The driver shortage strikes again!
Check out this story from the Web site of the Altoona Mirror regarding the need for drivers with commercial driver’s licenses. If you’d like to get a jump start preparing to take your CDL tests, we suggest that you look into our iPhone app, BUMPER TO BUMPER® Easy CDL.
Driver shortage
Interesting story on the driver shortage http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Trucking-company-jobs-go-begging-in-San-Antonio-2306983.php
Lots learned at NAPFTDS Regional conference
The National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools Regional Conference, held Nov. 10th and 11th at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, was well worth attending. All the presenters brought valuable information to share, from advice on contract training and industry partnerships to regulatory and funding issues for truck driver training, to commercial vehicle crime prevention. For example, check out American Association of Motor Vehicles’ Kevin Lewis’s presentation on DOT testing regulations DOT Testing Regulations and Compliance Safety Systems’ David Saunders’s presentation on CSA. For more information about NAPFTDS, visit the Web site at www.napftds.org.
Top trucking industry issues
ATRI, the American Transportation Research Institute, has released their Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry 2011 report. Heading the list for the third consecutive year are the economy and hours of service. To download the full report, visit the ATRI Web site.
Driver shortage and trucking jobs
The driver shortage and its impact on the demand for drivers to fill trucking jobs continues to make the news. Check out this story from Oregon.
Driver shortage creates trucking jobs
Truck driver training schools in Ohio, including Hamrick Truck Driving School, are working to supply drivers to meet the demand to fill trucking jobs created by the driver shortage, according to this story on www.chron.com.
Trucking industry needs drivers
The driver shortage is putting pressure on training schools to turn out more drivers, according to this story about Del Mar College’s Transportation Training Services program in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Now hiring
Last year at this time, CNNMoney reported that the U.S. trucking industry would need to hire about 200,000 drivers by the end of this year, and would need to add another 200,000 by the end of 2011. This was according to the state of logistics report from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. Get the full story here.
Money for training
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released the budget table for FY 2011 that sets final program funding levels through September 30 under the FY 2011 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act. Overall, compared to the final FY 2010 discretionary non-Pell total, ED was cut by $1.251 billion (-2.7%). Because the final FY 2011 CR provided an additional $5.461 billion to close the Pell shortfall, the net change to ED discretionary funding compared to FY 2010 is an increase of $4.21 billion (+6.6%). Forty-seven programs received funding reductions on top of the 0.2% across-the board reductions affecting all programs, and another 38 programs were eliminated altogether. Five programs, however, received an increase, as did Head Start in HHS. The budget table is available at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/news.html
Your input requested
The Department of Transportation has extended to March 7, 2011 the deadline for registering for the public meeting being held to discuss and consider public comments regarding existing DOT regulations. For information about how to register to attend in person, click on this link: Public Meeting. If you can’t attend the meeting but are still interested, you can follow the meeting’s progress via Web streaming and speak by phone. Click on the same Public Meeting link for details. The meeting itself is being held March 14, 2011 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m in Washington, D.C.
