TRUCKERS' TURNOVER * USA - Trucking companies hard-pressed to keep drivers on their payrolls

Long runs, dwindling pay send many looking for greener pastures

Elkton,MD,USA -The Delaware on Line, by AARON NATHANS -23 May 2011: -- This high-stress career path has plenty of forward motion but little upward mobility. And traditionally, that's meant high turnover for truck drivers... But lately, amid high gas prices, new government rules and an economy struggling to get out of neutral, truckers have been changing jobs with even greater speed... In the fourth quarter of 2010, annualized turnover at large-fleet, long-haul trucking companies was 69 percent, according to the American Trucking Association. That's the highest it's been since the second quarter of 2008 -- another period of high fuel prices... While other sectors have struggled, trucking companies are still hiring, said Bob Costello, the group's chief economist... (Photo from The News Journal, by ROBERT CRAIG - Carl Richardson of Hockessin won a top trucker award that earned him not only a trophy for his den, but almost a week in Orlando, Fla., for the competition finals. He's been driving for 27 years and now does mostly short-distance runs)

DRIVERS SHORTAGE * USA - Fleets acknowledge driver shortage a problem, report finds

Columbus,OH,USA -Truck News (CAN) -May 6, 2011: -- A shortage of drivers is already weighing on the minds of many US fleet managers, according to the findings of the Q2 2011 Fleet Sentiment Report...  The report surveyed 52 fleets operating 77,000 power units and 132,000 trailers in the US and was conducted by research firm CKCVR...  More than 70% of fleets surveyed indicated the driver shortage is either impacting their fleet now or may in the future. Forty-two per cent said they are currently having trouble keeping seats filled and must limit the number of new units they can add to their fleet...  Another 32% who claim to be unaffected now, still believe the shortage of drivers could impact their fleet in the future, the survey found...  The Fleet Sentiment Buynig Index fell to a reading of 90.5, yet still points toward continued strong demand for medium- and heavy-duty power units and trailers, CKCVR reports...  (Image from msnbcmedia1: A recent study by the American Trucking Association concluded that 82,000 new truckers were needed.)

TRUCKERS' SHORTAGE * USA - Women may not feel represented in trucking industry

Plover,WIS,USA -Safety as a Service, by Mark Priest -April 8, 2011: ... The trucking industry is currently coming up short in terms of filling all of the necessary positions, but Truckinginfo.com reports that women could be used in order to fill the void. Ellen Voie, the president and chief executive officer of Women In Trucking, told the news provider that the sector needs to promote women in this kind of environment in order to draw more attention... Women who are interested in breaking the stereotype and want to consider pursuing a career in the trucking industry may want to consider enrolling in online truck driving regulation training in an effort to brush up on their skills and ensure that they meet all of the necessary requirements...

TRUCKERS' SHORTAGE * India - Wanted: Three million drivers

Got a truck license but can’t find a job? India needs you

Mumbai,India -Agency France-Press/Today's Trucking -28 March 2011: -- The exploding economy that is India is facing a driver shortage. And when India says shortage, it really means shortage... "We face a 40-percent shortfall, which means we need three million more drivers," said R.K. Gulati, spokesman for the All India Motor Transport Congress, a truckers’ lobby group... According to a report, many fleets have up to 15 percent of their fleets sitting because they can’t get anybody to drive... Bal Malkit Singh, a city transporter and former head of the Bombay Goods Transport Association operates over 300 trucks. He estimates 10 percent of them are at a standstill because he can’t get drivers... One of the biggest problems is that the government requiring a minimum grade 10 education (or high school to the age of 15) to carry hazardous goods... The AFP reports that people with those qualifications are more willing to work in offices than behind the wheel of a truck... India's two-million-mile road network, the world's second largest after the United States, accounts for nearly 70 percent of the country's frtruckers' sheight movement... (Image from Top News: Oil transport companies join Indian truckers' strike)