COLUMBUS, Ohio – About 40 percent of fleets say they are already feeling the impact of the shortage of qualified drivers.

According to the Q3 2011 Fleet Sentiment Report, conducted by CK Commercial Vehicle Research, another 25 percent say they believe the shortage of good drivers will affect their ability to grow in the future.

Of those reporting an immediate concern, about 75 percent need drivers to fill current vacant seats, 63 percent say it is limiting their ability to add capacity and 42 percent are changing the way they deploy their fleet such as targeting more regional and local freight opportunities instead of long haul loads.

"Freight demand is good among the majority of fleets that report to us, but some could definitely haul more if they could find good drivers," explains CKCVR founder, Chris Kemmer. "Even for those that have a full complement of drivers now there is concern that this scarce resource will likely impact their future growth potential."

Additionally, CKCVR’s latest Fleet Sentiment Buying Index, a measure of the number of fleets planning to place orders for power units and trailers in the next three months, rose to 104.3.

CKCVR regularly polls a group of small, medium and large for-hire, private and government fleet operators in the U.S and Canada about their equipment purchasing plans and overall fleet environment.