Whether measuring accidents, inspections or compliance issues, many women drivers are outperforming their male counterparts, says Werner Enterprises Inc. Chief Operating Officer Derek Leathers.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Bloomberg Business News during the Great American Truck Show in Dallas, Leathers said more and more carriers are looking to women as a large untapped labor pool that could help ease the driver shortage.<\/p>\n
He said he expects women to make up about 10 percent of his company\u2019s 9,000 drivers by year\u2019s end \u2013 almost twice the national average.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to kind of rebuff the myths,\u201d Leathers said in an interview with Bloomberg. \u201cThey are winning in multiple categories across the fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Werner and other carriers are targeting women by highlighting the industry\u2019s increased salaries and updated fleets with new creature comforts such as larger sleeper cabs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to cast the net as wide as we can cast it,\u201d Leathers said, \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity for the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
More women have taken the wheel, according to the American Trucking Associations<\/a>. They accounted for 5.8 percent of the 3.4 million U.S. truck drivers last year, compared with 4.6 percent in 2010.<\/p>\n Covenant Transportation Group\u2019s CEO David Parker, who joined Leathers on a driver shortage panel, said women are proving to be more cautious and attentive behind the wheel.<\/p>\n He said about 16 percent of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based company\u2019s 2,400 drivers are women \u2013 many of them liking to work with their husbands and even their daughters.<\/p>\n Cleaner terminals, schedules that guarantee home time, automatic transmissions and safer truck stops have all been crucial to attracting and retaining female drivers, said Werner\u2019s Leathers. The company is planning a campaign with print ads and radio spots to encourage more women to apply.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of us are looking for any viable source of new talent,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve done a good job marketing to women.\u201d<\/p>\n Freight companies, shippers and truck manufacturers also are paying more attention to women and their needs, said Char Pingel, membership director for the industry group Women in Trucking<\/a>. Changes can range from allowing pets in the cab to designing seats that are more adaptable to women to \u201cno-touch\u201d cargo that doesn\u2019t require heavy lifting.<\/p>\n