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Posts Tagged ‘American’
30% Wage Bill Increase Expected by 2014 to Accommodate Driver Shortage
Thursday, August 25th, 201130% Wage Bill Increase Expected by 2014 to Accommodate Driver Shortage
Thursday, August 25th, 2011As an increase in driver shortage continues to build, trucking companies are expected to pay their employees higher wages to account for capacity shortages.
According to FTR Associates’ Noel Perry, carriers are predicted to pay 30% more in wages by the year 2014 in order to gain and maintain drivers, topping the last recovery which led to a 21% increase.
With the total number of unemployed Americans exceeding 9%, trucking companies are still experiencing a shortage of drivers, that which is expected to hit 200,000 by next year and increasing to nearly 2 million by 2018 due to retiring drivers and new safety regulations such as CSA 2010 and the hours of service proposal that would limit a driver’s allowed time from 11 to 10 hours.
Trucking companies are forced to compete with others who looking to hire more drivers to account for this time loss, while drivers are looking for employment with the company offering the best pay/benefits, equipment, and work environment like Road Scholar Transport does.
But as Sterne Agee & Leach Inc.’s Jeff Kauffman explains, “The truck driver population is growing at less than 1 percent a year” while “freight’s growing at closer to 4 percent” (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/08/25/bloomberg1376-LQ4L8K1A74E901-44NT51N4UHGL0287BFV99PJ3GF.DTL). This demonstrates the point that has been trying to be made for months now…there are not enough drivers to transport the increasing freight demand.
Due to a lack in qualified drivers, rising wages to sustain these drivers, equipment costs being up 20%, and surging diesel fuel costs that rose 30% a gallon this year when compared to last, it comes as no surprise that capacity shortages would lead to higher shipping costs, which trickle down to higher prices for consumers.
At the same time, the revenue per mile for van shipments (minus the fuel surcharge) increased to $1.55 (13%) since the 2009 recession, the San Francisco Chronicle notes.
On the bright side, increasing cargo demand also shows a recovery in the freight industry, the site notes.
If you’re a qualified driver looking for a rewarding career in the trucking industry, then apply today at http://www.roadscholar.com/employment.php. Just look at all the benefits a career at Road Scholar Transport offers:
-Excellent Pay
-Benefits
-Full-time employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package
-Flexibility
-…in work schedules (Full-time and Part-time positions available)
-Home time!
-Great Work Environment
-An operations team that is friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable
-No discrimination
-Excellent equipment (We’ve never been cited for a piece of faulty equipment in an accident!)
-The ability to see new places/sights and meet new people
-Make a difference: Road Scholar Transport created the 10 Million Miles to a Cure Awareness Campaign, dedicating several trucks to charities such as Autism Speaks, Prostate Cancer Awareness, and the Children’s Craniofacial Foundation to help spread awareness and fight for a cure.
Don’t wait. Apply today!
What are your predictions regarding the driver shortage and the extent of it? State your comments/suggestions below.
FOLFIRINOX Found to Prolong Life of Pancreatic Cancer Patients
Friday, May 13th, 2011Known to be the fourth largest cancer-related death, researchers are struggling to find new methods to improve the survival of pancreatic cancer patients, in which only 6% live five years or more after diagnosis. But with a recent discovery, researchers are finding promising hope that the life of patients can be prolonged.
Researchers studied 342 patients who were aged 76 years and younger, giving half of them the pancreatic cancer drug Gemzar, while treating the other half with a mixture of drugs called FOLFIRINOX, which contained the medications oxaliplatin, irinotecan, leucovorin and fluorouracil.
Results found that those who took the four-drug combo had a 60% better survival rate on average than those not on the drug, an article in Medical News Today notes.
According to the study, those who received the drug Gemzar lived an average of 6.8 months with 66% of them feeling a “decline in the quality of their life.” Those taking FOLFIRINOX, however, lived nearly double the amount of time, averaging 11.1 months with the quality of their life not as affected-only 31% felt a decline (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/225130.php).
So what’s the catch?
With more drugs making up FOLFIRINOX, there were reports of greater side effects, but considered a low price to pay for a longer life.
Road Scholar Transport is continually pushing towards a better and extended life for pancreatic cancer patients. That’s why we are rolling towards a cure with our Pancreatic Cancer Action Network awareness tractor trailer, spreading awareness of the disease across the nation.
You can help too. Just go to www.roadscholar.com to get an LTL or truckload rate and then schedule a pickup so we can continue to keep the truck moving. And don’t forget to refer us to your friends so the Pancreatic Cancer truck can pull up to their dock as well!
Here’s a few facts about pancreatic cancer provided by http://www.pancreatic.org:
-43,140 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with more than 36,800 passing away from the disease.
-“Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. 94% of pancreatic cancer patients will die within five years of diagnosis – only 6% will survive more than five years. 75% of patients die within the first year of diagnosis.”
-“The average life expectancy after diagnosis with metastatic disease is just three to six months.”
Take action and go to www.roadscholar.com today.
Mexican Cross-Border Program Could Be Up and Running Within Months
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011According to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the proposed program which would remove barriers on U.S. exports 
by allowing Mexican carriers access to U.S. roadways could be in effect within four to six months.
In a speech yesterday, Kirk noted that “the U.S. would like to sit down and begin negotiations with Mexico in the next week.” (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576074283804970202.html).
The proposal came after disputes resulting from the termination of the pilot program in 2009, which led to Mexico retaliating through the installation of tariffs on American goods.
The “rotating list of 99 U.S. products in 2009” include “pork, ketchup, and wine” (all goods in which Road Scholar Transport has the capability to safely transport), resulting in over $2 billion a year in tariff costs (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9KLQBMO1.htm)
According to businessweek.com, Mexico has agreed to “stop rotating the products being taxed” but refuse to remove the tariffs all together.
