Originally Posted by Gizmo_Man

those reasons, and i think too the days of the owner-operator will diminish considerably. at least those o/o's that are on thier own authority.

i see more company "buy-outs" of smaller not-too-profitable companies.

i see more regulations, rules, laws many as a result of the pee-poor training schools give for the extreme amounts of money charged, and accident rates climbing steadily.

i see more freight going by trains than ever before, requiring less drivers as a result, but more work as shuttle drivers to and from the train yards, unless some place still have R/R tracks behind them.

i DO NOT SEE anymore money or benefits or better working conditions, as it'll still be a "buyer's market" to hire any scumbag off the street, put him behind the wheel and say, "go deliver". this will keep the wages LOW.

in the end, the old timers will retire, newbies will tire of all the things we talk about and see for themselves the declining way of things in trucking, and they too will fall by the wayside.

Gizmo, you're a smart dude. Your posts always shed accurate insight.

I do agree with Digger in the aspect of the demand for good, clean record drivers, is going to climb. Companies will not be able to afford drivers with poor driving records, or poor CSA scores due to CSA. More and more companies looking for a trucking company to haul their freight is going to weigh a companies CSA score into who they hire.

It's imperative to keep your CSA score low. I'd advise all drivers to know the ins and outs of CSA 2010. Companies look at drivers with high CSA scores as a driver that is going to their CSA score. Because CSA 2010 is strict, a lot of current drivers are going to be forced into working for low paying companies. Drivers with low CSA scores will be more in demand, and therefor raising the pay for those drivers. The future is CSA2010, whether you like it or not.

Originally Posted by Keyster

Driving a truck is considered "non-skilled labor".
Truck driving is commodity employment, like fast food workers or retail sales or resturant service workers (and the net/net pay and turnover is not dissimilar).
There will ALWAYS be the bodies to fill the seats. 3 weeks of school, 5 weeks with a "trainer" and you're on the road.
$35K a year for 80 hours a week ($8.75 an hour, no overtime pay), live in a box, see home a few days each month.
Stay clean, stay safe, deliver on time, work hard, always have a pleasant "can-do" attitude - - and eventually you can work your way up to $45K and/or get a local job making $18.50 an hour - probably touching freight - loading and unloading.

It's not a living or even a career, it's a life style choice.

It's rigged against the driver. It's engrained in the business model.

I'm anti-Union, but I'd make an exception for truckers.
They're (OTR) the life blood of our economy and they're treated poorly relative to what they accomplish.

I agree this may be the case for a driver fresh out of school, and during their first year. If that driver is smart, and does a good job, there are better companies looking to pay qualified drivers a lot more than what a fast food employee makes. You're only telling a small part of the story.

If said driver is lazy, skips pre-trip inspections, and racks up tickets, and CSA points, then yes, he's going to make the same as the dude flipping burgers are Burger King. As time moves on, with CSA 2010 he'll be lucky to be in any truck with more than 4 wheels.

I think we can all agree, if you pay your dues in this business, it'll pay off later. Like most careers.

For my point of view o/o's are increasing and it will continue since we are getting a good numbers of educated drivers coming into Tue business with a mind set surpassing those who have only a high school diploma and the csa is really becoming and big headache for experienced truck drivers, and dispatch are on the way out since companies atleast Tue good ones believe a driver can plan his route and loads without having some
body looking above their shoulders. Driving hours will be reduced, gas trucks will fail due to their lack of range, truck stops will include a quiet zone for those who don't need or have a apu, and by 2025 there's going to be a 20 mpg truck

The future of trucking as I see it:

The larger carriers will continue to undercut rates to put the smaller carriers out of business.

Fresh, new drivers with perfectly clean PSP scores will continue to be more valuable than more experienced drivers, due to both lower insurance rates and lower pay.

Traditional solo coast to coast OTR will continue to fade in favor of low paid teams.

EOBRs will become an industry-wide requirement, shutting down independent O/O's and small carriers who either cannot afford the additional costs, or refuse to operate with such devices installed. Refusal will be predominantly due to independence issues rather than a desire to run "outlaw", despite what the government , ATA, and other groups claim.

"Schools" and recruiting efforts will continue to ensure a steady stream of rookie drivers to fill seats left behind by those whohave either retired, or permanently lleft the field due to increasingly horrible working conditions.

Any questions or opinions?