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American Trucking Associations’ incoming Chair Mike Card on the difficulties the trucking industry is having in finding qualified drivers.
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Well our nation's truck driving industry is in desperate need of drivers and government regulation -- -- helping anything.
The shortage in drivers impacts your wallet and my next guest says by pushing -- freight costs in delaying your packages in the mail.
You get hurt -- away and my card president of combined transport and the incoming chairman of the American Trucking Associations.
Mike welcome to the show it's great to have you here I had no idea that there was so few -- out there and so many jobs.
-- -- Well it's it's a tough situation for truck drivers in our company we have about 400 truck drivers tonight I can hire fifty guys right now -- wow.
That's amazing I I think that would surprise a lot of people out there what's going on in the industry -- get people.
Well it's a very difficult job.
You're gone from home many nights you're driving up to eleven hours a day you're dealing with other traffic congestion.
It's hard work.
It's hard work but is there less demand for trekking now because what's going on with the economy.
Well actually you were getting busy again our company's very strong right now.
-- coming out of the recession and our capacity was really reduced.
We're starting to build that back up it's been really tough for us to build we we can't find drivers can't find drivers.
You said something interesting to one of our producers you said if housing gets better that's gonna hurt your efforts to find more employees -- come.
Well if the driver could stay home every night that's what they'd prefer being gone long hours is tough on the family and -- -- -- have other skills like construction.
Plumbing electrical sought to have an opportunity to work closer to home local driving jobs that's what they're gonna do.
You know you you said also that the shortage of truck drivers can and drive up costs of all kinds of goods and services how does that happen how big is the impact.
Well it's gonna be tougher and tougher to find drivers so where.
Forced to pay our drivers more and more and these costs get passed on to our customers which eventually get passed on the consumer.
We see this freight rates going up 2% a year there's there's inflation there tell -- a little bit about regulation in your industry everybody complains about it.
-- -- -- -- -- Well we support real regulation that makes drivers safer.
But there is a lot of challenges for our drivers to keep they're driving record clean.
The new.
Government regulations that keep score for every little thing that they're doing wrong for -- inside ends or citations.
It builds up and and we only want to hire the safest drivers and so it's a challenge when they have all these regulations out there that hurts or driving records.
Well it's tough industry and it's so impressive that you are growing by leaps and bounds really glad to hear -- Mike thanks for coming on the show tonight appreciate your time.
My pleasure thanks Sharon thanks.
