Question:
Ok, someone tell me if im wrong or right here. We still have a driver sortage with a very high turnover rate in the industry right? OK, if we do have such a high problem. Why aren't companies trying to get as many people as they can and why are they so picky about applications, besides the driving record of the driver? I'm confused. I see people that were getting paid $6 an hour then get hire by like 5 companies, then a computer guy tries and get turned down? How come???

Answer:
For starters there is not a real driver shortage....at least not like some would like to have you believe. If things were truly as bad as what some reports state then there would be tons of freight all over the place, no driver would ever have to sit and wait for a load assignment, and there would not be any of this 85 or 90 cpm freight aorund because shippers would be offering top dollar to get thier stuff shipped first. (At least that is my theory)
Now then from your comments it sounds like you are having problems finding work. This could be for a lot of different reasons.
Too long out of school.
Went to a poor school that most training companies will not hire from.
You are still employed in a very high paying job and have not yet even started driving school. In this case a trucking company might wonder why you want to leave a job making as much if not more than you could driving and have doubts about how long you would last as a driver.
You have some issues with your driving record.
You are still very young. Until you are 23 or older it is very difficult to find a driving job.
Now maybe your question was hypothetical, I dont know, but these are some of the top reasons why a person may have a hard time finding a driving job.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
Answer:
I'm Not trying to be a "smarty-pants" or anything, BUT....
If you go back & Read Your Own Post, You WILL Find the Answer to your Question.

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hypothetical question? Yes it is. Just wanted to know

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I am considering going to a company spon. school maybe instead of private school. FFE, Millis, Reohl and a few others have them. Once you pass your in. Might be better for me to go this route, but then I dont have a choice in carriers......

Answer:
I think a company sponsored school is most newbies best option. You end up owing nothing if you stay for a certin amount of time. Because you need to get experience some where you might as well stay where you got your training. The first year or so won't be great anywhere you go. You do run the risk of owing the company for school if you quit. But, you run the same risk from a private svhool. Atleast with a company you won't owe the outrageous interrest that school loans charge.
Driver shortage is really a tough question. Many will say there is none and others claim it will only get worse. For sure companies have trucks sitting and most big places loose or give away lots of loads every day. The shortage and turn over rates do seem to be more of a revolving door problem. Ten drivers leave and ten more come in. The ten that leave go to another company and the ten that come in just left one.
Newbies for some companies are just butts to place in a seat. If you do well and stay it's a good thing. If not you made the company some money while they search for another that might stay. Lots of companies don't care what you do. Your just another factor added into the cost of doing business.
There are those few that actually try and control turnover. They are not easy to get on with. They do not accept every graduate from a driving school they can find. They are a little pickier because their turn over is a little less.
I know none of that answers the question why some get hired and some don't. Unless a person actually knows all the circumstances involved you will never know why. Lots of people come here to TN and say a company screwed them or turned them down. Few actually tell you the whole truth as to why. It's easier to blame it all on the company than it is to accept any responsibilty.
"Caution: Door May Open"

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My vote would be for either Millis or Roehl.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
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Don't go to company school. If you don't like driving for them you have the freedom to move on to another company.

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Don't go to company school. If you don't like driving for them you have the freedom to move on to another company.
If you leave a company with less than 1 year of experience the next company you go to work for will classify you as a student driver and you will have to go through their orientation program i.e.: ride with a trainer for 4 - 6 weeks making $300 a week.
Do a search on Peacekeeper he had an interesting post on the set backs of frequently jumping from job to job.
Stay safe.
John Q.
Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be President, but they don't want them to become politicians in the process.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) "If men were angels...No government would be necessary."
51st Federalist Papers
"Nichols' Fourth Law says, "Avoid any action with an unacceptable outcome"

Answer:
There is no driver shortage. It's a ploy to push people through driver schools and keep fresh meat on the lines at the companies, so they can get perpetual cheap labor. It's all a racket.
Oink! Oink! Oink! Grunt! Grunt!
Answer:
""I see people that were getting paid $6 an hour then get hire by like 5 companies, then a computer guy tries and get turned down? How come???""
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$6.00 an hour bubba
wow I'm rich,never seen that much in one check before in my life,I love swift.
computer geek
wow is this all for all them hours?
$6.00 an hour bubba
Sure are a lot of regulations in this little book,I ain't got to read the whole thing do I?No driver it's just for referance if you need it or just ask your dispatcher.
computer geek
Excuse me, according to page 348 section 395.8 thats against the law.
Alexandria, VA, June 8, 2003 - Robert Hirsch, president of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) today expressed disappointment that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rejected a pilot program aimed at the trucking industry's critical and growing driver shortage.
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Answer:
Shortage,of what??
If there was a driver shortage,there would be a goods shortage,empty shelves,factories sending people home because of shortages of supplies.
GM and Wal-Mart would have handfulls of work visa's for foreign drivers in an hour.
Alexandria, VA, June 8, 2003 - Robert Hirsch, president of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) today expressed disappointment that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rejected a pilot program aimed at the trucking industry's critical and growing driver shortage.
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Answer:
There IS a driver shortage, but it is not of serious concern for a few reasons. For several years we have been hearing about this. Here are the facts:
1. Many trucking companies anticipate the retiring of drivers who are over 50 years of age or are classified as part of the "baby-boom" generation. This group is beginning to retire now and many more will retire from their jobs within the next ten years. This is a concern for all industries, and trucking is no exception.
2. Trucking company turnover, especially in OTR, is very high. Driving as a career is not what people think it is. With annual turnover at most OTR companies at 85-95% per year, they have to constantly hire drivers, so this contributes to another anticipated shortage, just to replace the drivers who are constantly quitting or being fired.
3. With lower wages paid to drivers in comparison to in the past, lower union membership, and stricter qualifications for drivers, there are fewer new drivers. There is more freight to be hauled than ever before, so companies have to compete for the qualified applicants out there.
4. Just-in-time freight is now greater than ever, with less warehousing and more reliance on trucks to bring products just as they are needed. The growth of time-sensitive freight in many industries has continues to create openings for more drivers.
Who sets the rules for who gets hired and the strict hiring requirements? Insurance companies. They dictate everything. The trucking company may want to hire anyone able to maintain a pulse, but the insurance companies require certain driving experience, a clean record, a DOT physical, approved training program, etc...
In your situation, coming from a high paying job has nothing to do with real qualifications for driving. Most companies want someone from an approved driving school, with a clean driving and arrest record, able to pass DOT physical and drug test, and with a stable employment record. This means they don't want someone with 10 different jobs in the last six months. It does not matter how much previous jobs paid. However, they may question you in person to try to get a sense if you are really committed to driving a truck, and if you have thought this through. They want someone who will get through at least one year with the company.

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I think a company sponsored school is most newbies best option. You end up owing nothing if you stay for a certin amount of time
My opinion is, it is better to go to a vocational school, pay out your own pocket, and go with a company that has tuition reimbursement, that way if you do not stay with the company, you will have been reimbursed some, and most vocational school cost less than 2 grand. If you go to a company school and do not stay, you could end up owing them as much as 4-6 grand depending how much they charge..
It seems to be a fact that only a small percentage of newies actaullt stay with the company that trains them, most newbies quit soon after and end up owing a small fortune to a company sponsored school..
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http://www.hlatty.com/FSL5CS/Articles/articles4.asp


Answer:
The only shortage is drivers willing to stay in the industry.
The pay just isn't enough to justify the total life commitment of living on the road. So the companies have to hire over and over again just to get the few (like me) who'll stick around.
As for qualifications -- the carriers can't lower standards on driving rcords (etc) to fill seats. There's too much expensive liability if they hire a poorly "qualified" driver who messes-up big time.
It killed "Simon". They hired a guy with a history of mental health problems, and he ran his truck into California's capitol building. The huge lawsuit that followed, and a certain defeat in court, made the company worthless.
The industry is stuck between a rock and a hard place: They can't afford to pay the wages they know would improve driver retention, and still remain competative in the marketplace. So they keep cycling through untold newbies, looking for the very few who will stick with the industry for a while.
There is no significent "growth" in the industry right now, and no loads are going undelivered bcause of a lack of qualified drivers. Any load that creates some profit for the carrier is moving just fine. The problem is replacing the huge number of drivers - mostly newbies - constantly leaving the industry. The total number of drivers in the industry (unlike the '80s and 90's) have stayed relatively constant the last few years due to a lack of growth in the overall economy..