Ok....I finished trucking school (Baker College) back in March and since I am only 20, no one will really look at me. I currently work at a coop and the electrical linemen are trying to get me to work with them. I am currently considering (alot) but would like to ask you a question. Are the fuel prices hurting the pay of company drivers or will it in the next few year to come? I know that it is killing the Owner Operators but since I was gonna be company driver, I was just wondering if there will be a slowdown in the trucking industry and would I be better off going into a skilled trade like I stated earlier. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks alot!!!!!

I believe there may be a small delay in driver pay do to the economy but overall wages will remain stable, healthy, and advance.

Nobody wants to pay more for shipping but basically nobody is going to quit shipping either... all the cheap unprofitable loads will STOP being as prevalent just as soon as knuckle-heads quit dragging it around for free.

Should you drive truck or go into a skilled trade? That's totally up to you and depends on what you want to do for a living and what lifestyle you want to live.

People need plumbers just like they need truck drivers... Won't be either one of them disappearing...

I have heard some companies are lowering starting pay for student drivers, but I can't recall which ones I read it was. Just do your research and look around. Some start considerably lower than others already, so just choose carefully.

Grab a job with Coke or Pepsi ext.. until you turn 21...

<donning the mighty Oracle Hat>

No - I don't think it will hurt the pay for company drivers. In the long run, I think even O/O will do ok, too. It may take a bit of time, but fuel surcharges will eventually come up even with fuel costs.

HOWEVER, this insane increase in fuel prices will result in a huge jump in the avarage Joe's cost of living as retailers pass it on - and then some. If driver wages don't keep up, they're going to face a 'de facto' decrease as their buying dollar buys less.

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Keep the big doors at the back!

Fuel cost afects everyone to some extent. The money spent on fuel by companys is money that can't be spent on other things. It may be equiptment,driver pay or maintance but somewhere is going to get shorted.

The thing about the trucking fuel prices driving up the cost of goods??? well, sure, it has to a *bit* but I think it is much lower than most would realize just for the transportation cost.

5 mpg 1000 mile haul = 200 gallons of fuel used.

200 gallons # $3 bucks = $600 or 200 gallons # $5 = $1000

$400 dollars in cost difference. which looks like alot but

40,000 lbs of freight = a penny a pound extra shipping cost??? in that context it really isn't that much at all.

the real cost/price increase is due to non commercial gasoline prices being doubled and the minimum wage index going up 30%.

1) I think everyone has gotten a small cost of living increase since gas was $1.50

2) minimum wage went up. the argument can be made that most don't work for minimum which is true... but when minimum was $5.15 and you were making $7.50 you felt, not happy but ok with life, so to speak.

When minimum went up to $7.50 and you were suddenly working for minimum you probably weren't to happy and you really weren't happy when juan diego floor sweeper was making the same as you and you been there for 3 years... so you had to have a raise just to keep feeling good about life.

end result... you got a raise... but pricing outpaced your raise so you're still nailed just from a different perspective.

Gas went up and you lost 30 bucks a week to the ether, they gave you an extra 30 and poof prices rose 30 and so did gas... lol vicious cycle.

People realized they were over-spending, started cutting back and poof again.

Yeah see the rich aren't taking a pay cut here period. Stuff costs more and its up to the middle class and poor to absorb the cost increase.

Government is handing banks free money (tax dollars) (yours) to keep them going but they haven't exactly passed it on, not to me anyways...

Quit buying groceries, your to fat anyways... that'll save yeah some money.... ooo wait that lowers demand... poof... another cost increase.

we had savings 40 years ago, 20 ago we lived hand to mouth, 10 ago we started in with the credit cards, and now I'm sorry to say we're all getting dropped a class notch.

Don't worry they won't let you starve or anything... that leads to riots, rebellions, ect...

but you best get used to living leaner... that much is for sure.

Call me a dreamer
Call me a rebel
Call me an idiot (this probably would be my personal pick)

But I believe I don't have to get used to anything.. Its the morons running this country and thier own personal greed putting Americans into this position.. Their greed is taken advantage of by large corporations threw lobbyist, campaign funds ext... Each one of them up in Washington are millionaires over and over.. Paid puppets ran by large corporations..

Well I have a dream
more like a delusional belief
but I believe we still can take this country back.. Its not to late yet


Okay
I am done, this probaly belongs down in the political section of the forum..

You hit the nail square on the head Im6under, basic economics is what it al boils down to. Let's take McDonalds...nothing against Ronnie (I'm a BK man personally) but they are the largest & easiest to explain.

McDs is paying minimum wage of $5.50, some are making maybe $6 - 6.50, Uncle Sam decides to raise minimum wage to $7.50 now Ronnie has to boost ALL of his employees wages. Now everyone is looking at how much bigger their paychecks are getting and praising Uncle Sam for increasing their buying power. Uncle Sam lights up a cigar with an "I'm Brilliant" grin on his face while lower - middle class america sets out to WallyWorld because that paycheck is burning a hole in thier pocket.

As it was stated earlier, the rich aren't going to take a pay cut so the first thing that Wally & Ronnie do is...that's right, make the BigMacs & little wally trinkets more expensive.

How do we slove this??? I'm not a very smart man...but I have few ideas.
1. For EVER import car coming into the country, one US built car must be exported to the import country

2. Keep the jobs AMERICAN. Establish & enforce a $10000.00 fine per employee for empoyeers who hire illegal immigrants.

3. Use the oil from Alaska & stop buying from the middle east & eventually, they will lower thier prices.

If the United States was the only country buying crude -- that might work. But we're competing with other countries like China who are demanding more and more oil as their nations develop.
Supply and demand.

So, if the US produced more crude, why would the oil companies, which are a business, sell it for LESS than market value? If they can get $300 a barrel, do you think it makes good business sense to sell it for $150?

Now, the oil companies are telling us that they're "investing" the huge profits they're realizing. I suspect that "investing" is in exploration for more oil to sell, rather than in alternative fuels, so we'll remain dependent on them for generations, as the EPA and CARB continue to demand clean burning engines -- putting the squeeze on old technology that, IMO, should be phasing out in favor of new technology. But I suppose they figure it will be easier and more profitable to THEM, if they keep us dependent on their oil.

Hmmmmmmm
Perhaps OIL is the REAL forbidden fruit that Eve convinced Adam to take a bite of.
Ya reckon.

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Pontificating Dogmatist