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Applications Welcome
About this time last year, I reported on how the driver shortage was tied heavily to the oilfields of Texas, North Dakota and Ohio. That tie remains very strong but things may be swinging back in favor of the trucking companies. As oil prices have fallen to the $50.00/barrel range, new drilling has been put on hold and most drilling companies are making drastic cuts to their work force. This should put more drivers back into long haul trucking and begin to make a dent in the driver shortage that has helped move rates up for the last few years.
One oilfield service company alone has cut nearly 3,500 jobs. Nabors, which operates out of Houston, has reduced its U.S. drilling jobs by 20 percent and cut capital expenditures by 53 percent. Some reports indicate that as many as 25 percent of all oil and gas field workers may lose their jobs. It is not just the oilfield worker that is affected, almost every support industry will be cutting jobs as well. From steel companies that provide pipe for the wells to the driver hauling mud and sand, job cuts will be made. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says Texas lost 2,300 oil and gas jobs last October and November alone.
Nobody likes to see people lose their jobs, however the trucking industry may see an uptick in drivers as workers laid off in the oil industry look to long haul driving as an alternative. This would be a welcome change given the capacity issues we face. I have already received inquiries from people worried about losing their jobs. Skilled and motivated workers will always land on their feet. Here's to hoping many of those from the oilfield land in the driver's seat of a big rig!
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Troy Magers is the Manager of the San Antonio, TX office, where he started as a freight broker in 1999, then promoted to National Accounts Manager in 2012. Magers is an alumni of Texas A&M University with a degree in Political Science.
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| About Allen Lund Company: Specializing as a national third-party transportation broker with nationwide offices and 400 employees, the Allen Lund Company works with shippers and carriers across the nation to transport dry, refrigerated (specializing in produce), and flatbed freight; additionally, the Allen Lund Company has an international division, which is licensed by the FMC as an OTI-NVOCC #019872NF, and a logistics and software division, ALC Logistics.
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