Analyzing Today’s Truck Driver Shortage

If you’ve been struggling to find a job, attending truck driving school and obtaining your commercial driver’s license can considerably improve your prospects. Despite a significant rise in employment for professional truck drivers, the trucking industry is still experiencing a major shortage of qualified drivers. After you complete truck driving school in Portland and obtain your CDL, you will instantly become a highly sought after prospect by trucking and transportation companies around the country. Here’s a look at today’s driver shortage and what that means for truck driver jobs in general.

The Shortage by the Numbers
Last year, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) estimated that the United States is short some 30,000 truck drivers. This number is only expected to grow in the coming years as more and

more truck drivers retire. According to one estimate, the U.S. will need more than 300,000 new drivers by 2020.

Reasons for the Shortage
The financial crisis of 2009 sent shockwaves through the trucking and transportation industry, where many large and small carriers couldn’t obtain the credit needed to invest in capital. This situation forced drivers to look for work elsewhere. A large number of drivers are also retiring and switching to other industries or other positions within the trucking industry.

How to Take Advantage of the Shortage
With an all-time high demand for drivers, now is the perfect opportunity to obtain your commercial driver’s license. At Elite Truck School, we do everything we can to help out students find a great truck driving job in the Portland area. An amazing 96 percent of our graduates have found local and long-haul driving jobs thanks in part to our job placement services and excellent CDL training programs. Call us today at (503) 616-5917 to learn more about our school.