Texas Short on Truckers as Demand Increases
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-economy/economy/texas-short-on-truckers-while-demand-is-up/Though the amount of freight being shipped by truck in the U.S. is up, there aren't enough drivers to meet the demand.
The trucking industry has faced two driver shortages: quality and quantity. In recent years, concerns over quality have come first, with regulators scoring truck drivers and the companies they work for. Get a low score and a pink slip isn't far behind.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing,” says Bob Costello of the American Trucking Association. “We want the best people out there driving a truck. No doubt about it. But it does make some operational challenges. And finding qualified drivers is one of them."
The recent economic recession kept the shortage of quality drivers from disrupting the flow of goods, because there were fewer goods to haul. But demand has increased — as has concern over quantity, especially in Texas.