Shortage of truck drivers predicted

WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- Retirements, tougher regulations and a need to replace laid-off drivers mean the trucking industry will need 200,000 drivers by the end of 2011, a report says.

A report sponsored by Penske Logistics, issued by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, notes the U.S. trucking industry has lost almost 150,000 jobs since the start of 2008 due to tougher safety regulations designed to get bad drivers off the road, and those laid off due to the recession and retirements, CNN reported Wednesday.

The author of the report, Rosalyn Wilson, said even though unemployment is high nationwide, the trucking industry will face a challenge finding drivers during the next year and a half.

"It's not a very attractive profession," she said. "People want jobs, but they also want their quality of life, to be home with their family at the end of the work day.

"We're going to need 1 million drivers in next 15 years just to deal with replacing retirees and the normal growth of freight," she said.

Wilson said in May 2009 the average pay for a trucker was about $37,730. But more miles and the driver shortage are likely to increase wages in the years ahead, CNN reported.

"How much of a driver shortage we have will depend on how much the economy picks up," she said.