Running in parallel with a trucking industry that’s on fire, the automotive industry is posting record gains. Now on track for its fifth year of growth, and in an odd twist of events, the automotive industry is putting a strain on trucking. Why so, you may ask. Consider the haulers, we would reply.
Although most in the car hauler business would tell you a roaring automotive industry is good for car haulers, the trucking employment squeeze is throwing a wrench into this assertion. The fact is, car haulers are still recovering from the aftereffects of the recession. Combine that with increased regulatory burden, and you’ve got an industry not prepared for the demand.
Good Numbers, Bad Numbers
For only the second time ever, new vehicle sales in the United States rose for a fifth straight year. The new number is a staggering 16.5 million units.
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Over the next several years that number is expected to explode to somewhere between 17 and 20 million units. Used vehicle sales in 2014 topped a record 42 million units. When combined, new and used vehicles sales came in just shy of the all-time high of 59 million units.
When viewed at through the lens of a healing industry, it becomes apparent just how daunting the recession’s after effects really are. There has been a huge backslide in rail capacity while at the same time numerous small players have vanished from the market.
But the industry’s problems don’t stop at driver shortages and decreased capacity. In an evolving marketplace, the demand for complex services has skyrocketed. When combined with increased service demands, the industry is facing a crisis on multiple fronts.
The Driver Shortage: Car Hauler Style
Considering the car hauling business is a subsect of trucking itself, it should be no surprise that there is a dire shortage of these workers. While the rail industry has been constrained by the number of cars it can manufacture, trucking has the number of vehicles it needs, just not the drivers, and the same holds true on the car hauling side.
Driving car haulers does take an extra level of skill, much like hazardous material drivers must go through an extra layer of scrutiny and training. Finding skilled drivers who can fill the empty cabs is no easy task.
Vehicle transport companies have come to rely on experienced and professional drivers that know how to offer a level of diplomacy in times of unforeseen circumstances, and there’s a reason for it. If you haven’t heard, car haulers are skilled craftsmen. They are agile climbers, technically adept, customer service oriented, and genuine lovers of cars.
Might it be incumbent on the industry itself to do a better job in explaining how car hauling is an interesting and rewarding career, replete with great pay and excellent benefits? Perhaps perspective young recruits should be reminded how car hauling can help them provide for their family while giving them a glimpse of the fanciest new Ferrari.
Increasing Capacity: Car Hauler Style
Beyond finding creative ways to recruit new talent, car haulers need to be looking to technology in the effort to increase capacity. Industry leaders have been hard at work talking to federal lawmakers about how to improve capacity at the vehicle level.
Over the last few years, diesel emission regulations have combined with a shift in vehicle securement requirements to put downward pressure on load factors. The way the vehicle is strapped to the hauler also has an impact on capacity.
When an OEM requires the vehicle to be strapped around the tires, rather than by chaining down the suspension, you have a larger range of movement. Such things matter in car hauling applications. No matter which way you look at it, there is a lot more to consider when your vehicle is hauling a load of other vehicles.
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In the end, there are a number of factors that car hauling fleets must consider as they prepare their businesses for the future. How much of that will be employment related – or otherwise – remains to be seen.