Solving the 'driver shortage' problem.

First let's word this properly. There is no driver shortage. There is a shortage of GOOD drivers. Drivers with common sense. Drivers that's can back up a rig. Drivers that don't loose their paperwork. Driver that look ahead to weather conditions. Drivers that arrive at destination the night before so they can get a good nights sleep before delivering and picking up their next load. In 30 year I have meet a couple dozen good drivers, in recent yrs the number of good long haul drivers that don't spend their day bitching and complaining that they have work to do can be counted on one hand.
 
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Until driving a truck is considered a 'career" The shortage will just get worse.
The only thing smart carriers can do is pay more than the rest to attract the best ones out there. And more importantly treat them better than the rest to keep them.
People will always be attracted to careers that offer either better than average pay or working conditions where they feel appreciated and are treated with respect.
Some will trade off one for the other, but not forever unless they have no choice.
 
There is no driver shortage. It may appear sometimes that we cannot get good drivers but somehow freight still moves. The shortage may present itself in years to come and we may be on the cusp of it but right now, at todays date, there is no shortage.

I know this because if there was a shortage, people would not keep under-cutting the rates to get it. If a carrier could hang up the phone on a cheap rate, and pick up the next phone call to name their price and get it, then I would say that a shortage is showing itself. Currently people are telling me that rates are going down and freight seems to be light - both south and northbound. That tells me that supply/demand is showing that there are more trucks than freight - not the other way around.
 
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The trucking industry has grown exponentially over the last 30 years, so a good part of the so called driver shortage may simply be hiring not keeping up with growing demand. The "shortage" may have nothing to do with fleets and how they treat their drivers. In fact, truck driving is the NUMBER ONE profession of the Canadian male. More men drive trucks than do anything else. So in absolute numbers, truck driving is a popular career choice.. and if you don't believe statistics, take a drive on 401: on any given day there's a wall of trucks in the right hand lane.. truck after truck after truck, and each of them has someone behind the wheel. Now, when I was a kid, trucks were a far less common sight on 401... drivers would flash their lights at each other in acknowledgement. Now trucks are much bigger and far more numerous.
 
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