Truck drivers are needed for companies to get back on track

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI)- From product shortages to toilet paper, to automobiles, items this year have not been as plentiful. Now, as products are ready to return to the market, truck companies are looking for people to deliver.

Truck lots are filled with products with limited drivers to push them out. Veteran drivers and managers say they have never seen such a shortage of people behind the wheel, but they are eager for potential drivers to consider life on the road.

Wheels have been turning but not at the rate they should be as truck companies are needing more drivers to get the product off their lots.

“The freight really came back and has not slowed down. We’ve got multiple customers that are calling us daily that want us to do more and more it’s just harder to do for them whenever we have so many trucks that are empty,” said Royal Trucking Company’s safety compliance and risk director Chris Makamson.

Makamson felt there were only two reasons why people weren’t interested in a career in driving at the moment.

“There’s a lot of people that are not deciding to get into this industry and then second of course we’ve got an issue with you know extending unemployment benefits you’ve got the covid pay, the stimulus and other things that have kept people at home instead of getting back out to the workforce,” said Makamson.

Truck parking lots at royal trucking company are full which means that there aren’t enough people to drive, but Makamson said they are offering more incentives to get people in the doors and on the road.

“We’ve increased our advertising we’ve increased some of the incentive pay that we have here the bonuses here at Royal trucking company trying to get people to come back to work,” said Makamson.

At least 10 different truck drivers said they see the same challenge in other states; where some companies are pushing drivers to take on more loads than usual, but at Royal Trucking they believe they have found a way to accommodate their drivers.

“It’s not just long hall trucking anymore I tell them all the time it’s kind of a factory job on wheels. We’ve put in a regional van opportunity so we have a drive and a regional opportunity and those guys typically run around about a 600-mile radius of this terminal here at West Point they’re guaranteed at least two days off a week and depending on where they live they may get more than that,” said Makamson.

Royal Trucking is looking for about 25 drivers; even if people don’t have experience, the company has a training program to get people their CDL’s and ready for the road.