver incentive years ago so maybe it's time to revisit that.
We do have an ad on Driver Link. I think part of our problem is that we need experienced Flatbed drivers and that tends to thin out the prospects a bit. We also do mostly U.S. longhaul and a lot of drivers seem to prefer local.
 
The best idea is DON'T hire drivers. Everybody gets busier and first thing they want to do is get more trucks get big . Let the demand build a bit so we can get the rates to a respectable number that we can all pay our drivers more. Drivers are extremely underpaid for what they have to do at customs /D.O.T/customers. Let some freight sit on dock for a while that will get the rates up and we can all start making a living at this rat race
 
Good point
As tough as it is to do, a good exercise when you are busy is before you add another truck, take a good look at your existing clients. We all have good ones and not so good ones. Try to rate them based on the following criteria. Rates, claims, payment trends, volumes, demands etc. Give them a score of 1 to 10 on 5 important areas. Then see what there total score out of 50 is. Get differant departments involved to get a better number.
Next thing you know you will have a report card for all your customers.
Before you add a new truck maybe make room by firing one of you "low score" customers. Or sit down the customer and attempt to correct the problem to bring thier score up if you can.
If you cant fix the old customer, then cut them loose and bring on the newer better one.
Sometimes you have to "thin the herd" to make the total stronger.
Hey, shippers and brokers have been rating carriers for ever, it's time to return the favour.
 
Some times we need to fire customers to be profitable . Its tough on carriers to give up freight for any reason, the funny thing is probably 30 to 40 percent of the customers dont pay enough but they fill a lane or are volume shipper that keeps us busy. Our trucks are all full and we will try and maitain this but adding trucks in this enviroment will just hurt us all in the long run. We are all excited that its busier but need to be smart on how we rebuild , slow and steady boys
 
We're just trying to fill an idle truck. Of course, we could use some Owner/Operators also as we are turning freight away.
 
Hey you can try our directory..

We've got trucking companies across Canada listed, and we are expanding it into the U.S...

You would be able to search carriers based on fleet composition, service areas, additional services offered, and get their contact information - take a look at our website http://www.dottrucks.com.

I'd be happy to speak to any questions via email or a PM on the forum. I don't want to hi-jack the thread... best of luck!

dave
 
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