Hello friends want to share something with you people that i found interesting.. and worth sharing..

What is Trucking Industry?
Trucking Industry plays a vital role in providing transportation and distribution service in American economy. It transports and distributes commercial as well as industrial goods by using commercial motor vehicles (CMV), which are most often trucks.
You will be surprised to know that over eighty per cent of all communities in the US rely solely on trucking industry to deliver all of their fuel, medicine, clothing and other consumer goods. The trucking industry employs approximately 10 million people out of a total population of 300 million in jobs that relate directly to trucking. Though trucking industry is the industry of small business but if ever there is any work strike or other consequence leading to halt in the truck traffic, there would be a significant shortage of necessary supplies across a wide range of commerce and industry.
What are the problems faced by Trucking Industry?
Today, trucking companies are facing many hardships like high cost of fuel, highway congestion, trucking security, insurance costs, the lack of truck drivers, etc.
The skyrocketing diesel fuel price are pushing trucking industry,which many consider the backbone of the American economy, right up to the breaking point, a gallon of diesel which was once for $.89 has risen to an average price of over $3.50 per gallon. This outrageous price hike has lead the trucking companies and freight industries to face decline in the profit margin. The profit margin which once used to be around 25 percent has now been cut to around 5 percent.
Historically, fuel represented the second-highest operating expense for freight trucking but now soaring fuel costs are surpassing labor as the largest expense at some trucking companies.
The soaring fuel cost is not the only problem faced by the trucking transport companies it is also the unavailability of truck drivers. The trucking companies across the country are facing a shortage of long-haul drivers. The growing demand for long-haul drivers has made the shortage more acute. High driver turnover has also been a problem throughout the trucking industry. The problem is that new blood is not coming into the trucking companies and todays economy demands more trucks to haul more freight. Moreover, driving long-haul is considerably a difficult job which all truck drivers understand and also know that taking up this job would result in no regular sleeping hours.
Even highway congestion is another factor counting for the hard times faced by trucking and distribution industry. Highway congestion is a result of the misuse of federal highway funds which disables the states abilities to build new highways, as once said by Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Associations. Since twentieth century the highway traffic has doubled and sadly highway capacity has increased only 3 percent, resulting to traffic-choked highways.
Conclusion
Just pointing towards the problems will not lead to any solution but sorting an answer for the problems can be helpful. Trucks haul 70 percent of all freight tonnage and rise in fuel cost has the potential to increase the cost of everything transported by truck, including food, retail and manufactured goods. Thus, government needs to help in bringing down the fuel price and construct more highways as increase in the transportation of freight is likely expected in coming years. It becomes the duty of the trucking companies to give more attractive offers to the truck drivers like high-tech trucks, predictable schedules, better security and insurance, to attract more truck drivers into trucking and distribution industry. If there will be persistent shortage of truck drivers then the goods will start piling up at the ports and will not be delivered on scheduled time, which is presently faced by some trucking companies.

shortage of truck drivers?? the Anti Trucking Association's spin on what is wrong with truckers is crazy, if there was a shortage then the wages of the company would naturally go up instead they have virtually stayed the same for years,
Its the members og the
ATA that have been making the money [most of which are the large companies] and they could care less if the people actually deliverong the goods are making the money or not

That article seems a bit dated perhaps a year old or more?

Heres my take on the current situation. The coast of diesel fuel is the highest operating expense for companies period. At $4.25+ per gallon (in some places) this equates to around .68 cpm based on a truck getting 6.25 mpg. Wages are next at .35 to .55 cpm. The next biggest cost is the equipment. A new truck with payments of 600.00 per week equates to .24 cpm.

Now add in all the "other expenses" such as ASSETS (buildings, shops, computers, programs, and office support personnel), BENEFITS (medical, dental, vision, disabilty, life, vacations, holidays, sick days, personal days, retirement, etc), TAXES (property, road use, fuel, 2290, payroll, federal, state, and local), maintenance and escrow accounts, and all the requisite INSURANCES (such as collision, liability, bobtail, and workers comp). Then there are the ACCESSORIALS that need to be factored in such as plates, permits, claims, out of route miles, accidents, idle time, maintenance, repairs, and recruiting). Lets not forget the FEES (trailer fees, computer fees, book keeping fees, payroll fees, fuel card fees, computer fees, trip pak fees, transflo fees, Lumper fees, toll road fees, and scale ticket fees) either.

In short to cover each one of these a company NEEDS to make over $2.00 per mile just to break EVEN. For companies that can turn more than 2500 revenue generating miles per truck they can in fact make a slight profit (provided there are no major liabilities for that period as in accidents).

As the price of Diesel Fuel goes up the price of EVERYTHING goes up. Everything in our consumer oriented lives has been (in 1 form or another) on a truck at some point. From the food we eat, to the water we buy, to the clothes we wear, to the houses we live in, and the cars we drive. Trucking has played a part and will always play a part regardless of the operating costs. These cost will just be passed on to the Shipper first, then billed to the Receiver, and then ultimately billed to the end user or consumer.

The Trucking industry has developed partnerships with Cargo Ship Lines, Air Freight Carriers, and the Rail Roads. We service all facets of the global distribution network. Trucking is critical to the continued prosperity of this nation as well as other nations actively engaged in trade with us. It is truly a GLOBAL SOCIETY we live in.

Regrettably the benefits and wages of the truckers of today in this country are low as compared to our European counterparts. This is a major reason why we, as an industry, seem to have difficulty retaining an adequate driver pool. With commensurate benefits and wages to the job performed we would not have a so called "shortage" of qualified drivers.

In the current economy (which is in recession) we actually do not have a "shortage" of drivers. If anything we have an "over capacity" problem where we have more trucks available than loads at this time. The large carriers are culling drivers based on poor performance and in some cases even reducing operating expenses through suspension of driver bonuses and even reductions in inter office personnel as well as wages to drivers.

The only thing that can turn this around is to get back to a balance. Basic supply and demand economics will be the answer. The strongest carriers will survive based on either the sheer size of the company (and the depth of their coffers) or the companies that have viable business plans that afford them to continue making a profit through the recession. The weak will disappear wether it be owner ops or companies. The ones that survive will be better off after the weak have fallen. Only then can rates be established that will enable wages and benefits to go upfor the rest of us.

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Knowledge is Power

Speaking of the "Shortage" that I hear and read from this forum, I know from my personal experience from the medical field, this same line of BS/Bunk/Trash Talk is the same thing I heard when I was ushered out to the pasture of the "real" world after many years...
Same thing I have heard from those individual's who have recently been "released"...
Bottom line is I see similiar trends in many areas of the corporate world or any major industry.....Long hours, lip service, and the bottom line--making a profit.
Keeping that in mind and listening to the "walls" and "turf" talking.....where ever you go --this is the new "norm" of industrial standard(s)....whether it is the trucking industry, medical, retail, etc..........

Yep, performance "reviews" is common practice in many, many, industries....bonsus checks, buyouts, ;ayoffs, etc. is the way tthings are done now...Economy will take a while for things to get turned around...

So true. It's a visious cycle. Trucking costs increase to Walmart(as an example), Walmart has to increase their prices, and then the trucker has to pay the increased price for whatever they buy at Walmart, trucking fees go up again, Walmart increases prices, etc., etc, and on and on.........

U.S. carriers have a turnover rate of over 100% . In Canada the turnover rate is less than 30% . ATA is creating a "shortage" to justify eased immigration laws . Bush did his best to get a guest worker program to benefit ATA .