Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Reminds Us of Trucking Hard Times

Scores of news stories this week, including this compilation in the Huffington Post, remind us that five years ago, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers sent the US and world economy into a tailspin. How soon we forget. We’re reminded of that truism as we read oodles of stories about the driver shortage. There are normally comments that “there has always been a driver shortage” or “there’s been a driver shortage for as long as I can remember.” Interesting comments, but definitely not true. Note this article in the Wall Street Journal. Cited in the article: 3600 trucking firms went out of business in 2008; 25,000 drivers lost their jobs in one month (January, 2009); recruiting dollars were being pared to a fraction of their former budgets.

At Avatar our opinion is that even today, there are enough drivers to move all goods, necessary and frivolous, but that carriers must seriously compete for those drivers and provide modern, memorable training. The certainty is that business conditions will continue to change and that smart carriers will adapt to the changes as it relates to drivers.