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Jul 31, 2012 12:42 PM

With more attention being paid to the looming shortage of qualified truck drivers, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has released a comprehensive report aimed at helping fleets recruit and retain these skilled professionals.

Conducted by ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello, the Benchmarking Guide for Driver Recruitment and Retention is a 92-page report containing data and anecdotal information based on interviews with more than 50 fleets, which have 130,000-plus trucks and oversee more than 155,000 drivers and contractors.

“We found more and more carriers are considering hiring inexperienced drivers and are turning to truck driver training schools to help them place those drivers,” Costello says. “Demand for new, inexperienced drivers is likely to increase at a faster pace than in the past. Fifty-six percent of truckload fleets we spoke with said that while they currently do not hire inexperienced drivers, they are considering hiring these drivers.”

The report also found that half of respondents that had their own truck driver training school and closed it in recent years said they would consider reopening the school if they can’t get enough new drivers from their school partners. However, they all said this would be a last resort and that they would prefer not to reopen their schools.

With data comprehensively broken down by carrier type, this guide provides a unique view on the current state of how fleets of all types are dealing with the driver market and touches subjects like driver profiles, driver hiring and recruiting practices and truck driver training school usage.

The Benchmarking Guide for Driver Recruitment and Retention can be purchased as a downloadable PDF or book through ATA Business Solutions by clicking http://www.atabusinesssolutions.com/ATA/ATAProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=1193151 or by calling 1-866-821-3468.