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Connor: Hello and welcome to the fifth episode of Big Rig Banter, a show about all things commercial driving and transportation-related. I’m your co-host, Connor Smith.
Troy: And I’m Troy Diffenderfer.
Connor: The date is July 5th, 2017 and we’ve got a great show in store for you guys today. We’re going to be talking about the single most pressing industry issues facing both drivers and trucking companies. That my friends is the driver shortage.
Troy: Yeah and as a wide-reaching industry issue, we’re going to bring you the facts about the driver shortages impact, context, and hopefully some solutions.
Connor: That’s right and we’ve been fortunate enough to interview the director of safety and recruiting Lee Koon of Terminal Transport to get an industry perspective so that’s coming up later in the episode.
Troy: But, before we get into all that let’s start with some the latest news from the commercial driving world.
Troy: Alright, our first story takes us to Russia where a trucking company called Traft has just unveiled what they are calling a transformative strategy when it comes to reinventing logistics for the dawn of autonomous commercial vehicles. The company said it’s looking to replace 20% of its fleet with autonomous vehicles this year alone with plans to double that in 2018. Considering that this company is moving so quickly to upgrade its fleet, many are concerned that the drivers will be left behind. However, Traft is already creating a government-approved union to oversee the extensive retraining programs and this is going to hopefully ensure the rights of drivers in the future. If you’ve been following the progression of autonomous vehicles you’ll know the main concern is putting drivers out of work so perhaps this could serve as a model for how other countries, especially the US, could consider softening the blow of self-driving trucks and so on.
Connor: Absolutely, yeah. It’s a- that’s going to be definitely one of the challenges facing the industry in the future as, you know, having the rights of actual truckers be respected and be honored as these vehicles, you know, emerge onto the scene. And-
Troy: And keeping them employed.
Connor: Right, or retrained or whatever it’s going to take to help current drivers, you know, flex with the industry as its changing so, it’s going to be cool to see how this company handles, you know, this upgrade of their fleet. And maybe it can be used as a model for other places, other countries around the world as it’s almost inevitable they will also be experiencing the autonomous truck revolution.
Troy: Hopefully, yeah.
Connor: All right, so onto our next story. The Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association, that’s the OOIDA, who have been leading the fight against the MAP21, electronic logging device rule had their appeal rejected by the Supreme Court. Essentially this rule calls for the secretary of transportation to adopt the proper regulations requiring ELD use in commercial vehicles driving interstate, something that must be accomplished by December 18th of this year. This has had many drivers and companies up in arms, feeling it was unnecessary and actually invasive to require these devices be installed. In a sense, people feel like it’s a form of surveillance. You know, it’s tracking your trucks every move. It’s mapping out your routes for you. It’s recording all of the crucial details that logistics companies like to see and trucking companies want to know. Yet, it is doing away with the paper logs so there is a lot of resistance there and it is going to be costly to get all these devices in these trucks as well. So, since the OOIDA’s appeal had been rejected it seems that the rule will remain in place until the December deadline and actually as an interesting twist, commercial vehicles made prior to the year 2000 are actually exempt from this rulemaking it kind of a race to find these vehicles for many who wish to avoid fitting their fleets with ELDs. And we know that many people are upset about this and there’s very strong opinions on either side advocating for and against this technology so we actually have a blog on AllTruckJobs.com discussing some of the potential benefits to using ELDs and why it may not be the worst thing for the industry and we’d love your input on it if you can go and check that blog out the link will be below. But it seems that we’re just going to have to go forward with the Supreme Court’s decision at this point and see where the road takes us I guess.
Troy: All right, and speaking of more future technology, you may think it’s pointless to reinvent the wheel but that is in fact what Michelin is attempting to do with their newest concept called vision. Looking like an alien sand-dollar lined with black rubber, the tire is supposed to be “inspired by nature with a light, efficient structure” according to Terry Gettys, Michelin’s executive vice president of research and development. It’s crafted using a wide variety of materials including bamboo, paper, molasses, tin-cans, wood, electronic waste, plastic waste, hay, tire chips, used metal, cloth, cardboard, orange zest, and a natural rubber.
Connor: That doesn’t sound like a tire at all.
Troy: Yeah it sounds like some strange concoction but the tire is created actually using 3D printers to allow optimized tread and can be adapted to the user’s needs which should allow people to drive in various weather conditions without having to modify your tires already which is definitely a benefit. But perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of vision is that its airless meaning it can neither explode or blow out. It is also expected that the tire will have sensors, to provide real-time information about its conditions, which is also a benefit. We’ll be sure to post pictures of this crazy looking tire on our Facebook page so you can check that out at your leisure. We’ll be right back with our main topic after this quick break.
Music – Wherever the job takes you, Big Rig Banter is here to bring you the latest in industry topics, trends, and more. Stay tuned after this short break.
Connor: All right welcome back! And now it is time for our main topic of the day. Our show is entitled, “Fixing the Driver Shortage for the Long Haul.” So, to start, over the past 15 years the trucking industry has periodically struggled with a shortage of truck drivers. The first shortage was actually documented in a 2005 report by the American Trucking Association. Back then, the shortage was roughly 20,000 drivers. Then, after the last recession in 2008, the shortage was eliminated as industry volumes plummeted so that’s still not good. But it wasn’t until actually 2011 that industry volumes began to recover and thus the shortage returned. The driver market continued to tighten and the shortage skyrocketed to 38,000 by 2014. And according to this same report, the driver shortage is projected to reach 100,000 drivers this year alone. The report also comments on the fact that the truck driver shortage probably seems much worse to motor carriers than current figures suggest because quality over quantity is really the issue. Many carriers have strict hiring criteria based on things like driving history, experience, and many other factors. And as a result, receiving applications for employment means motor carriers are finding fewer eligible candidates, which is quite the issue.
Troy: Yeah and when we get into our interview with Lee Koon, he’s going to talk to us about his application process and how he kind of wades through the various applications he gets to find the best truckers. And he also reiterates that it is often isn’t a quantity problem, but it is a quality problem.
Connor: So, we’re going to start with some of the misconceptions and issues that are really at the center of this shortage. So again, one of the most prevalent misconceptions is that there aren’t enough actual drivers to fill all the positions available when really its that many companies just struggle with finding qualified employees. One thing we learned that makes hiring good drivers difficult is seeing them jump from one employer to the next. This is just something that really raises some suspicions as to how committed someone is to the job even if that is somewhat of an unfair assumption.
Troy: Additionally there may be some issues with companies lacking the educational resources to help train these drivers to their standards. So they are forced to only hire the top professionals who are increasingly scarce.
Connor: That’s right, and so now we’re going to hear from Lee Koon of Terminal Transport. He’s the director of safety and recruiting. So he’s going to tell us some things about how Terminal deals with the driver shortage and some other cool things about the company. Here is that interview.
Connor: All right so we are talking with Lee Koon. He’s Director of Safety and Recruiting at Terminal Transport Incorporated. Lee, thanks for coming on the program.
Lee: Sure.
Connor: So we’re going to jump right in here. Our first question- so you previously talked about the driver shortage but more specifically you explained this is a “good driver shortage.” Could you talk a little bit more about that?
Lee: Sure, I don’t believe that there is a driver shortage in a black and white world because we don’t have a lack of drivers at all we have a lack of good drivers. And that means guys or drivers that have, that have done something to wreck their driving, their MVR meaning that they’re getting a lot of tickets or they’re getting, maybe getting the CSA score, their PSP reports and things like that. They’ve done things to kind of sabotage themselves. Okay, and so the PSP world which is what I call the driver’s personal PSP report, and that records everything that happens at a roadside good or bad. And those bad things certainly get weighed into a hiring decision when drivers are brought in. So if you have a driver that has a multitude of hours of service issues and tickets or warnings or whatever then it becomes an issue on the- because you don’t want to put him in your truck because if he gets caught doing that then that goes on the company’s CSA score. So, that’s where that personal PSP report is so vital and that all kind of goes into the next part and that is that when the drivers start to do job-hopping, that becomes, all these things get weighed into the hiring decision. And so when drivers don’t even realize, I guess, that they’re doing it to themselves but it certainly has become a problem within the industry and therefore is the reason why I call it a “good driver shortage” and not just a driver shortage.
Troy: And how do you- I know you see these under-qualified drivers or drivers that may have issues. Do you think it’s because of a lack of schooling or do you think it’s a generational thing? And kind of has this grown, has this always been an issue, or has this just been the last few maybe decades that it’s been a problem?
Lee: Well, there’s certainly the generational things and that certainly weighs into it. And we live in a society that inundates us with instant instance, and everything is done instantly, we have to drive through foods we have- everything is instant. We do all of our online banking, we are connected to the world through our cell phones and so I think that that weighs into it when you get into the younger generations and I think that they don’t see- and I think that it is a part of the education process is explaining to these drivers the impact that bad driving habits have on their PSP report and their MVR. So I do think it’s a lack of training on the part of carriers in general, myself included, of not explaining to these drivers that- how important it is to keep your record clean. That has such a huge bearing on a driver’s earning potential, on his hireability. That’s the word I want.
Connor: Great! So on that same kind of note- it being a generational thing, do you think that the driving age should be lowered and if it were to be- what possible downside do you think would result if any?
Lee: Right and that more or less goes over into the insurance industry which dictates that in a lot of cases a company can only hire someone that is 23 years old or older. The FMCSA also dictates that we have to, the driver has to be 21 years old to drive interstate. They are allowed to drive intrastate before that from the age of 18 to 21. Once they’re 21 they’re allowed to go interstate. And that’s counterproductive with what we’re trying to do because these kids get out of high school and they want that instant gratification or that instant solution to their needs, being you know a career. And what happens is they can’t get their foot in the door because they’re bogged down with these regulations that they have to wait until they’re 21 and then the insurance industry comes back and says they have to wait until the 23. I understand where the insurance companies come from and that is because generally speaking your high-risk drivers are that 18-26 age or whatever and so they don’t like us hiring those drivers and so that’s the reason they make it 23 years old. That criteria has to be met. As far as the Federal, the FMCSA, goes, I’m not sure what drives that 21 age. Because these kids get out of school, high school, they go and get a job flipping burgers or whatever. They’re not going to wait in this instant society for three years until they can go start driving a truck. And in those 3 years they end up meeting someone, they end up getting married and maybe now they have a child. And so now they’ve established their life. And so then it becomes a question of, do they want to jump in a truck and be gone for two weeks at a time driving an over the road situation? And the answer is no. Neither the driver nor his new spouse wants to go down that road and be gone away from home. And so now you’ve got this younger generation that basically doesn’t have the opportunity to do it right out of high school because it’s really a lifestyle. The whole truck-driving thing is this lifestyle and if you don’t get them young at 18 years old you’re not going to- it’s really hard to recruit them and to convince them that they can make a career out of this.
Troy: Do you feel like we would see an uptick in trucking accidents though if we were to lower that age? Like personally, have you seen, do trucking accidents tend to be more with younger drivers or is it more of a myth across the board?
Lee: The problem with trucking accidents is probably the older generation and it’s the guys that have been driving for 20, 30 years and they get complacent because they’ve driven this road 5,000 times in their career and they know this road like the back of their hand so the complacency sets in and all of the sudden they make a mistake and it becomes a tragedy possibly. So that’s where I feel that most of the accidents are going. With the young drivers, the beauty of being able to hire an 18-year-old driver is he’s fresh and he’s hungry and it’s an opportunity for the trucking industry to actually teach this guy and mold him without the bad habits. And look, we’ve taken the trucks and we’ve put governors on them, we’ve given them automatic transmission, we’ve put cameras in the trucks, we have braking systems, there’s all kinds of safety features that are built into these trucks now and I think it’s advantageous for those younger drivers that they’re going to come in that they are going to be safe. If we can train them when they’re young like that, they’re going to become a much better professional driver.
Connor: Great, yeah so do you think with these younger drivers coming in and everything and trying to maybe target millennial drivers and people that age 18, do you think that social media and other media is affecting the way that people perceive trucking? And how much do you use social media in recruiting drivers and things like that?
Lee: Very much so, it’s all about that. You know, the days of billboards and putting an ad in the local farm newspaper for drivers and having 20 drivers at your front door, those days are long gone. And if a company is not using social media and is not using the technology to their advantage, they are missing out tremendously on recruiting these good drivers. Not just drivers in general but good drivers. And if they continue to do that they’re going to be left out in the cold. So it’s important to utilize that. I utilize that every day and I use electronic formats and I’ve had to teach myself how to use Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and I had to do it out of necessity because every driver is unique. Every driver is different and some of them prefer to communicate that way as opposed to actually making a phone call. Other’s can still make that phone call and find yourself; they’re comfortable in that environment. But you have to open yourself up as a recruiter to actually use all of those mediums to reach the niche market and that is the drivers. The qualified, good drivers.
Connor: Couldn’t agree more there.
Troy: And tell us more about the videos you make. I thought that was really interesting. I know over here at AllTruckJobs we try to encourage some of our clients to use video and I know you’re really into that. You make videos for your fleet on various topics. So can you tell us more about that?
Lee: Absolutely! So what I do is I make videos. I mean, I don’t have a schedule that I do it on but every once in a while I’ll find a topic that I can use, that I want to present to the drivers. And I have the ability to make that video and then make it available to our drivers. And that can be on just about anything. It can be on safety, it can be on maybe our health insurance program, it can be on a multitude of different topics. But it’s a good way because every single driver on the road no matter their age carries a smartphone or some sort of electronic device in their trucks and they have access to the internet and they can watch the videos. And that’s a lot easier than trying to get a newsletter out to the drivers because they just see that or a mom gets it in the mail at home and she just pitches it in the garbage and that’s obviously not the message we want to be sending. So by doing it by video, again it’s going back to that media medium and utilizing that for all of our drivers.
Connor: Very cool. And so just to kind of wrap things up here, you’ve said in the past that you like to show your drivers your standards for drivers and what are some ways that Terminal Transport is doing that?
Lee: Because right up front, right at the top sheet of their application is our criteria. I don’t hire drivers that have had more than 3 jobs in the last 3 years and I know there’s a lot of recruiters that cringe when they hear that but I can’t foresee why I would want to waste my time on a driver that’s going to see something wrong with Terminal Transport 6 months from now and now I’m filling another empty seat. So by raising my standards, and that’s only one example, and they see that right at the very top page of their application and they sign off on all of those things and they’re well aware of what the requirements are and what my expectations of them are as a driver before they even fill out their name and address. And so they do that and when I bring them in I spend time with them during that orientation process and it gets that foundation and that topic gets reinforced as we go along how important that it is to- we hold our drivers to a high standard and there is an accountability process here. And I think that’s been really good because I don’t have the turnover that most trucking companies are dealing with.
Connor: Well, Lee thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us here! It was a lot of great information.
Troy: Yeah, thank you, Lee, we appreciate it!
Lee: Hey, no problem!
Troy: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us and we’d love to have you on the show again. You know we’d always love your input so I’ll definitely keep in touch with you.
Lee: I will be available.
Connor: Very good! Thank you.
Lee: All right, I’ll talk later. Thanks, guys!
Connor: Take care.
Lee: Bye!
Connor: All right so a lot of great information there and just another special thanks to Lee for taking the time to talk to us. He really hit on a lot of the key points there and just what to look for in both employers and what to consider for your own personal driving whether it’s your resume or just your career as a whole. And you know, the driver shortage is something that- is very far reaching and it’s something that a lot of different people are affected.
Troy: Yeah and while our interview with Lee kind of various issues that are plaguing the trucking shortage let’s kind of look towards the future and look at some of the solutions. And one of the first areas to look at with the solutions is obviously at the beginning and that’s with trucking school and the education process. Another way to work on the shortage would be to make the course more rigorous. It’s important that the schooling process only promotes the best possible drivers. If a recruiter or trucking company has to sift through bad candidates this is wasting time from both the employer and the employee. While many truckers fear that autonomous trucking will overrun the industry this most likely is not the case. While autonomous trucks are on the horizon we can expect a slow integration with many companies opting not to adapt to the new technology at all. In fact, many trucking companies will value real drivers even more. So you shouldn’t fret about autonomous trucks taking over. But then another part of the solution would be to look at which segments trucking recruiters are looking at and there are two segments that are leading the way as new areas of exploration for a lot of trucking companies. And the first one is females. Currently, only about 6% of drivers are female despite the fact the females make up 47% of all US workers. This represents a major untapped market for a lot of trucking companies and a major draw for women into the trucking world is the fact that they will make the same money as their peers as they get paid by the mile or the load of the percentage. And then a second population segment that these companies are aggressively targeting are millennials. It’s no secret that the workforce is aging and so a lot of companies are looking towards Millenials as their new hires. With the average age of truck drivers trending up, new recruits need to be young. Pay packages and benefits are one of the ways that carriers are trying to woo Millenials and carriers are also updating technology within the cab as millennials are generally accustomed to receiving information on demand. One of the big issues, however, is the fact that the current age requirements to drive a tractor-trailer across state lines is 21 and I know Lee alluded to that a little bit and I know we are going to discuss it a little bit later. And this eliminates eligible employees between the age of 18 and 21 who will find work elsewhere. And then last but not least just to hit on it; you might want to look at recruiting military drivers. There is a recent article on our blog that’s talking about the proposed driver pilot program for the former military and that’s proposed by the FMCSA. So I know a lot of military members have the same kind of qualities and features that many trucking recruiters are checking off and they have a lot of experience. So good solutions would be to actively focus your recruiting initiatives on these promoting your benefits and company culture is another perfect way to attract potential employees. You know if these employees enjoy the company culture it’ll create a more loyal driver. So then just to recap everything you want to look at females, millennials, and military professionals or a female millennial that’s in the military.
Connor: There you go that’s the trucker of the future, right? And as always if your company is having trouble making the connection between quality drivers and the jobs you need to be filled, you can check out sites like ours AllTruckJobs.com and we can help keep your trucks filled and truckers happy.
Troy: All right Connor, well now it’s time to get to our fun topics but, first let’s take a short break.
Music – Wherever the job takes you, Big Rig Banter is here to bring you the latest in industry topics, trends, and more. Stay tuned after this short break.
Troy: All right and we are back and we are ready for the fun topics. Connor and I are going to have a little debate here. We’re going to talk about some of the regulations that are already in place for truckers. I know we discussed it with Lee Koon earlier but I think it’s worth taking a second look at and Connor and I are going to pick maybe one regulation that we think should be repealed or maybe at least needs a second look at. And I’m going to start and go with the driving age for trucking. I think Lee had a great point about how we should really look at rolling back the driving age especially when it comes to interstate trucking. I think traveling across state lines, I think that responsibility can be handled by 18 or even 16-year-olds and Lee talked about how he doesn’t see an uptick in crashes when it comes to younger drivers he actually sees more crashes in the older generation of drivers that kind of become complacent or kind of become a little lax when it comes to safety precautions and the rules of the roads. So I think as long as we can educate these young drivers I think rolling back this would not be a problem and it opens up a whole generation of future drivers, which I think is also good.
Connor: Absolutely, yep. That’s kind of tying it all together and so for my regulation here that I would roll back, I think it would be the strict regulations on marijuana usage for drivers. Just considering that it’s illegal on the federal level so with the DOT’s regulations it essentially makes it difficult for drivers who are even legally prescribed medical marijuana to even use it on the road. And you know it’s much different than alcohol in the fact that it stays in your system for up to 30 days even though you are completely sober otherwise. So really it’s kind of an unreasonable regulation to have to a certain extent when drivers are not even being impaired by the use and yet they can lose their jobs just because they had a joint or two, you know, a month ago. It just doesn’t really make that much sense. It’s a little too harsh considering the offense if you can even really call it that at times. And just to be clear, it is still not advised that you operate any heavy machinery or drive a truck while under the influence of marijuana so we’re not necessarily saying it should be legal to drive when you’re high but, you know, with reasonable medical prescriptions it shouldn’t cost someone their job just because they don’t have a means of treating their condition otherwise or that’s the medicine that they’ve chosen or been prescribed by health professionals. So, it deserves a second look for sure.
Troy: Yeah and we can see across the country, it’s become decriminalized in many states and cities and we’re kind of seeing these regulations begin to loosen up and I think kind of at least taking a second look at it and seeing if we can implement some of these changes into the trucking industry I think is a great idea.
Connor: I guess it is just difficult when people are driving across state lines and then they’re crossing into different jurisdictions and everything and it doesn’t necessarily translate from one state to the next so it’s more of a federal level issue I guess than even a statewide thing, but.
Troy: Well, yeah these are two of the regulations that we think should be either, looked at or repealed but we’re sure that you have some ideas of your own of what regulations need to be changed or at least looked at so tweet us @BigRigBanter or leave a comment below or hit us up on Facebook! All right now lets switch gears and talk about the 4th of July. I know it was just yesterday that you guys were chilling and grilling and hanging out with the family hopefully but some of you truckers might not have had the chance to experience the traditional 4th of July where you were able to relax, but we do want to talk about some of our favorite things whether you’re enjoying them on the road or at home. Connor, I know you’re a big fireworks fanatic.
Connor: That’s absolutely true. My last name is Smith so I was always playing with fire as a kid and I still try to do that whenever possible so yeah 4th of July is a good time of year for me. And, yeah, my favorite fireworks that I always try to get, because we’re in Pennsylvania here, it’s hard to find cool stuff most of the time. It’s mostly like we just have all the stupid little fountains and tanks that you can put on the ground and they-
Troy: Firecrackers-
Connor: Yeah, I mean, not even most of the time. I personally really like roman candles. Those are super fun. Really dangerous, but that is my pick, that’s my firework pick. Really what makes a good holiday for me is just being able to shoot some sparks into the sky with friends and family. Really nothing better than that.
Troy: Yeah, just to reiterate, we do want you to be careful when you’re hauling fireworks. There are different regulations in certain states so make sure you’re up to date whether you’re hauling them across state lines whether it’s for a company or for personal use. There are definitely laws that can get you in trouble if you are bringing illegal fireworks into specific states so make sure to keep up-to-date on that but-
Connor: But that said, if you are doing that, hit me up on Facebook and I will pay you for some good- no I’m just kidding! But anyway, so Troy what is your favorite thing or favorite aspect or thing that you would want to make your 4th of July a great holiday?
Troy: Definitely like the food. And I know truckers might struggle especially if you’re hauling on the road to kind of have a proper 4th of July dinner but there are a few handheld items that I think are great for on the road snacking. Burgers and hot dogs are always a must. Throw some ketchup and relish or whatever other condiments you want on there and I think it’s an easy on the road snack for if you are stopped or on the road. It’s a one-hander, it’s not too messy so having some burgers and hot dogs on the road is a great way to celebrate the 4th of July and yeah and you need some side dishes to go along with some burgers and hot dogs. So things like deviled eggs or even potato salad or macaroni salad or are great 4th of July foods to enjoy and we wouldn’t recommend that you eat these while you’re on the road but maybe you can make a quick pit stop to relax and have yourself a little 4th of July picnic if you can’t make it home.
Connor: Yeah, that’s exactly right. I think those are Pennsylvania Dutch items too I think those are things that we personally really like just because that’s what we’ve grown up with around here in Lancaster County. But it’s also important when you’re on the road and you’re trying to eat well to stay healthy and pick reasonable choices like fruit, if you can, it’s going to be in season in the summer. Anything like strawberries or melon good ways to stay hydrated and stay energized while driving. And yeah if you want more health tricks and tips to eat healthy on the road, check out our last episode, episode 4, it’s called the mind and body roadmap. And we cover lots of different kinds of things from exercise to sleeping habits to diets so be sure to check that out. But that’s all we have for you today. So, thank you all again for joining us for the fifth episode of Big Rig Banter, I’m your cohost Connor Smith.
Troy: And I’m Troy Diffenderfer.
Connor: And next episode we’re going to be talking about the latest and greatest technology coming to you truckers on the road and off the road. So stay tuned for that, but we’ll see you next time on Big Rig Banter!
Music – Thanks for tuning into another edition of Big Rig Banter. For your next job check out AllTruckJobs.com, the premier online source for finding the best driver jobs in the country. Browse hundreds of positions by freight or driver type to get back on the road with confidence. Click subscribe to keep the conversations coming until next time on Big Rig Banter.
