We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » why not play it safe?
fastlane

why not play it safe?

September 1, 2007
Clifford F. Lynch
No Comments

"American truckers are expecting the amount of freight moving across U.S. highways to grow quickly in the next few years. Will they have the ability to carry it? Standing in their way are a number of issues, including a growing driver shortage …"

That might sound like a statement from this year's edition of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' annual "State of Logistics Report." But it actually appeared in an article published in the trade magazine Purchasing back in 1989.

In the nearly two decades since that article was published, the public discussion about the driver shortage has emerged as the supply chain world's equivalent of the global warming debate (Is it real? Is it hype? What—if anything—should we be doing about it?). And as with the global warming debate, public opinion—at least in the United States— seems to be divided fairly evenly among those who believe it to be a genuine threat, those who do not, and those who are just sick of hearing about it or feel they have little stake in the issue.

Among those who believe the driver shortage to be a very real threat is the American Trucking Associations (ATA). In 2005, 16 years after the Purchasing article appeared, a study commissioned by the group concluded that not only was the shortage real, but it was growing more acute by the year. At the time the study was published, the researchers put the shortage at 20,000 drivers. As most of the supply chain world knows by now, the study went on to warn that, assuming the economy grows as expected, the industry will be short 111,000 drivers by 2014.

The motor carriers also believe that a driver shortage exists—or at least most of them do. Some of them put a slightly different spin on it, however, arguing that there is not so much a shortage of "bodies" as a shortage of stable, reliable, and safetyconscious drivers. In any event, it's clear that some carriers are going to great lengths to attract drivers who meet these criteria. Along with raising salaries, they're offering everything from enhanced health benefits to access to comfortable, Internetequipped lounges along the way.

Others deny that a driver shortage exists. On his Web site, The Trucker's Report, veteran truck driver Kevin Watts flat out refutes the claim. "I believe there is NO such thing as a shortage of drivers," he writes, "but rather a shortage of common sense and good business practices [on the part of carriers], period." (His suggestion for carriers having trouble finding qualified drivers: offer higher wages.)

Watts is apparently not alone. Judging from their reaction to a proposed pilot program that would allow a limited number of Mexican truckers to operate on U.S. highways, it's clear that many truck drivers see even a handful of Mexican operators as a threat to their livelihood.

Some shippers don't believe it either. You don't have to look far to find people who'll tell you that the driver shortage was just an excuse for truckers to raise rates and curtail service two years ago.

Finally, there are those who are neither believers nor non-believers. They're just sick and tired of hearing about the issue or don't consider it to be their problem.

Granted, it's easy to become blasé about an issue that we've lived with for so many years. But just in case the threat is genuine, maybe we should play it safe. Shippers and carriers have nothing to lose by continuing their efforts to increase driver productivity, as well as to make truck driving a more appealing profession.

Who knows? If we all do our part, maybe we won't have to hear about it anymore.

Transportation Trucking
  • Related Articles

    play it safe

Clifford F. Lynch is principal of C.F. Lynch & Associates, a provider of logistics management advisory services, and author of Logistics Outsourcing ? A Management Guide and co-author of The Role of Transportation in the Supply Chain. He can be reached at cliff@cflynch.com.

Recent Articles by Clifford Lynch

A New Solution for Some Old Problems

The time has come

The continuing saga of driver shortages

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Survey: top supply chain risk of 2023 is semiconductor shortage

  • Big and bulky last-mile delivery segment set for hot growth

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

  • Ports, maritime operators see tide turning as ocean freight tsunami subsides

  • In Person: Steve Beverly of Penske

Now Playing on DCV-TV

1b952214 50bc 4b17 8699 b7fd3de34b0c

The Right Way Versus the Wrong Way Equals BIG $ When Conducting Transportation Sourcing Events

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
What is the "smart" way to source your transportation and why is it so important? Because the carriers are smart and they will provide better rates and service when things are done the right way versus the "wrong" way. In short, from a carrier's perspective sourcing events are a clear indication whether a shipper...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing