The Battle for Diesel Technicians
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the trucking industry will need an estimated 67,000 new technicians and 75,000 diesel engine specialists by 2022. Photo: Ryder
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On any given day, in any given year, Penske Truck Leasing has a truck maintenance workforce of 8,100. In 2017, the company added 2,200 diesel techs to accommodate growth, and the Pennsylvania-headquartered firm is expecting to add 2,500 more for the same reason in 2018. As of today, the company has 800 openings for diesel techs in the United States, Canada and parts of Mexico — a combination of new hires and open positions due to retirements and turnover.
This is the face of the diesel technician shortage in 2018, and it’s only going to get worse, predicts Gregg Mangione, senior vice president of maintenance for Penske.
His prediction echoes that of the American Transportation Research Institute’s Top Industry Issues report, released in October 2017. Though the industry has trained much of its focus on the shortage of qualified truck drivers, another shortfall exists — the industry needs more diesel technicians. Though this issue ranked last among the 13 challenges identified in the ATRI report, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trucking will require an estimated 67,000 new technicians as well as 75,000 new diesel engine specialists by 2022.
Mangione says the issue has been building for the better part of a decade, even before trucking emerged from the impacts of the Great Recession. He attributes the growing need for technicians — at least in part — to the increasing complexity of heavy-duty trucks to meet ever-more stringent diesel emission requirements. Jay Duca, diesel technology instructor at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin, agrees. Beyond the technology needed to meet emissions mandates, he says, today’s trucks also often have high-tech systems for collision avoidance, lane deviation, smart …Read the rest of this story
