The American Trucking Associations in cooperation with the Truckload Carriers Association has unveiled an initiative designed to provide financial assistance to men and women who wish to attend truck driver training schools,
as part of ongoing efforts to reduce the nation's shortage of long-haul truck drivers.
Known as the ATA/TCA Company Driver Tuition Finance Program, the plan partners motor carriers and lending institutions to provide low-interest financing to those who wish to attend a driver training school but otherwise might not be able to afford it.
"With such a critical driver shortage facing the industry, now, more than ever, trucking is consistently looking toward recruiting and retaining a pool of experienced workers," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "We're leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to find new drivers, and this program allows us to reach out to those who want to become drivers but who, without some sort of assistance, might not be able to enter the profession."
Under the program, motor carriers partner with a financial institution to obtain a low-interest line of credit on behalf of a student who has been qualified for admission by a truck driver training school. The motor carrier guarantees the student loan in exchange for his or her commitment to work for the motor carrier upon graduation.
The ATA/TCA Company Driver Tuition Finance Program is modeled after a financing program successfully piloted by Ray Kuntz, ATA Vice Chairman and Watkins Shepard Trucking CEO, as a means of addressing the company's shortage of long-haul truck drivers. Truck driver training schools annually turn away hundreds of eligible driver candidates due to lack of funding or an inability to obtain loans, he said.
The long-haul, heavy-duty truck transportation industry in the United States currently is experiencing a national shortage of 20,000 truck drivers. That shortage of long-haul truck drivers could increase to 111,000 by 2014 if current demographic trends stay their course and if the overall labor force continues to grow at a slower pace.
The driver shortage comes as the trucking industry is hauling more freight than ever. And, total annual tonnage hauled by truck is expected to increase to 13 billion tons by 2016 from 9.8 billion tons in 2004. In efforts to build up its current driver corps and to meet future needs, the motor carrier industry aggressively is recruiting new drivers.
For a copy of the ATA/TCA Company Driver Tuition Finance Program brochure, contact Christina Cullinan at ccullinan@trucking.org.