Amidst reports of stagnating driver pay, rampant misregulation, and an industry rife with fraud, it appears that truckers been taking notice and heading for the hills at record speeds. According to a report published by the ATA, driver turnover is on the rise once again.
Large carrier turnover has just reached its highest point since 2012 at an annualized 99%. Given the current trajectory, turnover will be over 100% by the year’s end.
Despite their previous claim that two thirds of the driver shortage in the coming years will be caused by industry growth and drivers reaching retirement, the chief economist for the ATA, Bob Costello, is now saying that a main reason that driver turnover is so high is because “the market for qualified, experienced drivers remains extremely tight.”
Yes, that must be it.
According to the ATA, other factors increasing turnover include new HOS rules, the CSA program, and a general increase in freight.
The turnover in the Less Than Truckload industry meanwhile is at its lowest level in two years at a shocking 6%.
Next Story: Montana MCS Officers Will Carry Guns
Source: fleetowner
John S says
Its not really about driving a truck that is turning people over at trucking companies. Obviously that is not the case if LTL companies have such a low turnover. So it really comes down to the OTR companies over managing driver time, limiting their time at home and paying them peanuts to start. If you were to ask any OTR driver who has been with a company for a while. Which in trucking is more then 5 years. They will tell you that they have always been treated well, paid well and given respect. Most big OTR companies in my opinion has conceded all of those efforts to just replacing drivers as they come and go. Resolving themselves that OTR trucking is about turnover.
Allen says
I’ve been driving OTR for 8 years and have been with large, medium, and small companies – they’re all the same – don’t pay well, find ways to short you on the pay you do get, don’t care that you might have a life and a family, hire clueless people to manage drivers that can’t even spell truck much less know what it takes to get the job done, the managers are in one part of the country in nice weather while the driver is in another part of the country in a blizzard and can’t figure out why you have a delay in your delivery (Maybe they should at least look at the weather channel once in a while), in short, they get to go home at the end of the day/week/holiday and it really doesn’t matter to them that your stuck in some shit hole for a few days while you miss your home time with your family or some other important event you’ve scheduled months in advance.
Most companies provide no path for advancement and are very poor at effectively utilizing their “human resources”. The drivers are always blamed and punished for everything. Most companies I’ve worked for label them as “dumb ole key turners”. There are some that fit both cases, but many don’t.
I don’t mention all the BS games that are played at the driver’s expense. I’m still in this job because I have no other viable options, so I look and make opportunities, realizing I’ll have to put up with a large amount of BS while my family and I pay a certain price. Many times we have to do unpleasant things in life for a period of time, but things always move in cycles.
Between the unrealistic/out of touch company rules, federal and state regulations, and just getting from point a to point b, is it really hard to understand why people are leaving in masses? Most companies get concerned at 8-9% turnover, this industry is content if it’s only 90%.
Zipper says
It’s not going to get any better. I drive for a global truck rental logistics operation. The trucks are crap. When Navistar builds junk, that the U.S. EPA flunks, my company egomaniacal purchasing dept. buys bulk. The thinking is that the company’s mechanics can keep them on the road. My boss’s solution, upon hearing that check engine lights are on and engine is leaking oil, is to put a different driver in the seat. No question about safety, just get another driver. When are trucking companies going to ante up. Buy better equipment with sufficient horsepower. Put a drivetrain in that equipment to gear it for approx. 1300 rpm at 65 mph.. Set governor for 70-72 mph. and hire drivers with some credentials, for a livable wage. Screw the shippers for a change. they have had a pretty unfair advantage, since this “Just in Time” crap started. If the E.P.A. seriously wanted to improve air quality, get with the N.T.S.B. to coordinate road reconstruction to limit 5-10 mile construction zones with numerous state troopers “guarding” but failing to control the zone. Hundreds of vehicles idling through has got to polute the atmosphere more than a speeding truck.
Shane says
The main reason for the turnover is the tax breaks companies are receiving so they cheat drivers out of miles and anything else to get them to resign. I call it the swinging door and this also includes the LTL companies. Greed has ravished this country and its real bad in trucking as the only people making any money our the brokers and the companies. The average Owner Operator are barley getting by some are making less than some company drivers. The average take home pay for a company driver is 500.00 a week if lucky some are 700.00 a week and that’s if you live in the truck and never see home. We would all be better off to get rid of brokers and make the con or shipper do it themselves instead of allowing these brokers to cut loads up twenty ways before giving it to some one to haul.
Gramps says
I drove for over 35 years in that time I stayed with only one company for more than 5 years. All of the reasons I left other companys in under that time was just mensioned. Your not thought of as a person just a replaceable item. Your not any better than the tire the mechanic has to replace on a rig. And you sure as hell don’t have a name just and ID number. I’m glad I’m out, all those years of driving has destroyed my back and neck. After 2 major operations on my neck for a double fusion and 1 on my lower back for a triple fusion my driving career is over. What did I get for my time, a fight with workmans comp and the company I drove 6 years for. They tried to say while I was repairing a hydraulic hose on their rig I didn’t blow out the 3 lower disc in my back. That’s ok I beat them at arbitration. My advise for you truckers who want to get in to the business, Run, run away and find something else to do. Those in now, watch your back, literaly!! Signed, a old grumpy driver
Tim Lucas says
Many companies have a difficult time telling drivers the truth concerning operations and companies so conceded that they think if you try us you’ll like us. Then there is that old we will get you home lie. If companies would be frank that the freight goes many directions and getting the driver home for Johnny’s birthday isn’t always possible. Then there are hidden driver fee’s by companies or exit fee’s I find interesting.
cheyenne says
They dont have a difficult time….most dispatchers dont have clue along with.operations. They dont know the truth!!
barton van buskirk says
THERE AINT NOTHING EASY ABOUT TRUCK DRIVING .FROM ANY PERSPECTIVE COMPANY,DISPATCHER,DRIVERS,====THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT LAST ARE OLDER MATURE ADULTS ..YOU CANT PUT A KID IN A TRUCK AND EXPECT HIM OR HER TO PERFORM AS AN ADULT ..IF YOU PLAN ON KEEPING THE ADULTS BEHIND YOUR WHEEL THEN YOU WILL NEED TO BE PAID A RESPECTFUL AMOUNT ..===IF A TRUCKING COMPANY WANTED OR CARED FOR THE TRUCK DRIVERS THEY WOULD NOT PROMOTE LEASING PROGRAMS THAT RIP OFF CHILDREN THEY PUT IN THEM …PEOPLE THINK TRUCK DRIVERS ARE LESS THEN DESIRABLE ..THE COMPANY’S A TRUCK DRIVER HAS TO WORK FOR- MAKES THEM THAT WAY …BLAMING ONE INDIVIDUAL OR A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS ..I SAY WE ARE THE PRODUCT OF WHAT OR WHO WE WORK FOR …..THE BEST ADVISE I HAVE ..–THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY IS WORK FOR A COMPANY THAT TREATS YOU AS WELL AS THEY TREAT THE DISPATCHER OR SECRETARY OR CEO ——-BLABLA
cheyenne says
But barton the experiened driver is being starved out so they can put a kid in.these trucks abd pay them.pennies…..when i decided i.wasnt going to be treated like garbage anymore ihad to downsize my resume to get a call back….why.pay a good driver what theyre worth when they can pay a kid 1″2 as much and grease the ceos pockets? Thus co losing contracts more crashes and so on.
Bryan says
Barton,Cheyenne is correct. I started Driving in 1959,and I have never ever seen the industry is such pathetic chaos. There has always been some type of struggle or obstacle as far as drivers are concerned. At one time it was the lack of interstates or the lack of comforts in the trucks of the day etc, but compared to today, it’s just a damn joke or a shame both terms are fitting. For the last thirty years practically all industries have mirrored each other in that increased profits (sometimes astronomical profits) have been used to fill the pockets of investors, and CEOs all the while cutting workers wages. You see,the exploitation of the employee has served to filled the middle gap of figureheads and suits. Most companies don’t want to hire an older ,reliable ,dependable sort who has been around the block a few times. They are afraid of them, and would rather hire young clueless people that can be turned into little robots who will multi task or do the work of for or five people while getting paid for one. If you compare the money I made back then along with the money my father and grandfather made even in the 1940’s , as owner operators ,or even drivers, we looked liked Arabian oil sheiks compare to today’s driver, and yes Virginia there is something definitely wrong with that picture.
Andrew H says
Well I’ve been trucking since I turned 21. Wasn’t exactly my dream career either, but I do have to agree. Many of those who actually do come into this career thinks that trucking is just driving from point A to point B, easy right? Then they get into it and realize that driving a truck isn’t like driving a car long distances anymore.
And allot of it has to do with work ethic and morals. I grew up in a conservative household where I was taught responsibility, morals, and respect to authority and those more experienced (elders). So even at 24 years of age like I am now, I’m leaps and bounds ahead of most of the “kids” trying to apply these days because everyone is just out for themselves.
Way I see it, if you think you know everything there is to know about trucking; then park your truck and find another job. This career isn’t for the impatient.
Shane says
What Career when you can flip hand burgers and make as much or maybe you can not do math! If you are behind a wheel why life is passing you by and your not taking home at least a 1000.00 a week then its not worth it. Have you looked at some of your fellow drivers it is sick. They stink and our nasty and in some cases you have four people in the same truck and that is home and what you have to look forward too is it getting worse so if your twenty four and have any since find another type of work. These new E-logs are designed to burn the driver if anything happens and if you think for one minute that the company is going to stand behind you U are stupid as they will be calling the wolves. When calling your company do you say your name or prisoner 12345. Wake up kid the truth is starring you in the face!
Plumkrazee says
Shane, how long have you been driving, or are you a driver? While you ARE right about the company not supporting the drivers, it is also true that, truck driving is a lifestyle, not necessarily a “job”. It truly IS a way of life.
Bryan, who made the post above, started driving in 1959. He can tell you that, “if your head aint right, you won’t make it is trucking”. Yes, trucking does require you to be away from home, some times, for 7 to 10 days. If your company expects you to be gone longer, then you should look for another job. Not just whine about things.
I work for a very small company, and I LOVE it! No, I don’t make a grand every week, but I drive the way I want to, and get as much freight as I want! I make as much as I want to, AND have the kind of life I want!
I would suggest that you look around!
Andre Williams says
Manufacturers want to minimize their shipping costs and for the most part see no value in paying extra for companies who hire experienced, professional, clean cut drivers. Transportation companies have to do a better job training their sales staff to sell on service and not just cost. Manufactures have the ability to pass the extra cost on to the consumer but they have to be better educated to the current, abysmal conditions that have led to such high turnover among drivers.
In addition, transportation companies must adapt to a hub and spoke system. The high turnover is a clear indication that a human cannot be expected to drive across the country and live inside a truck for weeks at a time. Can you imagine pilots having to tolerate those type of conditions? But along with better pay and conditions comes more expectations from drivers to clean up their act. Imagine if you saw a pilot step outside their plane and piss on the ramp. Or walk through the terminal with their shirts hanging out and hair down their back. Well this is what manufacturers and shippers see on a daily basis from truck drivers. So we all have to do our part and challenge ourselves to improving the current state of the trucking industry.
ward says
The public doesn’t see the driver, except on rare occasions at the rest area or truck stop.
We are only noticed when we are tired , beat, and in need of a shower or meal after long hours.
Still, the old saying of a sucker born every minute comes to mind over and over again.
when hiring, when dispatching, and the failure to care about how your seen, “pride”.
Companies don’t care about drivers because we are not seen any more. We come in the back door, we can only park away from the public. our niebors never see or here from us, we arte like ghost, we simply don’t exists to the general public until one of these hillbilly stinky loudmouths bring attention to themselves. Thus the general public thinks we all live and act this way.
Driver shortage and turnover. this year has been the worst. at any time I can get on the phone and be hired at good wages for 3-5 employers at a hours worth of effort. The problem is the companies pride, do have good equipment? do they pay on time, what are the hidden BS’s about the job.
In N Dakota there isn’t any enforcement, especially when it comes to pay. Most companies want to pay on %, other s say you start getting paid when loaded. Many driverks are working free 2-3 hours a day. companies pay straight pay…no overtime.
Just like OTR they are making up the rules as they go along. HOS, can be fixed by simply forcing companies to pay the same as a carpenter, roofer, or even a cook. 40 hours at regular pay and Over time after. then maybe we would see a drop in HOS violations
ward says
Sorry, what I meant to say is there isn’t a shortage at all. just bad employers that cant find dummies to work for them
Bruno says
That’s it in a nutshell . Well said.
don strother says
i had to reply amen brother
Roadghost says
There no true driver shortage, because if there was shippers and trucking companies would pay more. If shippers won’t pay, then there are too many trucking companies and some need to close shop. That would force shippers to pay more or their freight would stay on the dock.
Bryan says
WE have a Bingo Roadghost. There is not now ,nor has there ever been a driver shortage. The shortage lies in the lack of decent driving jobs.
Bill says
I couldn’t agree more. Rates dropping means there are more trucks than freight. All driver shortages mean is that big companies like Swift and Schneider have trucks sitting with no drivers in them. Well when you have thousands of trucks that will always be the case.Back in the early 2000s when the economy was booming these companies kept adding more and more trucks. Now that the economy is suffering freight has diminished and you have extra trucks sitting.
Eric says
The problem is not that there are “to many trucking companies”, the problem is that JB Hunt, US Xpress, Celadon, ETC. can take freight @ $0.90/ mi and be profitable, while your mom & pop outfit have to have $2.00/mi to operate and cover payroll. My father started his own company 9yrs ago as an O/O, saved $, bought trucks as cash flow would allow, and built his operation up to 30 trucks and 90 trailers. I left business school to work for him and have been here for 5yrs now. I can tell you that OUR drivers are not treated like everyone above is saying. The shippers are always going to stiff the trucking industry as long as we allow it! Guess what, we will always allow it! There will always be that company that will go in to town, cut the rates, and take the freight. We refuse to cut rates! Instead, we offer customer service, which, is our DRIVERS! As the Ops Mgr. I can tell you that my dispatcher gets em home 2-3 times a week, granted a cpl of those times may only be enough time to go home, shower, eat a meal, and see there family, then back on the road. Me and my father have put up our homes, cars, land, and if the bank allows, the shirts off our back to make sure my guys are driving new equipment, have the latest technology, and receive bonuses for the hard work they give us. To place all companies as dirt bags that only want to make money and screw drivers is not only ignorant, but insulting. I hope you guys find a place where you are not treated like that. There are a lot of us GOOD companies out there, that take care of our employees instead of making a buck. Best of luck to you all!!!
Ron says
Why would someone go to work in a business that has so many people getting “into your paycheck” ? Think about this… a guy working in an office is only having the government taking out taxes out of his paycheck. The truck driver has the company taking out their share,and the the government’s taxes. Then you have a police officer taking money out of your pocket,by writing a ticket,your insurance rates ar higher than the guy working in the office.The police won’t go into an office,and write a big fine to the guy/women at their desk for their job.
Jaymie Smith says
Bryan,what is a bingo roadghost?
thanks
Frank says
Every trucker in the US should “stop driving for a solid week”….let’s see how “economies of scale pay changes then”!
Harold G. says
I’ve had my truck and trailer parked for a month now and so has my cousin’s… I don’t see any other O/O’s or company drivers parking their trucks…!!
cheyenne says
I work for a friend….im.subcontracting del trlrs to shows and buyers ..im paid very well. That said before i was kicked to the curb at LAST large carrier i rarely made it home on.time. I was ask “Are u stupid or what?” When my brother died i ask to get to colo immediately and was told and this is a quote “Sorry to hear that but u need to get that trailer fixed first” This WAS a carrier who once upon a time had a decent reputation. No raise is 4yrs even tho avg home time 27 days a yr…It is disturbing drivers are expected to work for free. Be treated like chidren …dispatchers are alliwed to play games and so on….unless fmcsa keeps implementing stupid rules (34—1-5) ive two yrs left….i would NEVER work for a large carrier again after the way i was treated at last large co….Come to find out judges and lawyers allow these carriers to break workcomp laws…pay offs? Im to good to be treated so bad!!
Kevin says
Manufacturers want to minimize their shipping costs and for the most part see no value in paying extra for companies who hire experienced, professional, clean cut drivers. Transportation companies have to do a better job training their sales staff to sell on service and not just cost. Manufactures have the ability to pass the extra cost on to the consumer but they have to be better educated to the current, abysmal conditions that have led to such high turnover among drivers.
In addition, transportation companies must adapt to a hub and spoke system. The high turnover is a clear indication that a human cannot be expected to drive across the country and live inside a truck for weeks at a time. Can you imagine pilots having to tolerate those type of conditions? But along with better pay and conditions comes more expectations from drivers to clean up their act. Imagine if you saw a pilot step outside their plane and piss on the ramp. Or walk through the terminal with their shirts hanging out and hair down their back. Well this is what manufacturers and shippers see on a daily basis from truck drivers. So we all have to do our part and challenge ourselves to improving the current state of the trucking industry.
Norm Reeder says
I have been driving 30yrs otr, Pay is terrible for the responsibility we are expected to perform. The conditions in which we work are worse. Problems with payroll, getting home, staying home while there, the disrespect from load planners and dispatchers, but what got my attention was when the head of our recruiting dept. said I will pay bonuses when I can’t get drivers, they are a “dime a dozen”. I gave her a quarter and said get 2 & a half dozen. The industry as a whole needs and overhaul in its attitude towards its professional drivers. Shippers, receivers are bad enough, but add the other stuff from your own company and I say, who in their right mind would want to work in trucking. We are loathed, hated, despised and the only reason we are even hired is to be the cheapest butt for the seat. Keeps the owners of these companies multi-millionaires, keeps everyone else in bonuses. The Industry as a whole is about to get what it deserves, a kick in the backside. “you reap what you sew”.
mike murin says
Its amazing these CARRIERS with shiny brand new trucks at the expense of Drivers. And the Newbies fall for it starting out 26 cents, these Owners never cared about Drivers all they care is about there Bank Accounts. Not tell we fight as a group and demand change as like raises etc. nothing ever will change..
gary fancher says
In order to show proper respect to a driver is to “Pay Them”! Drivers are a necessary nuisance! You will never get any more money unless the company is afraid they will not be able to cover their loads..Only then will they pay more…Very sad industry……….!!
Kat Owen says
From my personal experience from being a driver with 3 different companies. It’s was all the same to me. First off, you have a bunch of load planners and dispatchers that treat the drivers like crap. Every single dispatcher/driver manager I had, wanted me to run over on my hours, wanted me to run two log books, (which I never did). Then force me to take preloaded trailers that were way over on weight limits. Once you defy them, and refuse to take over weight loads, or to run over hours on your logs, once you refuse them. They place you on a “black list” and make your life a living hell.
They would send me back east, get me stuck in pockets with no loads going back west. Make me sit in truck stops for days, just to make me suffer. They are the ones in violation, not me. But they do not like drivers that complain or refuse to break the laws and run their way.
There was one incident that made me quit one trucking company when I had a tooth abcess that made my face so swollen, I couldn’t see out my left eye. I needed to see a doctor and get some antibiotics. They refused to let me see a doctor or a dentist. They wouldn’t give me one day, one day only to get some medicine. I wasn’t even allowed to take a pain pill for the pain. Needless to say, I was told by the manager of the company that I better turn my truck around and head to Salt Lake City, or face being arrested, all because I complained and they thought I was lying and looking for a day off. Once I got back to SLC and walked into the office, they seen my face, they got to see the puss that was draining out of my mouth. Then they believed me, but I told them to shove it and took a greyhound home. It’s these big companies that don’t care about the drivers, and your right, they have a huge turn over because we are nothing more than a number and not a real live human being.
MrYowler says
Has to be CR England…
percussion says
The company i work for has no problem with paying lumpers $250 to take off four pallets,
yet i have to drive seven hundred miles to earn that much.
Lisa says
I started in trucking in 1998. The first two companies I worked for- 3 years and 2.5 years went bankrupt. The company I’ve been working for since 2004 is a small business. I started for them as a company driver and have since been a dispatcher to operation’s manager to safety, accounting, and company officer. But I always loved to drive…. I went back on the road as an owner operator in the beginning of 2012- still with the same company. I run western states and primarily the northwest as a truckload carrier. I enjoy my job- and this is priceless. That is why I drive. Being a truck driver is not, for the most part difficult.
Loads do not fall from trees!
Unless you’ve personally been responsible for a company -staying in business (keeping people employed) and at least breaking even (keeping people employed) and figuring out how to make a profit (so you can hopefully give your employees raises)- you don’t understand why you’re sitting somewhere in New Mexico or Florida or South Dakota without a load. It costs money to sit a truck, but with the price of fuel it is a fine line between deadheading or waiting, or taking a load that pays less than running costs, or even less than fuel costs- to get that truck and it’s unhappy driver somewhere else.
It pained me when I could not get my drivers home. When I’d work on one truck for hours- dozens of phone calls, emails, dusting off old contacts, and still nothing. Then finally I catch a break, but the load sucks for a driver because it has 6 drops spread out over 2 days and involves driver tailgaiting- but I take it, and I’m relieved, and I call my driver and say “I’ve got you a load”….. but then I tell him what it is and he gets mad and complains because he will be a day late and has to tailgate. He has no idea what effort went into finding that load. He has no idea that it was that kind of load that keeps the company out of the red instead of that one pick one drop of whatever cheap freight that is easy for him but won’t even pay the fuel. He has no idea that I must make the hard choices to keep him employed- and everyone else. All this driver knows is that he has sat and sat, then finally the load he gets sucks for him. He has no idea that I’d like to take the time to explain it all to him- that life’s not always fair- but I don’t have the time…… because I have fifteen other trucks in various stages of problems: breakdowns, repowers, rejected freight, out of hours, d.o.t. audits, injury on the job, unhappy, not pleased, needs a shower, can’t find parking, road construction delays, loads cancelled, driver lost, road closed, bad weather, high winds…..
So that is why I went back to driving truck- because I love it and it is soooo much easier than driving a desk.
Quit complaining.
Randy S says
That is a great post.
Coffeeclue says
Excellent! Thank you! I ran a company with 3 trucks and agree with everything you said. I am now driving my own truck, booking my own loads and couldn’t be happier. The only thing you forgot to mention is that when drivers quit because they didn’t like the load etc, they usually take the company for everything they can. They will charge fuel on company’s card and sell it to someone else, sell new tires off the truck and put on barely legal ones and then leave the truck somewhere across country so you need to go get it. The more experience they have, the more creative they get in ripping you off. One driver took company credit card and decided to buy drinks for everyone at a bar he was visiting. I got a judgment against him, he’s still paying 8 years later.
joel says
The company you work for has to be May Trucking Company.
Billy says
With today’s communications linking loads, weather conditions, remote truck monitoring there is no excuse for any driver to be more than a 40 hour employee. But gee wizz someone in a office might have to work.
Jaymie Smith says
Being out here on and off since 1984,each time I return to the industry of trucking I am amazed at the changes and metamorphosis of the way things work.
I concur w/Lisa about the difficulties in not just finding loads,but actually getting s#%t
delivered.
No one said it would be easy,how do you like it so far?
Jude Ossowski says
Hey Mr. Company Exec, want to keep drivers? Try paying them for ALL of the work they do. Dispatchers are paid for everything they do from the start of their day to the end. Accountants are paid for the same as are janitors and mechanics. How many companies pay drivers for doing pre-trip or post trip inspections, for fueling a truck, for ALL of the time spent at a customer’s dock waiting to get loaded or unloaded, sweeping out a trailer or any of the other things drivers are expected to do as “part of the job”? The company that pays drivers for ALL of the work they do will have no problem with keeping them around.
Carla Barnes says
Tens years on the road teaming with my husband . His parents became ill which made us start looking for a company closer to home with the hometime we needed to be with them . I feel very fortunate after reading your stories . We drive for a small family owned company minutes from our home , pay is good , great equipment and treated very well . During our transition though we went to another large company , during orientation this nautzi like Cruella Deville (sp?),slapped her hand on the table and said” you are no longer a name …. You are a number” ! We did our first run because one of their terminals is near our home , delivered our load , turned the truck in . They were just as nasty when I tried to follow my husband in to unload the truck … AFTER checking in at the gate . I know many if you have experienced much worse. I give my all to my job , some have been shocked to see we turn our truck in almost as new as when we moved in . I will not work for , nor fortunately do not have to , people that treat drivers as dispensable nobodies .
jim says
If by ” turnover rate” you mean people just out right giving up on the ” job ” of trucking for much easier work with better pay and MUCH less hassel, well ya I guess I am part of the ” turnover rate” . I just gave up on driving for a better paing FACTORY job after tring for 5 years. good luck turkeys.
Deborah L says
Truckers are the invisible workforce that no one pays attention to except when they want to pull the blame game such as what happens on a lot of accidents on the road.
There are a lot of truckers though who need to clean their act up some because they look like trash to you also, some of them have not been taught manners obviously either, ie the one who gets out of his truck and proceeds to pee on the catwalk.
The company my husband works for now pays pretty good, he does not have to worry about chasing mty trailers around, very few repowers, a good dm, and so far has gotten home when he needs to with no questions asked. I just wish though they would pay the miles that the drivers actually drove according to google map vs the way they pay now which is usually 7-10% less usually.
The companies they pu and dlv to need to learn how to get the trucks in and out faster; it seems like they suffer from lack of being able to figure out how to plan their time. Lumpers in some areas get the job done, some places though you would think they were being paid hourly pay as they drag on for several hours, what’s up with this.
People who come up with the new rulings need to be an actual trucker or go out on a truck for 2 months to see what a trucker does and how the law would affect them. Just like the new HOS would be ok if they would go back to the old way of the 34, use it whenever you needed it and not set to only certain days of the week to count.
Electronic logs nail you to a cross, esp when you run out of hours sitting at the shipper or receiver waiting for hours and then when finished they won’t let you stay on their lot, but there is a truckstop 10 miles or so down the road and you can’t get to it legally. There needs to be some sort of provision for this allowed without you getting a violation. Stone tablets in trucking do not always work.
Rob says
The increase in regulation is the cause. It is ridicules that I as an American citizen have to pass background checks and fingerprinting to haul haz mat materials, and drivers come from across the borders from other country’s into the US, and haul what I need federal clearance for. Now my hearing is becoming an issue… The government need s to stay the hell out of every segment of our life!
Jesse says
Nothing is going to change, the OTR companies have crested the climb. They have figured out how to implement the high driver turnaround into their business model! So, it’s too late. Change will NEVER come now…
Andyjay says
Thanks for talking me out of being a truck driver. I had heard the horror stories before but I never thought it could be that bad. I have always known that it is not an easy job. The work is demanding and taxing on the body. I never doubted that. I will really have to think about whether it is something I want to pursue. Thanks again for the insight.
joel says
its worse.
Angelo Diplacido says
It’s all about respect and there is none even though all the radio ads paint such a positive picture or spin on the profession. Even the word “Professional” is an oxymoron . Nothing more than a feel good word to get drivers exited about piece work. If you look at the number entities that inject themselves into the functions of a drivers day, its not difficult to see why drivers are turning away from this industry. From law enforcement that expect perfection from mere mortals who would litter your CDL with trivial infractions until your rendered unemployable to the dispatchers that don’t care about their own job , much less yours. This is for the most part a thankless, insulting and condescending line of work. Generating revenue is what the optics show no matter how you interact with drivers.
Stephen says
The Trucking Industry deserves what it gets. The regulations that DOT and EPA has put on it as a whole has put unrealistics standards. They have chocked the industry to the point of never being the same. Slip and fall Attorneys are just as much to blame. They have gone after what they thought was big bucks. Yet out of their own lust for greed will end up costing them and us in the long run. Trucking Companies have lied and exploited drivers to the point they could never be trusted. Drivers put in more hours and make less then minimum wage when you add up all the time spent on the road. It is evil how drivers are treated by the general commuting public, by the government (state and federal), by shippers and receivers, and most of all by trucking companies.
Darrell says
as with most companies the junior management is micromanaging every move a driver make threatening you with your job to write you up for 1 thing or another and the biggest thing is pay cuts they have talked about pay increases with these new laws and regulations in for top-quality drivers I have yet to see that
Coffeeclue says
If you work for a commodity hauler, don’t expect to be paid high wages. These companies compete for business mostly based on rates. If they can stuff an extra pallet in the truck when hauling sugar because their truck/trailer combinations are lighter than competitors’, they will get the contract. So, they’re looking for the cheapest and most controllable driver they can find.
If you want to make money, look for specialized freight companies. Something that really depends on driver’s input. Heavy haul, tanker, blanket wrap are some such examples. This will require more work than just driving, but compensation usually well makes up for it. I think most fair pay is percentage of load. This way the driver has vested interest and is not just an hourly employee. If more handling is required than stated in confirmation, the dispatcher should be able to call the shipper and get more money. However, if more money is not available, dispatcher should not be the one paying the bill. Percentage based pay means that sometimes everyone wins and sometimes everyone loses. When I ran my trucking company, I usually gave drivers 100% of extra pay such as detention etc. This was usually $50/hr. In return I expected them to not charge me if extra pay wasn’t available.
Stephen says
The trucking co.(s) are not paying enough in Canada to compete with other jobs that you are away from home .In 1980 a OTR. truck driver made enough that his wife could stay home. He could afford a house on his income. Today many wives make from $13. to $20.00 per hour is he is better off to get a 4 day a week job ( 32 hours) and help raise the kids. My niece makes $22.50 per hour in a nursing home, plus ben. Her husband works( in construction) from May 1 to dec. 15 and collects UI. for the winter.( 45 hours times $20, = $900 plus average 12 hours times 30= $360& $900 =$1260 times 31 weeks = $39,000 plus 18 weeks times $500 EI. = 9,000 & 39,000 = 48,000 and he still has 20 weeks a year off.and is home one day a week in the summer. HE says he would to make $65,000 per year and be home 1 and a half days per week to get him back in a truck. When can only get $750 for a run of 500 km round trip plus 9 hours doc time. i am better off get job in construction