Truck driver retention

Trucking company explains why it started a driver apprenticeship program after Biden’s challenge

A red cab white trailer Karl's Transport truck.

In December, the Biden administration challenged trucking companies to step up their driver training efforts and create a registered apprenticeship program with the U.S. Department of Labor, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The administration considered its 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge,  which was aimed at recruiting and retaining more drivers, a success. It resulted in 102 new apprenticeship programs, beating the administration’s goal of 90 programs in 90...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/wisconsin-trucking-company-using-apprenticeships-to-boost-driver-safety

Feds reject industry advice for under-21 truck driver program

Federal regulators have rejected certain recommendations from trucking and safety groups on its CDL pilot program for those ages 18-21 as regulators work to keep the project on track before a White House approval deadline.

In a notice scheduled to be published on Monday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration stated it is turning down advice from the American Trucking Associations and others that the agency do away with a requirement that carriers participating in FMCSA’s Safe Driver...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/feds-reject-industry-advice-for-under-21-truck-driver-program

White House highlights new trucking jobs amid looming downturn

The Biden administration emphasized progress on several recent initiatives aimed at getting more people into trucking jobs but the potential for a freight recession threatens to undermine some of that progress, at least in the short term.

A fact sheet released by the White House on Monday pointed to major changes in the trucking industry over the past year, including record job numbers.

“Since President Biden took office, we have seen historic increases in trucking employment with 2021...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/white-house-highlights-new-trucking-jobs-amid-looming-downturn

OOIDA urges Biden administration to bust driver shortage ‘myth’

The Biden administration should reject the notion that there is a shortage of truck drivers and instead focus on why carriers find it difficult to keep drivers in their ranks, according to the largest small-business trucking lobby.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association pressed the department’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ACSCC) to resolve the underlying causes of excessive driver turnover – also known...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ooida-urges-biden-administration-to-bust-driver-shortage-myth