The exodus of experienced truck drivers through leave and retirement is offering a strong challenge to transportation companies like Bay & Bay Transportation in Minneapolis and other parts of the state.
The problem is a fairly straight-forward: freight needs to be moved both inside Minnesota’s borders and to places across the country. But where there’s a job, there also has to be an experienced professional behind the wheel to get it there safely and on time.
Bay & Bay and many other transportation companies tend to find a decent number of takers for shorter routes, it’s the over the road jobs that are proving especially challenging to fill. You can chalk it up to lifestyle or just long hours, maybe even work ethic; but finding competent over the road talent is a problem shared by transportation companies nationwide.
The Struggle is finding a younger generation of experienced truck drivers willing to travel longer distances to make deliveries to faraway states like those in the East Coast or maybe along the Gulf Coast.
The average age of a driver is 55-years. As they get older, many drivers start to think about what’s most important to them; they might want to spend more time with family, or to have a gig that allows them return home every night.
You could say it’s a lifestyle thing when it comes to wanting to live in a truck and be away from home for long stretches. Like a number of other companies, Bay & Bay is offering incentives to recruit experienced truck drivers and retain the ones it has.
It’s a logical move as America searches for its next great generation of truck drivers. While some high school students may be interested; by federal law they will have to wait until they are 21-years old before they can take a rig across state lines.
Some members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation are proposing a change in the rules that would allow drivers between the ages of 18-21 to drive across state lines while working on an apprenticeship in the trucking industry.
While lawmakers try to find solutions to a long-term problem, more and more experienced operators are finding out why Bay & Bay is known as a quality driven tradition. If you’ve got the right stuff, call (888) 801-3026, or visit us here for more details and information about how you can join our growing team in the Minneapolis area, and other parts of country.