Florida

A nation that has just become aware of how dependent the supply chain is on the men and women driving big rigs is seeing an increase in truck driver compensation across the country as a result of a labor shortage, therefore the current situation with the local and regional trucking jobs in Florida is not great. According to the American Trucking Associations, almost every commodity that is eaten in the U.S. gets loaded into a truck at some point.

A semitruck may cost as much as $35,000 for a used one, according to truck maintenance business Durabak, for drivers who wish to buy their own vehicles. A brand-new semitruck can cost up to $200,000 on the top end.

Logistics support According to HaulHound, a big rig owner should expect to spend over 70% of their annual income on maintenance. That gap might result in a driver making over $183,000 actually taking home $50,000 to $60,000.

The pandemic caused various changes in the transportation sector, notably higher trucker rates during the driver shortage. Regional drivers may expect to make between $727 and $1,081 per week, or $37,840 to $56,249 per year, according to Werner Enterprises. A driver who concentrates on deliveries for a single business can earn between $1,140 and $1,538 weekly, or between $60,000 and $80,000 annually. Depending on how big the firm is and what they are carrying, pay varies from company to company.

The epidemic was especially damaging to smaller, neighborhood trucking operations. 3,140 businesses in all stopped operating. When the epidemic first started, many seasoned drivers retired. During the pandemic, driving schools for truck drivers were also shut down, preventing a possible flood of new drivers.

Insurance is another obstacle to young drivers getting behind the wheel. Commercial drivers under the age of 25 are often refused insurance coverage by insurance providers.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Department of Labor announced a 90-day trucking apprenticeship challenge on December 16 in an effort to increase the number of registered trucking apprenticeships. After 60 days, more than 260 companies and business partners accepted the challenge and committed to increasing apprenticeships.