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You wouldn’t think it to look at any of the nation’s highways but there’s a severe shortage of truck drivers out there in the job market. With most transportation companies having to park many of their trucks up against the fence because they have no one to drive them, the industry is in a real bind. With an ever increasing number of experienced drivers leaving the industry due to retirement, job transfers or outright wage dissatisfaction, the industry is always scrambling to get more drivers behind the wheel and out onto the road. The amount of time that some drivers need to spend away from their families is another reason that many experienced drivers choose to leave the industry. Because of the reality of economic growth in this country, the need for short haul drivers is expected to continue to grow at a high rate for many years to come. The rate of driver turn-over in the industry is currently at 35% and is one of the highest rates of employee turn-over in any industry in the nation. For continued economic growth, most transport companies realize that this rate must be brought back under control.

Although controversial, many companies are looking at hiring foreign workers to train and fill the truck driving positions available and help them become working U.S. citizens. By making the truck driver classification a more high priority career in the immigration point system, trucking industry officials are trying to ensure that foreign truck drivers are given the fast-track into this country due to the severe demand for their trade. Officials are also trying to make sure that the higher-valued long-haul truck drivers are given even more priority when they apply to the immigration office for work in this country. In this way, trucking industry officials hope to prevent any further decline in the number of available trucking careers in the industry. At the present time, a student can become a qualified truck driver in anywhere from 2 to 12 weeks.

With three quarters of all the goods in North America being shipped by truck, the high cost of fuel - coupled with the shortage of experienced and qualified drivers - has slowly started to affect the cost of nearly every item we buy. Many trucking companies have started offering signing bonuses and special 401K plans to qualified truck drivers willing to drive for them. The average starting salary for short haul (local and regional) truck drivers is $37,500, with salaries of up to $51,000 being paid out to long haul drivers. Truck drivers lucky enough to start out in a trucking union position can expect to make an average salary of $64,000 or more. As can be expected with a volatile industry such as the trucking industry, the recent high cost of diesel fuel and a slow-to-react economy, has caused some trucking companies to actually find it necessary to start cutting back on the number of drivers they have on the road. This shouldn’t deter anyone wanting to make a career in the trucking industry, however, as the market for new drivers is one that will always bounce back, looking to hire as many new and qualified drivers as possible and potential truck maintenance worker to keep the trucks on the road. It takes far shorter a time to complete your commercial driver training and earn your license than it takes to complete a conventional degree from any community college or university. Because of this, you can begin your career in the trucking industry as a qualified driver in a much shorter time and at a greatly reduced cost than with any other career training. When you’ve finished your training to become a truck driver you’ll have your pick of where you’d like to work.