Hard times have many turning to trucking

A trucking instructor watches as a student backs a trailer into a parking spot at Western Truck Driving School in Stockton on Tuesday. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Hard times have many turning to trucking

By Marc Lutz
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Monday, March 9, 2009 6:19 AM PDT

Comments (5 comment(s))

Doug Prudek, of Galt, worked in the restaurant industry for 25 years. As the economy began to crumble, so did his career. A string of unsteady jobs led Prudek to an unlikely decision.

Prudek — like many others who watched their jobs dissolve — would become a truck driver.

"This is an industry where there is always a demand," said Bob Schauer, the Vice President of Operations of Western Pacific Truck School in Stockton. Which is exactly why Prudek and his classmates at the school have chosen to get their class A commercial driver's license: a stable income. Every week, an estimated 12 to 15 new students enroll at the school, averaging around 800 graduates a year. And, last year the DMV processed 66,419 new commercial licenses.

Tests are scheduled with the DMV 30 days in advance, since the waiting list for the area's three closest testing centers average 27 days long.

Just a few years back, ads for trucking companies littered classified pages begging drivers to apply with them. The demand for truckers (based on the amount of tonnage in products being hauled) was tipping the scales.

From 2006 to 2008, the amount of working truckers went from 2.6 million to 3.5 million.

Companies like Schneider International, a worldwild shipping firm, were hiring both experienced and inexperienced drivers and owner-operators. There was a shortage of quality drivers.

Do you qualify to be a trucker?

Beyond the snazzy ball cap bought at a truck stop, those seeking to become a licensed truck driver need to meet the Department of Transportation's qualifications.

You must be 18 years of age or older within state lines, and 21 and older for interstate travel (though most companies require you to be 25 and up for insurance purposes).

You must be physically fit:

You must have all your hands and feet.

You cannot have diabetes (though some exceptions are made).

You cannot be diagnosed with any cardio-vascular diseases

You cannot have any respiratory dysfunction

You cannot have high blood pressure

You cannot have any disease which inhibits your ability to control a motor vehicle, like arthritis

You cannot have epilepsy

You cannot have any psychiatric disorders that interfere with your ability to drive

You must have at least 20/40 vision with or without corrective lenses

You must be able to hear a forced whisper at no less than five feet

You cannot have an addiction or use an illegal substance

You must have a clean driving record

You cannot have a criminal record

You must be able to speak, read and write the English language well enough to complete basic duties

You must have valid identification and a Social Security number

Source: Western Pacific Truck School

Does your local DMV offer commercial license testing?

In order to offer commercial truck license testing, a DMV office needs to pass a test itself. According Jan Mendoza, the DMV's Public Information Officer, an office needs to be spacious enough to allow for a big rig to fit in its parking lot. The surrounding roads need to meet the weight capacity requirements for trucks and there has to be a sufficient route in the neighborhood that would allow for a driving test.

Lodi: No
Stockton: Yes
Manteca: No
Tracy: No
Turlock: No
Modesto: Yes
South Sacramento: No
Sacramento: No
West Sacramento: Yes
Davis: No
Fairfield: No
Vacaville: No
Woodland: No

Source: Department of Motor Vehicles

When the recession hit, slackening demand impacted almost every industry, which in turn drove down the need for truckers.

"Our tonnage rate dropped 11.1 percent in December (of last year)," said Clayton Boyce, the Vice President of Public Affairs for the American Trucking Association. "Right now that ... number is at its lowest point since Dec. 2000." The drop in tonnage was the third largest single-month drop since 1973 when the ATA began collecting specific data.

According to Boyce, in 2008 the recession and the cost of diesel fuel led to 3,065 bankruptcies of trucking companies with five or more trucks across the nation.

"We're down just like everybody, but we're still managing," said Joe Giammona, owner of JSG Trucking in Acampo. Giammona's company runs about 30 trucks, and they service the construction and agriculture industries. Though business isn't overflowing for JSG, Giammona says they have hired new drivers that came from different career backgrounds.

"We've had some relatively new guys that we've trained from other industries that have been excellent," Giammona said. He said that those that manage to stay on do quite well as truckers. However, he did offer this caveat: "It is hard work. It isn't just driving. The guy (will be) tarping, chaining, tying down. You've got odd hours and it's pretty physical," Giammona said.

Standards for the trucking industry have changed as well.

Many companies that paid substanstially higher wages — upwards of $50,000 a year — did so because their drivers were in it for the long haul, literally. Cross country trips required the truckers to pay for expenses such as food and lodging.

Schauer said many companies are now switching to regional hauling, allowing drivers to be home at night with their families. They've become, as Schauer said, "trucker-friendly."

JSG Trucking pays their drivers between $35,000 and $45,000 a year, since they don't have the over-the-road expenses, and, "the advantage our guys have is that they're home every night," Giammona said.

But, he continued, there are still companies that have long haul opportunties for those who still want that lifestyle.

As the agricultural industry starts the harvesting season, drivers will be needed, Schauer said. Prudek and other students like Mark Frederiksen, of Stockton, who comes from a 20-year background in construction, will possibly be competing with more experienced drivers in the workforce.

Employers such as JSG, Werner Trucking, Gordon Trucking Inc. and System TWT sometimes recruit directly from trucking schools, and Giammona has hired drivers fresh from Western Pacific Trucking because, he says, of the quality of education they provide.

Though it's not necessary to take a course through a place such as Western Pacific (which requires a combined 160 hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel training) in order to pass the DMV test, many employers look for that schooling in inexperienced drivers.

With the current recession expected to last well into 2010, is it a good time to be pursuing a class A license and a career as a professional trucker?

"There certainly isn't the shortage there was," Boyce said. "But the economy will recover, and, even before that, tonnage will pick up and then demand will increase." Those that are receiving the training now, Boyce said, are in a better position to fill that shortage that is sure to come. However, he said there's no way to tell when that would be.

"I just want something permanent," Prudek said.

Contact Business Editor Marc Lutz at marcl@lodinews.com

Reader Feedback

rosemary wrote on Mar 12, 2009 3:31 PM:

" Are you kidding me and the general public? I have been in recruitment for transportation for over ten years. WPTS needs to stop misleading their students. Most all companies today require a minimum of two years experience to be placed in a job. The ones who hire students are now having insurance issues where they are being changed to two or three years experience. Untrained drivers are being sent to 11 western states without the necessary experience! I welcome a conversation with WPTS and anyone else in the trucking field!!!! Hiring is difficult - placement is even harder. "

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ameriCAN wrote on Mar 9, 2009 9:29 PM:

" I loved those smokey and the bandit movies. The good truckers make more than 50k a year. Its the others that run around giving it a bad name. "

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mike wrote on Mar 9, 2009 8:39 PM:

" buck and boonablis: If you ate today, chances are that food you put in your mouth was handled by a trucker. And chances are it was just some hardworking driver just earning a living.

In your cases, I hope it was a non showering, non hand washing after the toilet, tweaking, pissing on that load of tomatoes kind of guy. "

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buck wrote on Mar 9, 2009 7:02 PM:

" "You must be able to speak read and write the English language" Dont make me laugh....In the last ten years there has been more none english speaking drivers put on the road by all DMV's. They do not understand road sign's common courtesy, or when to take a SHOWER... "

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boonablis wrote on Mar 9, 2009 5:42 PM:

" I am not a trucker, but if anyone knows one I am looking to score some great tweak "

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