According to the Q3 2011 Fleet Sentiment Report, a survey of for-hire, private and government fleet operators by CK Commercial Vehicle Research, 40 percent of fleets are affected by a shortage of drivers now and another 25 percent indicate they believe the shortage of good drivers will impact their ability to grow in the future.

Of those reporting an immediate concern, three quarters need drivers to fill current vacant seats, 63 percent say it is limiting their ability to add capacity and 42 percent are changing the way they deploy their fleet such as targeting more regional and local freight opportunities instead of long haul loads.

Chris Kemmer, CKCVR’s founder explained “Freight demand is good among the majority of fleets that report to us, but some could definitely haul more if they could find good drivers.  Even for those that have a full complement of drivers now there is concern that this scarce resource will likely impact their future growth potential.”