Ohio’s unemployment is at 5.3 percent, and some noted economists say the country is in a recession, but the demand for more drivers of semi-trucks remains high.
In Ohio, the hiring is swift, said local recruiters.
“If you want to be working, truck driving is still a great job,” said Mike Moscinski, vice president of TrainCo. Inc., a driving school with an office in Perrysburg. “You can support your family, pay your bills, and have some extra [money].”
On average, drivers are paid $35,000 their first year, $40,000 to $50,000 a year within two years, and can increase to $80,000, several experts said.
Motor Carrier Services Inc. in Northwood, which recruits 25 drivers annually, is seeking two. It operates 100 trucks and requires two years’ commercial driving experience.
In Findlay, Garner Transportation Group is recruiting five to six drivers. It operates 90 trucks.
“We’re extremely busy in terms of freight and recruiting,” said Tim Chrulski, a recruiter with the company. “This is an industry that will never go away.”
In Perrysburg, Falcon Transport Co. is hiring 10 to 15 drivers.
Overall, the trucking industry is divided on the economy’s affects. Some argue that the industry is in a slump, others call that nonsense.
The Toledo Trucking Association said trucking is increasing because of imports, but national organizations contend the in-dustry is hurting.
“Freight is in a bit of a slump,” said Clayton Boyce, an executive at the American Trucking Association, representing 3,700 fleets.
“There has been a downturn since 2007 in the amount of freight available for hauling.”
Still, drivers are in short supply, said Mr. Moscinski and others. “It’s a great time to get into the business,” he said.
By 2016, the number of truck-driving jobs will increase by 258,000, according to projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects.
More than 110,000 driving jobs are available nationally now, the American Truck Driving Association said.
Several local driving schools are poised to help.
TrainCo. Truck Driving School offers programs each month - a four-week day class, five-week night class, and 14-week weekend class.
The cost is $3,400 to $4,000 for 140 hours of instruction.
Owens Community College in Perrysburg Township has a two-week intensive program that costs $3,400 and includes 40 hours of classroom and 40 hours of driving instruction.
School instructors warn, however, the field is not for everyone.
“The lifestyle of a truck driver is very difficult,” said Mr. Moscinski of TrainCo. “If you take people that have punched a job 9 to 5 in a factory, and now they’re gone two weeks at a time and away from their family, people get into it and say ‘Not for me!’•”
Long-haul drivers can be on the road for two days, a week, or several weeks at a time.
Some drivers, however, are attracted by the lifestyle, said Mr. Boyce, of the national trade group.
“Some people love that job, and they tend to be people who don’t have children,” he said. “A new trend is to have married couples or retired men and women take jobs as long-haul drivers and get out to see the country.”
Because long-haul driving is so difficult, the employee turnover rate is exceedingly high, 80 percent and and above.
As a result, the industry is constantly looking for new drivers.
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May 8th, 2008
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May 5th, 2008
Catalytic converters have been stolen off at least seven trucks in Tigard in the past two weeks, police said Monday.
Investigators said it’s a crime fueled by drug users who need quick cash, but the victims are left with a big bill to replace the car parts.
Phillip Gram is one of seven Toyota truck owners who found their catalytic converters missing. He said his Toyota Tacoma was an easy target for the thief.
“It’s got a lot of ground clearance and they’re able to get under there really fast,” Gram said.
Police departments in Oregon said thieves take converters because they contain precious metals, like platinum, that can be sold for quick cash.
It’s an expensive crime for the victims. Gram said he has to pay $700 to replace his catalytic converter.
He hopes other truck owners take note, regardless of where they live.
“If you have a Toyota parked in a safe neighborhood, putting your truck in the garage would probably be the best idea,” he said.
May 2nd, 2008
Sales of new vehicles in Japan slumped to the lowest level in 33 years in the year ended March 31 as higher gasoline prices turned off prospective buyers, according to data released by an industry group on Tuesday.
It was the fifth straight year of decline.
Sales of new cars, trucks and buses, excluding minivehicles, fell 4.5 percent to 3.43 million units, the lowest since the year to March 1975 when sales stood at 3.34 million, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.
Car sales dropped 2.1 percent to 2.96 million, down for the fourth straight year, while sales of buses declined 10.1 percent to 15,315 and truck sales dropped 17.7 percent to 446,669 units.
Sales of trucks and buses were down for the second consecutive year.
Sales fell despite aggressive efforts by Japanese automakers to launch new models.
Toyota Motor Corp. launched 12 new models in the last 12 months, while Honda Motor Co. released its fully remodelled Fit compact car, one of its best-selling models, and the luxury sedan Inspire. Nissan Motor Co. put five models including Skyline Coupe and its flagship GT-R sports car.
Separately, the Japan Minivehicle Association reported that domestic sales of new minivehicles fell 6.8 percent to 1.89 million units, the first drop in five years.
In March alone, new vehicle sales fell 3.3 percent to 471,755 vehicles, the first decline in three months.
Sales of minivehicles, with engine displacement of less than 660cc, were down 7.5 percent to 258,827 units last month, the 12th straight monthly fall.
Honda, Nissan sales up
In March, eight of the 12 Japanese automakers posted lower sales.
Sales of standard size cars by the country’s largest automaker, Toyota, fell 5.9 percent to 199,170, the fourth straight monthly drop, while sales of its high-end Lexus models dropped 17.9 percent to 3,286.
Sales by second-ranked Honda, excluding sales of minivehicles, rose 8.5 percent to 59,938, the fifth straight monthly rise.
Sales by the third-largest, Nissan, increased 2.0 percent to 89,176 vehicles, the third straight monthly rise.
Sales by the fifth-largest automaker, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., fell 13.8 percent to 12,017 units, the second straight monthly fall.
Mazda Motor Corp.’s sales dipped 2.8 percent to 27,028 vehicles, the first fall in four months.
Sales by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., which makes Subaru cars, rose 6.0 percent to 14,476 vehicles, the third straight monthly rise.
Sales of standard-size vehicles by Suzuki Motor Corp. — which now focuses on this segment rather than minivehicles where it used to be the leading maker — rose 2.4 percent to 12,257.
Domestic sales of trucks continued to decline because of slowing demand for replacements to comply with tighter emission rules for metropolitan Tokyo which took effect in 2003.
Sales by Japan’s largest truck maker, Isuzu Motors Ltd., fell 12.2 percent to 9,743.
Sales by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., which is owned by DaimlerChrysler AG., fell 26.6 percent to 4,808.
Sales by Nissan Diesel Motor Co., controlled by AB Volvo, dropped 27.6 percent to 2,208.
Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors Ltd.’s sales fell 13.6 percent to 7,069.
In the minivehicle sector, sales at Daihatsu Motor Co. dipped 4.6 percent to 82,642, giving it the biggest market share of 33.1 percent, while sales at Suzuki Motor dropped 1.6 percent to 79,522, or 31.2 percent of the market.
April 8th, 2008
THEY USED TO BE THE great American breadbasket: trucks and SUVs like Durango, and Explorer kept sales strong at automakers when gas was cheap. Now those vehicles are dragging sales down as consumers favor gas-squeamish crossovers and compacts.
Ford says its 17% retail decline last month was “concentrated among truck and sport utility vehicles.” The same was true at Dodge, GM, Toyota and others.
“This is a very challenging external environment, reflecting a seismic shift in consumer preferences,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s group VP/marketing and communications, in something of an understatement. “These conditions will likely persist in the near future. At Ford, we remain focused on executing our plan, which includes being profitable at lower volume and changed mix.”
If there was a winner last month, it was Honda, which drove overall combined Honda/Acura sales up 4.2% because of strong take for Accord, Civic and Fit. The company’s car sales saw an 11.1% lift. Standouts were sippers: Fit, up 73.8%, Civic, up 18.6%, and Civic Hybrid up 44.3%. The Acura Division posted total vehicle sales of 13,288, down 15.8%.
Hyundai also posted positive sales, with an increase of 2% driven by the new crossover, Veracruz.
While General Motors saw Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Saturn car sales up last month and strong sales as well for its mid-crossover utility vehicles, overall sales–down 13%–were hauled south by soft truck and truck-based SUV sales. Chevrolet car sales were up 6% last month, but overall car sales for GM were down 5.9%. The Detroit automaker’s truck sales were off 14.8%.
Total Ford Motor Company sales–which includes Jaguar, Land Rover (soon to be spun off to Indian industrial firm Tata), and Volvo–totaled 227,143, down 14%.
Chrysler saw sales decline 19% to 166,386 versus the month last year, due to slumping sales of vehicles like the Dodge Ram, and Dakota SUV.
Jim Press, vice chairman and president, said in a release that the contrary market is driving consumers to Jeep Patriot, the new Dodge Journey, Avenger and Sebring. “Chrysler’s strategy to right-size our operations, increase fuel efficiency and reduce daily rental fleet sales will help us get through this period,” he said.
Those vehicles were the only ones in the Chrysler lineup that had positive sales last month. The Journey, a new nameplate, accounted for 2,640 sales.
Ford touted its Focus car as a bright spot, saying sales of the car were up 36% last month and 35% in the first quarter. The company also said sales of the Edge SUV were up 35% last month and 52% in the quarter. Overall sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products were down 14% last month, with retail sales down 17% with the decline due to softer sales of SUVs and trucks.
Toyota overall sales were off 3.4% last month, with Toyota divisional sales down last month by 2.9% and Lexus sales off 6.9%. The company says its light truck sales–for its eponymous division–were down 8.8%, while Lexus light-truck sales were up a percent. Toyota says its total light truck sales were off 4% last month.
Nissan said overall sales were up 3.6% for the month, with the Nissan brand up 3.1% because of strong sales of the Altima sedan, Rogue crossover and Versa subcompact, and Infiniti sales up 7.3% because of cars like the G35 and G37.
But, like others, the company was dragged down by negative sales of Frontier, Titan, Xterra, Pathfinder and Armada SUVs–for which sales were down 28.7%, 44.9%, 40.7%, 29.6%, and 43.2%, respectively. Nissan divisional car sales were up 4.9%, while truck sales were down 32.6%
April 8th, 2008
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