Driving towards a trucker shortage.

AuthorMyers, Ella
PositionTRANSPORTATION

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Canada's trucking industry is speeding towards a driver shortage more rapidly than previously thought. The shortage is already being felt in Northern Ontario, and industry groups are working to combat the shortage, pressuring government for support.

A June study by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) called Understanding the Truck Driver Supply and Demand Gap suggested that there will be a shortage of 34,000 drivers by 2024. A study in 2011 had predicted a shortage of only 33,000 in 2020.

The Ontario Trucking Association's (OTA) president, David Bradley, said the shortage will hit Northern Ontario especially hard.

"Northern Ontario is almost entirely dependent on trucking for any of the consumer goods, for business inputs into the production processes, and also for shipping," said Bradley. "Given that high level of dependence on trucking, it's important to the Northern Ontario economy that we have enough truck drivers to service the need."

Bradley said the type of trucking being done in the North--long distances over two-lane highways--is also the kind that appeals least to drivers.

"The kinds of truck traffic that moves in Northern Ontario, a lot of it falls into the full truckload marketplace where distances are great," said Bradley. "The shortage is felt most acutely in the full truckload, long distance workplace." Bradley said that making the industry more appealing to new drivers is one of their biggest challenges.

The shortage is largely due to what the report is calling a "demographic cliff." Older drivers are retiring, and there don't seem to be young people stepping up to take their places.

"We've been facing this for the last five or six years," said John McKevitt, vice-president of operations at McKevitt Trucking, based out of Thunder Bay. "The drivers are getting older, more are retiring and there are not enough young people."

Recruiting younger drivers is at the forefront of the industry's strategy to combat the shortage. One way this is happening is through Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT), introduced by Ontario in June, and coming into effect July 2017. At that point, drivers who wish to obtain a Class A licence will have to complete MELT.

"Now in Ontario you can basically walk...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT