Freightliner wants its Team Run Smart ambassadors to begin talking up trucking careers.
The Daimler Trucks North America (OTCMarkets: DDAIF) division thinks education could get and keep badly needed new drivers.
The average age of a commercial truck driver is 55 years old, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Few young people enter professional driving because of low pay and long periods away from home. The American Trucking Associations predicts the industry could be short 175,000 drivers by 2026.
“We appreciate Freightliner’s willingness to shed a light on career opportunities for professional truck drivers,” said Brent Nussbaum, chief executive of Nussbaum Transportation.
Team Run Smart started in 2012 to give owner-operators a platform for information sharing. It has 60,000 members, said Mike McHorse, Freightliner director of channel marketing.
Existing online community sections include:
- TruckSmart, which covers efficient, safe and profitable truck operations
- BusinessSmart, which offers resources on the business of trucking
- LiveSmart, which focuses on healthy lifestyles on the road and at home
The addition of a CareerSmart section isn’t direct recruiting, said Jimmy Nevarez, owner of Argus Trucking in Chino, California.
In addition to Nevarez, the Team Run Smart pros are:
“We’re not cheerleading for any specific company,” Nevarez told FreightWaves. “CareerSmart is a way to improve the image of trucking as a whole.”
- Henry Albert, an independent trucker from Laredo, Texas
- Clark Reed, a driver for privately held Hudson, Illinois-based Nussbaum
- David Morreau, a driver for Holland Transportation, a Romulus, Michigan-based division of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW)
- Linda and Bob Caffee, who drive for Landstar System Inc. (NASDAQ: LSTR)
The ambassadors attend industry trade shows, like the 40th annual Walcott (Iowa) Truckers Jamboree. The event at the world’s largest truck stop runs from Thursday, July 11 to Saturday, July 13.