ROANOKE, W.Va. — Representatives from around 35 companies involved in the state’s trucking industry gathered at Stonewall Wednesday to discuss the issues they face in the business.
Those attending the West Virginia Trucking Association‘s Annual Convention received a crash course on what they will need to know in the upcoming year.
“What we try to do is put together one day of education for our members,” said Janet Vineyard, president of the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association, which represents the trucking association. “We’re trying to cover everything from driver training, to driver shortage, to federal laws, regulations, legal implications that you might have so you can do a better job. So, this is our day of refresh and retraining.”
In the Mountain State, 1 in every 16 jobs is related to the trucking industry —with an average wage of $38,456— which is responsible for transporting 67 percent of total manufactured tonnage in the state.
To provide a snapshot of what the industry’s outlook nationwide, organizers brought in Pat Thomas, Vice President of Global Public Affairs for UPS who will take the position of Chairman of the American Trucking Associations in less than a month.
He said one of the biggest challenges that will need to be addressed is the deteriorating quality of roads in the United States.
“We put these thing off and put them off and we’re at a stage now where we just can’t do it any longer and we’re going to start to feel the real, negative consequences of not investing in the infrastructure in this country.”
Thomas encouraged individuals to call on congress to pass a long-term Highway Bill that will finance road improvements through methods more sustainable than pothole patching.
Another major issue facing the industry brought up by the incoming ATA Chair was a declining driver workforce.
To remedy the increase in empty positions, Thomas proposed industry leaders make a point to recruit individuals not typically thought of as drivers, especially women.
“We’ve got a tremendous resource available to us,” he said. “There is not a thing in the world that keeps a woman from doing this job.”
Another demographic Thomas said can be reached with the help of lawmakers is young adults aged 18-21.
Currently, those in that age group can drive equipment on intrastate trips, but are not legally allowed to make interstate trips.
The ATA is hoping to get permission from legislators to begin a pilot program that will allow for interstate travel and get younger people involved in the industry as soon as possible.
Thomas also encouraged his colleagues to look at veterans who are seeking jobs to fill many different roles they may have open.
“They have honed in their military service where it’s a very easy transition into what we do,” he said. “Even if they don’t, we know that they’re good employees, capable of passing a background check, people that show up to work everyday.”
As part of this push, the ATA has established the “Hiring Our Heroes” campaign as a Trucking Track Mentoring Program.
In West Virginia, driver numbers are down as well.
While the WVTA works with veterans groups to recruit those individuals, the organization has also partnered with another state agency to get those who lost their coal job into a new business.
“It’s anything in the trucking industry: dispatchers, building clerks, tariff clerks,” Vineyard said. “We have worked with WorkForce West Virginia. Right now, they have grants where they’re educating misplaced miners and their families. So, those grants will allow you to get a CDL license.”
On October 5, they will launch truckingjobswv.com where trucking companies can all put their available positions online and look over potential candidates.