Trucking Jobs Tour Launches to Help Address Driver Shortage

To help tackle the wide-ranging impacts of the truck driver shortage, plans are underway to launch the Trucking Jobs Tour, an initiative designed to help promote the many thousands of open truck driver jobs across the U.S.

Here’s the context:  As anyone in the fleet business know, it has been widely reported that the country is facing a critical shortage of truck drivers, due in large part to an aging workforce that is retiring as well as annualized turnover rates which have averaged 90% in recent quarters.

Some forecasts call for a need to hire an estimated 900,000 new drivers over the next decade just to maintain the current workforce and keep up with rising demand for transport. Faced with serious recruiting and retention challenges like these, trucking companies, private fleet owners and CDL schools are invited to leverage the Tour and its various offerings to recruit current drivers and owner-operators and to also develop a pipeline of future drivers.

“With more than 70% of all goods consumed in the U.S. transported by trucks, truck driving is a critical component of our nation’s economy and supply chain. Our goal with the Tour is to do our part to help alleviate the current shortage and also take action to begin seeding the next generation of truck drivers,” said Rick Cantu, co-founder of the Tour.

The Tour plans to use a mobile strategy to promote truck driver jobs across all 50 states by deploying custom-branded, double-expandable semi-tractors and trailers. The Tour also plans to hold recruiting events at physical locations. Markets with higher-than-average unemployment rates will be a geographic focus and venues for both types of events will be selected for maximum attendance and visibility. For every Tour event, a variety of marketing, public relations and advertising campaigns will be undertaken to stimulate attendance, drive traffic to the Tour’s website, generate favorable publicity for Tour sponsors and foster goodwill with attendees and the general public.

Attendees at Tour events will have opportunities to meet one-on-one with trucking company and private fleet recruiters and CDL school representatives. Tour events will also serve to educate younger generations of Americans about the transportation industry and to help create a more positive image of truck driving. Attendees at the Tour’s mobile events will be able to experience truck driving simulators and play truck driving games.

The Tour will also offer additional solutions to help recruit current and future truck drivers, such as a fully-featured job board and a comprehensive slate of digital and traditional marketing services. These marketing services will be provided in partnership with a nationally-recognized agency to help industry participants be more effective with their own driver recruiting campaigns in order to be properly staffed to achieve their business objectives and profit goals.

Category: Driver Stuff, General Update, News