Here’s a very brief run-down on what the two sides in the driver shortage argument are saying. The major trucking companies say that there is a shortage of reliable, safe drivers who they can trust to be responsible and make shipments on time. Drivers say that the reason the trucking companies can’t find responsible drivers is that they don’t pay enough or treat their drivers well enough to convince anyone who can get a job doing anything else to stay.
As the debate rages on over what is to be done about the so-called “driver shortage,” it may be important to take a step back and take a more objective look at the situation. Overdrive Online recently published a survey taken by the Mack-Blackwell Rural Transportation Center. The survey was seeking to find out how many owner-operators owned more than one truck.
You’ll notice that of the owner-operators who were surveyed, about one third said that they’d owned more than one truck at some point, but only one third of them still operated the additional trucks. The main reason they cited for getting rid of the extra vehicle? “A lack of qualified and reliable drivers.”
As it turns out, even other drivers say that they can’t find good drivers to work with them. While some percentage of those owner-operators were probably terrible bosses or didn’t maintain their equipment properly, a good chunk of them must have worked their hardest, done a good job, and ultimately failed to find a “qualified and reliable” driver who they could trust to operate their extra vehicle.
While drivers are almost certainly right that some companies treat their drivers like dirt, and while some companies are almost certainly right that some of their drivers are unsafe and untrustworthy, perhaps its time to stop clawing at each other’s throats and pointing fingers for long enough to take a good hard look at what each side can do to help themselves… and each other. So trucking companies, if you’re reading this, remember that helping your drivers IS helping yourselves.
Next Story: Red Light Cameras Cause More Crashes Than They Prevent
Source: Overdriveonline
Image Source: Driving Ambition
Someone call me when they will start me at .50 a mile plus overtime, until then I hope the entire industry crashes as it deserves to. This industry has done it to itself.
i have no desire to drive,,,,i am an x-driver with 15 yrs, and now in the health care field….i see all the negatives, and the list is long-
parking-communities banning driving in there city- revenue producing speed traps- no respect for the trucker- trucks a nusiance- crazy logs- huge fines- federal dot totally nuts today- possibliity of speed limiters, and many other things…
no thanks,,,if america wants to depend on me hauling there goods…the stores would become empty…screw trucking
You can not have over time in trucking.
Specially a class A cdl driver.
70hr 8 day work schedule role that out
Well put . I’ve been driving for 7.5 years & it sucks! They would rather pay a recruiting company than pay more for the driver. They piss away so much money on non essential personnel. If they would promote smarter drivers to dispatch & management and pay them more to come out of the truck, it would solve most of the problem.
These companies are penny smart & dollar stupid!
Right on. Could not have said it better myself. The companies are at fault…Period!!!!!!! They have screwed drivers for to long. They forgot that at some point enough drivers will just quit and walk away…like I did.
Remember ….if they threaten to fire everyone…then who will drive their trucks.
Even airplanes with auto pilot still need pilots in the cockpit.
part of the problem here is that these companies want too much experience.
they want people to have 2 or 3 years on paper or no job. there are plenty of drivers out there who are more than qualified, and have been driving trucks since they were teenagers, maybe their parents were owner operators and they learned to drive riding along with their dad, and have driven trucks but just not anything that can be proven on paper. it doesn’t mean they are incompetent, unsafe etc.. they ( and myself ) arent even being considered just because of that. there are plenty of drivers out there, these companies need to lower their ridiculous requirements and give people a chance, put them with the trainer whatever, just try them out.. if they would do that this imaginary ” driver shortage” would not be an issue.
Spot on !
I drove over 40 yrs. Since I retired ,I’ve done a little part time. Now I’m no longer qualified because of not enough experience in the past 2 yrs. I can drive a manuel shift, this day & time drivers need automatics. You tell me…..
They can’t attract the safe and responsible drivers because they don’t pay enough. Why would i go back to driving otr again when i can make the same amount driving a school bus and be home every night.
Well, I can comment on truck companies not treating their drivers well by recounting a recent experience with _____. I gave them one month of my time in which I barely earned $1200.00 through a lease purchase program. Got there on a Sunday night and after one night in their filthy “accommodations” I requested a local hotel room. At least the bathroom and bed was clean without dirt in the sheets and mold in the shower. After a 3 day orientation with a broken training Qualcom, I was expected to learn electronic logging. I tried to pick a truck with what I needed, not necessarily if it was pretty. I looked for low mileage, an APU and hopefully an installed power inverter. This company owns it own leasing truck company and when you get your truck, they have NOT gone trough a 32 point inspection nor a DOT safely inspection. So to make a long story short, my truck spent more time in the shop with a major safety issue of brake failure. (it took 3 times in the shop to fix it to my satisfaction since they were giving me MAX weight loads) and 4 times in the shop for the Qualcom that was never fixed properly with many errors on my electronic logs. I never had one driver manager who I could communicate with. Everyday I had at least 4 different people so I never knew whose board I was assigned to. After many discussions with my wife (who knows the business and has been a truckers wife for more than 15 years in both company and owner op options) we decided to bow out of their thankfully walk away contract. I have since moved on to another company. In my humble opinion, companies should prioritize in the following manner; 1) Safety!!!, 2) Driver Relations, and 3) Freight. Until they start doing that there will always be FAIL.
i went to school for driving,left there is no money in it.yeah you drive 60hours a week for what $600 and you are away from your family.no benefits you make them millions and they can not offer benifits they want you to pay $400-$500 a month for a family.i talked to one trucker he has been driving 30 years made more 30 years ago then he makes now.and some of the dipatchers they hire are very ignorant to drivers,swift suckered my friend into buyong a truck $2400 a month payment.they should pay for all repairs but they dont.
When drivers are paid what they are worth things will change. even when a driver is sleeping in the berth his time should be paid. the work we do is dangerous even under the best of circums
tances.
Trucking companies don’t near pay drivers enough and truck driving is more likely to be described as like a jail cell on wheels than anything else. It destroys most marriages and drivers personal loves are almost non existent. I’ve been driving for over 15 years now and would love to find something else to do but can’t. People have so many romantic misconceptions about trucking and the lifestyle that is associated with it. On top of all this there are immigrants that can’t speak English that are becoming more and more relevant in the future employment equation and the backlash toward them and the authority’s that allow them to have CDL’s without being in command of basic English language skills is going to grow. I have a perfect safety record and its so hard to find a decent trucking job that pays well and has good benefits and working conditions these days and it only gets worse, never better. I made a lot more money when I started than I do now and I wonder when the trend will ever reverse. Most Truckers haven’t had a real raise in earnings in many many years.
I wanted to drive but I won’t. The government is way to much involed. They can more less put a cap on how much you can make with the restriction on driving time. They set out to bust you just because there having a bad day. From what I understand, if you get pulled over just for an inspection, no speeding or anything like that, They will find a problem and won’t stop in till they do find one. more money out of your pocket. It seems like ther out to get truck drivers.
Fuel prices go up, food cost go up, truck prices go up, repairs go up, tolls go up and we drivers get NOTHING!! Time to put an end to this crap, don’t you think???? No more cheap freight. I wish we could all get together just once and get this crap resolved once and for all. Nobody cares about the drivers and it is time that we show the powers to be that without us there is NO economy. Without us there is NO business. Without us people will starve. Without us people will die. How much are you worth??? I know I am worth a lot more than I am making, and so are my fellow drivers. Don’t drive for these cheap ass companies, let them take there trucks and shove them where the sun don’t shine. If it sounds like I am angry it’s because I AM!!!! Let’s NOT be sheep anymore. JUST SAY NO.
Amen. The attitude that drivers are a dime a dozen is coming to a close. Paying low to mid thirties cents a mile to 20 year plus driver with a clean record shows how disrespectful these companies are to us hard working guys. Drivers are the core to the company- Period! Corporate Greed destroys jobs.
They put those restrictions on because its a safty issue. those have been the rules for years. if you things right then you should be fine out there. Teams make the most money and if you want to do it right thats how you should do it Solo at least from how I see it they make more money being O/Os I guess thats a problem if you don’t want to team. You got to do what you got to do to make the money.
Speaking as someone who spent 12 years in the trucking industry as a driver and an O/O and still works part-time as a driver, the biggest complaints I had are still the same today as they were 19 Years ago. Pay, quality of live and being appreciated.
Todays pay scale is no higher then it was in the 1990’s. When I was a company driver in the early 90’s, I was paid in the .35-.38/mile range. It’s not any higher today, yet the cost of living has gone up. When I became an O/O in 95 I bought 3 trucks and on 2 of the trucks I was paying a team of drivers .50/mile. What are teams at today, .45-.50/mile?
What amazed my wife and still does is the attitude that drivers are basically over paid slaves. At my current company that I work at part time, drivers are required to work 12 hour days 5 days a week. We are paid miles & load pay NOT hourly, there have been many days that I averaged $8-9/ hour because of the wait time to be loaded and not getting paid.
How about this, start paying drivers a fair wage, offer decent health insurance, allow for a vacation after 6 months and 3 days PTO for emergencies….you know, what NORMAL people are offered.
Great. I agree. I think that drivers should be paid by the hour not the mile. If one does their research it will be shown that the railroads don’t have near the problems. They also don’t travel as far and all their loads are relay. They don’t have the turnover that trucking companies have. You also start out at the bottom, working as a yard switcher before learning how to drive a locomotive. And they still don’t lose as many workers as truck companies.
It is simple higher pay relay the loads so that all drivers go home everyday and everyone has 64 hours off per week, which is what you get if you work Monday to Friday 9 to 5.
I know there are people who will say that this won’t work, That is wrong because that is what it use to be. Even Google did a study which showed people should actually work less.
The truth is drivers are having to work more hrs to get less pay.
I have driven for three years with several companies and I can say I would rather make less money and be home every day and get weekends off than stay in trucking.
Well said Gregg. I drove for a couple of OTR companies and they don’t even
pay you enough to survive. It is so NOT worth it…..being away from family & not
being compensated for life on the road. After putting in applications for months, I finally landed something local.
The last company I worked for, before I quit trucking was PTL.
They treated the drivers with contempt I’ve never seen in my life.
The drivers bring in the bucks, but the dispatchers must have been
trained to treat the drivers like beasts of burden,
rather than the golden goose.
When EVERYTHING, the DOT, the scales, the state cops, the local cops,
the EPA, the customers ( who think YOUR time is THEIR time),
and the very company you work your ass off for,
is going against you, and fighting you every step of the way,
NOBODY but a masochist would want to drive a truck.
It’s always a problem with drivers, isn’t it? I pick up and deliver on time, and generally do my job conscientiously. I’ve tried to find a company who would work with me, but their only concern is freight – the driver is a distant second. Most companies are willing to make accommodations to attract talent. Not the trucking companies! This is an industry that considers 100% turnover to be pretty good. Any other industry would wonder what the heck they’re doing wrong.
I’m willing to stay out for weeks at a time, but, when I do get home I want some time off. But most OTR companies expect you to put in 77 to 96 hours a week, every week, stay out three weeks, then only grudgingly let you go home for a couple of days. Unless they need a load picked up, of course. Or they’ll get you home “almost” every week – for a day and a half. How can you have any kind of life, like that?
Then they all wring their hands over a “driver shortage.” There’s no driver shortage. There’s a shortage of worthwhile jobs. I love driving a truck. But for the hours worked, and the life they want you give up, it just isn’t worth it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that good employers don’t need to advertise to fill their positions. Any company with a staff of recruiters is selling jobs no one wants.
4 years ago starting pay waz 50 cent now its lower then that ya right whos going for that crap
i think there is shortage of good company.s
When the industry decides to be safe instead of talking safe by paying all OTR drivers hourly instead of per mile, then there might be some changes.
Drivers have – for years – carried more and more of the burden for safety problems and have taken a great deal more than their share of the blame, when the very core of the safety issue is in how drivers are paid. Hourly pay? No more log cheating, no more driving to make up the 4 hours you spent on the beltway for traffic, no more driving to make up for the 12 hours you spent at the shipper/receiver.
Consumers might have to pay a little more…and we surely don’t want THAT, right?
Great point. Another thing that everyone forgets is that the retailers Jack up the price on things unrelated to production and shipping cost.
I just went shopping at WinCo in Spokane WA. I bought a larger size tub of butter which was made by a CA company and paid less than I have paid for a smaller size of the same product at both Albertsons and Wal-Mart. And yet WinCo is the smallest of the 3 companies. Let’s see…pruct maid in CA an expensive high regulation state…shipped over 800 miles. Approx. Yet the cost was less for more product….hmmmm
Lower price = higher demand since more customers will run to the nearest store with lower prices….this smells like pure greed to me.
My oppinion, you can point youre finger at these big trucking companies you know which ones, every year the o/o go to washington to stand there ground an what happens nothing turns into a truck show yes the government is way to involed putting computers in trucks I understand the safety but come on that right there cuts youre throat, in that case their should be a raise in mileage pay.But when the economy cant be staightened out thats not gona happen least not for the driver.Theres alot of things that are going wrong for drivers but right for the company,the lack of good drivers is there fault ive seen alot in my 13yrs of driving an cant believe what I see. An now im out of work for reasons out of my control an iam jumping through hoops triing to get back to work it was not this difficult yrs back.My oppinion blame the large companies they push the issue that knowing the smaller company cant afford it.NOT FAIR!!!
I came off the road 5 yrs ago..i would NEVER consider going longhaul again…I work driving locally, I earn an HOURLY wage, i take home about 20% more a month than i ever did on the road..(and that does not include road expenses)..im home EVERY night, i have a LIFE! WHY would i run longhaul again? Here in Canada the over the road guys have made the same “competitive wages” for the last 6 years or so….a 40c a mile wall…a mortgage is a 65-75c per mile situation nowadays mr trucking company owner, WAKE UP!! enjoy those fresh from the boat whackjobs bending your iron for you. I will never grace the interior of your cab again.
I was a co driver for 12 yr’s and then bought a truck…..WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE..I found myself setting in parking lots for HOURS ON END only to find out 2 weeks later,I’m the only one NOT GETTING PAYED TO SETT THERE!! It’s NOT WORTH DRIVING TRUCK OR BUYING ONE,Just do some simple math if your one of those who think’s “truck drivers are richhhhh!!!” I’m here to tell ya….making coffee at starbucks pay’s more then driving a truck with WAY MORE HUMAN RIGHTS TO BOOT !!! Want a change????? FORCE A CHANGE!!!!!!!! JUST STOP PULLING.Newtons law: “if you do something and your unhappy with the out come of it ,,,,change the way you are doing things…” Until then trucking co you get what you pay for…
How long would these companies survive if they didn’t have exemptions from normal pay laws. Start paying a driver by the hour instead of the BS movers guide mileage. They don’t stop the dispatchers pay if his phone doesn’t ring, but they want drivers to work for no pay while they are at a shipper or receiver?
You know I think a little give and take from both side would result in something that everyone could be happy with. I know my husband drives OTR, for a major shipping company. And he said it’s either feast or famine out there. He is a great driver, and yes I am biased, but I can say hes been driving more then 15 years, no accidents, tickets, etc. He’s on time if it is within his power to be, but if you send him a load that was already late before he picked it up, please tell me how that is his fault? Beyond that, if companies would realize that a higher per mile rate would net them better drivers, and if they would also disapline the lax drives they have they would weed the bad ones out, and after a short period of disruption both sides would see a vast improvement. As I said, my husband drives, and he has drivers leave him loads for a relay that have 3 flat tires, really you didn’t notice at least 1 of the three???? yes they did, they just decided to leave the problem for someone else to deal with. If drivers would take a little responsiblity on themselves, less and less things like that would happen, and I know it’s not popular, but if you drivers would turn in the drivers who aren’t doing what they are suppose to, you would have less bad drivers on the road, and companies willing to pay more for what are expected to be better drivers. NO job is ever going to be perfect, so get over that thought right now, if it was perfect and you couldn’t wait to do it, they wouldn’t be paying you to be there. As far as the Govt. and their regulations, well as sorry as it is to say, the Govt is needed to a degree, and whether you want to admit it or not, you know there are drivers out there doing things that are outright illegal and dangerous, and by them doing that, they ARE putting their life, as well as YOUR life and everyone else on the road in danger because they can’t or just plain wont follow safety guidelines. Yes making money is the bottom line, but not by running for so long that you are too tired to drive safely, I don’t know whom you have in your life, but I love my husband, and my daughter and I want him to come home in one healthy happy piece and are not willing to risk his life so you can be a reckless butt who only thinks of themselves. Because guess what , if you are allowed to run as long as you want, you wont be the only idiot out there doing it, and trust me when I say that the majority of people over estimate their abilities in what they are capable of. So you just my be putting your life in some idiots hands who thinks he’s God’s gift to the trucking industry when in reality he should be allowed to valet park bikes.
Not only that but the friggin trucking schools are scams too! Um if I’m looking for a job and have no money saved, how do they expect you to pay for a $2500 school upfront? Geez….
I will not work 11 hours a day for .28 cents a mile. I will not be away from home for 30 day’s out. I will not live in this Truck. I will not work for your crappy insurance. I will not be trapped in your dirty smelly company yards waiting for days for a load. I will not live in dirty truck stops. I will not drive in New York! I will not drive a stinky city bus! I went to school! I got a much better job, better pay, weekends off, better insurance, home every night.
Concerning driver requirements: The trucking company does not dictate the requirements. The INSURANCE companies are the ones who tell the trucking company what requirements the driver must meet. If it were up to just the trucking company, they would be willing to lower requirements. My husband taught me to drive in 1979. We were 0/0 for years and like you say there is nothing that can be proven on paper.
Freight prices are marginal for the owner operator, so I don’t see the demand for more drivers. The big fleets have all the scale of economy on their side. If the cant pay drivers enough to retain them, then they can go out of business. Truck owning and driving is like home owning and renting. Maintenance on trucks is high enough, if a driver doesn’t own the truck it will be higher…
You’re on the right track. In over fifty years ,some of the best drivers I have ever known drove for owner operators,and a lot of companies over the years just went out of existence leaving a lot of drivers without certifiable proof said company ever existed. Now with that being said,back in my day trucking companies were notorious for shortchanging ,or totally failing to pay it’s drivers ,therefore forcing many drivers to quit and look elsewhere,and this happened A LOT trust me I started in 1962. Well sir now days if a driver has several jobs in his lifetime because he was tired of getting the screws put to him ,it is now considered “job hopping” or not being dedicated or reliable. Of course now if a driver quits because he/or she is being treated poorly it angers the company and the company takes revenge by submitting some type of “bull crap” information on his DAC. It is truly a pathetic industry where one is punished for trying to stand up for himself ,or improve his quality of life. Not to mention, companies require a driver to have driven in the last two or three years. Okaaaaay now we have some drivers who have driven for forty years ,and he takes a five year break doing something else and decides he wants to return to driving,so now that forty years is tossed out the window? Really??? Good god give me a break. I’ll take a driver who drove for thirty years ,and hasn’t driven in the last ten any day ,anytime,anywhere. Oh and by the way,factoring in “real money cost and value” with inflation, my father made more in the 1940’s and fifties ,and I made more in the 1960’s and 70’s than drivers currently make today.
Yeah, that’s exactly right. A driver’s time is worth nothing, because no one has to pay for it. If we were paid by the hour, you wouldn’t even need hours-of-service regulations. People violate because they sat in a dock for four, six, eight hours making nothing, or next to nothing. You’d see that, and fourteen-hour days, end pretty quickly.
lets start with the re-classification of truck drivers by the dept of labor in the early 1950’s. this was done at the behest of many large carriers and shippers. until that is corrected then trucking will remain what it is…the last american sweatshop. pay by the mile is simply what it is…piece work. now that electronic tracking is widely available then there is no more need for “piece” work. the companies can continue with there public relations b/s, and make no mistake that is what it is, but they will never change till they have dried up every source for drivers out there. they are close to that now. so many of you are spot on, why would anyone want to spend 95% of their life for a very low rate of pay in a truck, gone from home and loved ones and just give up having any life at all. no sympathy for the trucking companies…the same carriers tell the same lies over and over and over again and then they blame the drivers for their companies shortfalls. to finish…40 yrs exp as both company and o/o. luckily worked for some of the very best and only a few of the “turds”. its hard to find a good one but there are some out there….good luck and stay safe.
That is the most blatant disregard for the truth I have seen so far. How can it be that we are unreliable? Why not tell the truth in the matter that we have been run out of the business by federal regulation and companies trying to smear our names on a report that is so called “fair”. Try pointing the fingers at the companies who want to pay less and less each day by cutting the drivers benefits and incentives. There is no company out here today worried about driver retention or paying what is fair to live comfortably, or treating drivers with respect or honor. Seems the blame was taken off the dispatchers and the CSR’s that they are the main reason that freight is never on time. Its always the drivers that are the problem and it is never an internal problem. Our job is to drive and make sure our equipment is passable each day in the hopes that the Gestapo doesn’t pull us into a weigh station and try to extort us for their Christmas party or big bonuses for such a great job they do. We haven’t had a raise in over thirty years and how is it we are being paid less now, than back then? Doesn’t make sense now does it, but that’s what we get by letting these politicians, judges, lawyers, and liberals just take the reigns of the industry. They have done this much so far, so we might as well shut up and deal with it, because if you fight them, they have the law on their side who will silence us real quick and lock us up if we decide to do something about it. Its just a shame that we have no backbone anymore and just lay down to our handlers who just take more and more each day and deal with companies that care more about overheads than human beings. Its not right and it shouldn’t be tolerated.
I drove for 12 years OTR and have been blackballed after proving to the people that did this that I was not only a good driver but also a very safe one. The trucking industry is a great opportunity for criminals of all types, including con artists, racist cops, lawyers, prostitutes, thieves, murderers, drug dealers, slavers, cheats, liars and just lost humanity in general. I drove a flat-bed for a major trucking company but strangely enough whereas I still carry a Class A CDL there is nothing anywhere to prove that I ever drove a flatbed. I still remember the individual who asked me what I enjoyed doing most and when I replied driving a flatbed; shortly after that all records of my driving a F/B disappeared. Another man told me that “they would starve me to death”; well, buddy i’m not dead yet. Money can’t buy a place in heaven but it can reserve a “hot spot” in hell.
Always gone, sitting waiting for loads or waiting anywhere from 3 to
8 hours to be unloaded by the customers and not being paid for that, if your with a trainer the trainer gets ur pay ontop of theirs u try to sleep but the Qualcomm goes off alnight long
Dealing with unprofessional FMs, they give long loads but take them away I can’t count hours spent sitting only way this industry will change by having it unionized again giving us trucker a hourly rage cuz the money don’t add up driving for .32 a mile then food is expensive at truck stops hardly any parking now I heard they are charging for that n the crappy sleeping situation n being away from home 6 to 8 wks n the FMs are home every night n weekends so I will never be put in the poor house again by these sweat shops
Geoffrey hit it right on the head. I am college educated and always wanted to drive a truck. I am retired and took a Credit Union loan to go to trucking school. Before I went I studied. By the time I entered school I had taken and passed the test for my Class A permit and all the endorsements. I got my DOT physical done and my Hazmat clearance also. I went to an additional 3 week school for CR England in Utah and graduated. I then went on the road, driving, for an additional 2 + weeks. By then I saw how they truly operated. Low wages, ie no money while waiting, broke down or looking for an “empty”. Hours upon hours of no pay but while still being away from home and earning 0, zip, nothing. So I left. Sacrificed my training and my money only to learn that they do, in fact, pay crap and treat you the same way. Treat your drivers better and pay better or the trucking industry is in big, big trouble. It will take a while to weed out the bad drivers, yes they are out there, but in the long run increasing what you pay will give you the choice of who to hire. Until then don’t complain(the companies that is) about the quality of your truckers. You will continue to be the “last resort” for many of the worst workers as it is their last chance to earn at least a minimum wage.
True,insurance companies have a mighty big thumb.
An old unscrupulous trucking company owner told me many years ago, “the more you starve a driver,the harder he will run” It’s kinda like using a knife to bail the water out a boat with a hole in it.
I’ve been on the rd. now for 6yrs. I do this because I CHOOSE to, NOT because I have to. I say, it’s NOT the quantity of available drivers, but QUALITYof drivers that LACKS. We’ve all seen them, unkept, rude, dirty, filthy equipment. A GENERAL observation, many don’t even have teeth. You may ask, what has teeth have to do w/it? I could be wrong, if an individual CHOOSES NOT to take care of themself, that’s a sign of lack of discipline & integrity. It’s NOT a 100% accurate scientific study. I’m a Co. driver, I’m clean shaven, I floss & brush, I wear a shirt with a collar everyday that’s tucked in w/my pants up where they belong w/my foot gear tied. I invest my time & $$ to have my trk washed minimum every 2 wks. With all due respect, I’m NOT lowering my standards – so UP YOURS! By the way, a debate can NOT be won by DISagreeing; the argument MUST be broken. Thanks for reading. -e
I feel the same way as you do but most if not all trucking companies ARE TOO CHEAP and will NEVER pay their drivers for downtime.
There’s a book called “Sweatshop on Wheels”. The author was an actual truck driver and wrote about the darkside of trucking from his experiences. Every truck driver or potential truck driver should read it. The federal government of this country can go all over the world to preach to other countries about human rights violations but they can’t do that to employers here at home. Imagine that!
I’ve been around this industry all my life but have only been driving officially since 2008. Like many, I took a pretty hard hit when the economy tanked and had no choice but to start driving OTR. I am local now and am much happier. I did survive, but only because I drove solo, no e-logs and I stayed out 3-4 weeks at a time. God knows I hope I never have to do that again! I make much more money now being in LTL as opposed to truckload, and I’m home every night. Between, low pay, driving outlaw to make any money while trying to avoid the tax collectors/DOT officers, and living in parking lots 2000 miles from home, its a job I wouldn’t wish on my worse enemy! My opinion is that MEXICO will soon do most of Americas long hauling because none of us will be willing to do it anymore for an average of $7-$8 hour. I’m 45 yrs old now so hopefully I Will be dead before the days of U.N internment camps and martial law rule the land. This country iis unsavable in my opinion.
My opinion is that these trucking companies should lower their requirements and reconsider those who have poor Backrounds. Granted its an Insurance thing ” so Im told ” but for those of us who have questionable records are being denied because of our past. Trucking companies are judging way too much about what they read on paper and not giving us the proper time to explain ourselves. I have 18,807 Miles under my belt as a driver so far. I only got that because I went with a no name operation who treated my like filth, I was out for 28 days during Hurricane sandy. My windshield wipers stopped working and was yelled at for refusing to drive faulty equipment. To top that off I had 4 tires blow out on me and was given grief about that also. Then when I get home expecting atleast 2,000 for the past 28 days I only got 600 dollars. Thats right folks 600 bucks for 28 days of driving. I was with a so called trainer who didnt know crap. I had to teach him and that was my first run, the second run which was the 28 day run I was solo. It would be nice to be able to be with a company that actually took care of their drivers more than the company I was with. I am no longer with that company because it got shut down by the FMCSA. Believe me Im thankful the FMCSA shut them down. I have gone over the FMCSA SMS report and not a single violation involved me.
Well well fellas, I have owened 3trucks out of my 20 years an I tell younger folks that ask me about being a trucker.DONT DO IT. It’s not worth it, the pay ain’t good long hrs. An it’s all a conspiracie between the gov. An big business, look the government tells you how long you can drive thAt limits your income. The companies will not pay the truck/driver a fair wage so now you have to run 5,000+ miles a week to make ends meat, now the DOT got you shut down for running out of hrs. An you not going to get a hand full of drivers to pull together
All it would take is one big ass major shut down. It embarrasses me to even claim To be a trucker. Looking to get out completely.
Again !!!! i will say when companies pay what good drivers are worth, and goverment gives more slack on controling the trucking industry, and we get paid like we should, there will be a need for truck drivers. we all are getting tired of working for free, and bigger boys making money . Even owner opperators dont pay for a decent driver? why because he cant afford it either with costs. (not blaming him) but it verts back to goverment rules, costs, fuel, and what companies what to pay. after 20 plus years as a safe , non accident driver , former owner opp. , and driving many of miles, helping many of people out there, meeting good and bad people, dealing with good and bad companies, i,m ashamed to say i have less to show for it then what i,m doing now, with less hours, and time, and being home more, as a non driver. do i like what i,m doing? hey its work, i miss what i was fond of and proud of doing, but had to give it up because of long hours, low pay, and tired of the new computer monitors, driver monitors, etc. i never had a problem with knowing when to quit driving when tired. trucking is a dieing industry. good luck to those out there, and good luck to the owner opp. I,d love to get into it before i die ( i,m 57) but i dont work for free. give me a good truck , give me space, give me good pay , and i for one can garantee i will do you a good job., but that seems to be old school, and cant happen today so suffer !!! get a train, fetch it your self, starve, go broke, or hurt for drivers, but dont blame us out here. it is the companies and goverment to blame.
that sudont guy hit the nail on the head also . and all those out there about the insurance companies. Again it all goes back to companies, govement, low or no pay. and hours of sitting or looking for a trailer or loads, FOR FREE!!!! why whould anyone want to continue????
After reading lots of the responses posted so far, I must say: I agree…. mostly.
Granted, there are few good companies to work for, and jumping from one job to the next as a company driver is NOT the thing to do.
I became an owner/operator four trucks ago, and I must say, I should’ve done it sooner.
Working as a company driver for a hazmat hauler was OK, if you can stand the constant 6 on/2 off schedule, equipment that when new is worth driving, but after only a few months of NOBODY with the authority forcing the drivers to keep the tractors clean, they begin the slide into requiring LOTS of maintenance and repair.
Working as an O/O has it’s own set of headaches, but it also comes with more flexibility. One of the first things an O/O should cultivate is his or her ability to say “No”.
You’ve seen the stickers on other trucks that say “Just Say No To Cheap Freight”?
Well brother, I’m here to tell you that saying “No” to the loads that either just pay enough to break even, or downright COST the O/O money, is the way to go.
From what I’ve seen in 15 years, is that the large customers of our company are the worst offenders when it comes to putting a stranglehold on our company in the area of freight rates. What usually happens is that the customer gets wind of ABC Trucking & Lawn Maintenance is in town and they’ll haul the freight for $10 less per load than we will. More often than not, that’s all it takes to get the customer looking for another carrier, because no matter how long you’ve had them as a customer, the idea of loyalty never crosses their mind.
The issue of qualified drivers is certainly among the top 5 reasons for the “shortage” of drivers. Driver treatment is up there also, as well as the trustworthiness and reliability of the driver himself.
When I had a driver working for me, we did all the background checks, interviews, etc. that any other driver goes through to work for the company I’m leased too. Everything looked good, and I hired him.
Found out the hard way that this driver was a degenerate liar, and his work ethic was so far out of sync with me, that he only lasted 6 months. All the while claiming I wasn’t paying him enough, and demanding an equal share of the fuel surcharge each load generated. Even though he didn’t pay for one drop of the fuel that truck used.
Point is, all the background checks in the world will not reveal absolutely how trustworthy a driver is, or his/her work ethic.
I think the lousy work ethic of WAY too many drivers is a symptom of what’s been wrong with the American society for at least a generation.
Young people just don’t think they should have to work to build their experience and reputation, their knowledge of the industry, or their paycheck. The drivers I interviewed were all expecting top pay for very little experience; had hopped from job to job over the last few years and wondered why we would hold that against them; had falsified their application claiming no tickets or accidents; or falsified the application in the area of their criminal history.
The main problem I have with the industry is the government intrusion and over-regulation.
And, if I could point to ONE thing to get changed in the area of regulations, it would be to abolish the IRS Form 2290, and change the registration process so it DOESN’T cost upwards of $1200 each year for a new tag.
First, the IRS Form 2290 is just ANOTHER way of extracting money from the trucking industry to “fix the roads”. Why is this tax any different than the exorbitant taxes that are placed on every gallon of fuel, some of which are targeted for the same “fix the roads” category.
Truck registration should not be any different than registering a private vehicle. Depending on the state, the price of a new tag each year on a private vehicle goes down, eventually bottoming out at the minimum for that year vehicle.
On top of that (as if these two items weren’t enough), an excise tax is placed on the purchase of any new truck. I just bought a new Volvo… excise tax was nearly $13,000 added to the price of the vehicle. It’s a hidden tax because that tax is folded in to the price of the vehicle, and it’s easier to sell if that info is not readily available.
Don’t EVEN get me started on the equally stupid DOT rules.
I remember the day when, as with the airlines, the trucking industry pricing structure was regulated. Everyone made money because the price to haul freight from point A to point B was the same for everyone, no matter who’s name is on the side of the truck. As with the airlines, the trucking industry carriers relied more on excellent customer service to separate themselves from everyone else.
The trucking industry should go back to the days of pricing regulation before the only carriers on the road are the ones that have 1,000 plus power units, and the O/O’s and smaller carriers go the way of the dodo bird.
Could not agree more.
Need a job?
Most states have a Vocational/Technical “department” that runs a taxpayer subsidized driving school. That helps keep the cost to a minimum.
When I started in the industry in 1998, the cost in Oklahoma was $1200. Today, the cost is $2,800, and they’ve got several ways to pay for the classes.
Recruiters make many promises but when the real world hits, you discover that you have been lied to about almost everything you were told in the beginning. Dispatchers lie. Supervisors back their lies. My CSA is clear. No tickets or accidents in 30 plus years but I would not consider working for one of the large companies without a contract guaranteeing me what I want which really isnt that much. Good, guaranteed weekly pay. Clean truck. Guaranteed weekly home time. Dispatched from home.
Outstanding, comments. However, what we need to do and I’m serious about this…stop driving for 34 he’s. I know it would be hard. However, that would be the only way for this too stop. I drive for a good company but, they don’t pay us what where worth. My company is “debt. Free.” If that’s the case we should make no less then. 50 a mile
story says
The main reason they cited for getting rid of the extra vehicle? “A lack of qualified and reliable drivers.”
What that means is
“A lack of qualified and reliable drivers.” (we can pay the equivalant of less than $10Per Hour)
That is what they mean.
Brian, you know your stuff and have to agree. i can tell you been around the block. i sarted out with a good used truck on with a good company. i kept my truck in a 1 shape. never left me sit and always delivered on time everytime. 6 years into it, comapany said your truck is getting too old, more than 5 years old, you have to buy another truck to say on????? i said like he&*(^)&^)^) i do, this truck is paid for, goes where yours does, and always hauled your freight fine, on time. so they stopped giving me freight, and away i had to go. again insurance, company rules, and goverment.
i sold that truck to a farmer. worked tanker for 8 years. came in one day gates closed trucks locked up and sign out of business… NO WARNING !!! nice hun very nice. then they wonder why theres a driver shortage. when onto a bigger company. lots of miles, lots of sitting, lots of you know the drill, and less pay. did that for over 5 years. finally got tired of having being told i have a load for you, i cant send a new driver there he,ll get in troubble or cant do it?!!! so i,d go, but yet never got any better pay. i never turned down a single load !! no bull !!!! never any wrecks, tickets, and always kept my companies truck parked in my driveway when home, and washed as if it were my own, (CLEAN) ! it got me no where… when they took away the deregulations>>> it when south. back in the 70,s we could make money yet, today ???? forget it. today companies just look for the guy whom will haul it cheaper. so its there faul thers a driver shortage along with all the goverment rules. try and give a out of school driver some advise is like pulling teeth. he says old timer go home… they will never put the miles i nor alot of us put on. its a dam shame the trucking industry is the way it is but its their own faults…as for saying no to freight???? cant totally agree that gets anywhere cause some other dummy will take it, and you just sit. we need regulations back on. and lesser goverment sticking there nose in this. i say with better pay companies wont have a problem finding many of good drivers, and i,m talking about those that know what they are doing and been there.
Since when are owner operators not employers? When it comes to my living I don’t care who owns the truck and neither should anyone else. I drove for .32/mi in 1988. We thought in 1992 that wages and conditions had hit rock bottom after deregulation. A full 24 years later these young guys are driving for .35/mi. No waiting time paid, few benefits if any, you have to fight for a layover, fight to get the truck fixed, run more than one log book, hand bomb a load then drive another 700 miles in bad weather, and more than ever the chicken coop sees you as their paycheck. Give up the excuses guys, the only way to get drivers is to PAY THEM WHAT THEY’RE WORTH and right now you’re not even close. Try .60/mi. and all waiting time paid from the time you arrive at the customer, a clean properly maintained truck, and don’t (nudge, nudge – wink, wink) pressure the drivers into doing stupid things. That’s why you have no drivers and don’t pretend it isn’t, because the numbers don’t lie. Want a good job? DON’T become a truck driver.
that’s why i am about to DROP my CDL …. i have NO CSA POINTS, or hazmat. hazmat doesn’t pay for the headaches associated with it. everyone wants to require it, but they don’t want to pay for the extra headaches (or won’t pay enough).
the last carrier i was with only ran me about every other week. then they wonder why i started looking elsewhere for work.
the pay scale has been cut thru the floor…. if you don’t like it, they have another 10 idiots who are willing to loose their marriages to not being home, loose their place to live from low miles, then loose their mind from lonliness…… all the while starving them to death under the guise of “work”!!!!
oh, and if the cold makes you sick, they don’t care! they expect you to freeze to death rather than run the truck to stay warm. they tell you “10 minutes per hour” is acceptable, but who in their right mind is going to wake up EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR and still get quality sleep?? i don’t know anybody like that! how about you?
you know and i know that you are correct. but we both know this wont happen soon. trucking is not the way to a good job anymore like you say, and the goverment and companies all know it. but……. there are these young guys who just dont get it, and will haul the stuff at any price.
Saying there’s no qualified drivers is a load of B.S. They just don’t want to PAY for qualified drivers. Our wages are being forced down on purpose to get the drivers out that demand a decent wage and fair compensation for delays. That way it paves the way for mexican companies and fresh off the boat immigrants to fill the driving jobs. “To do the jobs regular Americans refuse to do.” As they say.
This strategy worked for construction jobs and agricultural jobs, restaurant, landscaping, factory, etc.. What makes you think trucking would be any different? I’m not blaming the mexicans and foreigners. When you come from dirt poor beginnings anything looks like “up” and the opportunities here are irresistible. A decent wage is relative to where you started. And the trucking companies are more than happy to oblige. Now they’re whining about the drivers they hire aren’t qualified! B.S.!
I’ve got 18 years experience, well over a million safe miles, Driver of the Year award, and still when I go to a job interview I hear, “well this is our starting pay (crap) we start everyone at.” and “this is our top pay(crap)that you can attain 5 to 10 years. Here’s our watered down insurance plan with an outrageous deductible and here’s the hoops you’ll have to jump through to get vacation time. This qualified driver you claim to be seeking is me and I’m sitting at home, unemployed, re-thinking his career choice. And the unqualified driver will be happy drive your 80,000 lbs vehicle for practically nothing.
As for reliability, it will take care of itself if your driver doesn’t feel he/she is getting screwed every time they get in your truck.
Compete for personnel as hard as you compete for business and you’ll succeed. Trying to beat out the competition by cutting wages and compensation is like trying to win a foot race by cutting off a leg so you’ll be lighter.
I totally agree with Roadghost…Drivers are treated like old time slaves , junk equipment,horrible pay…Hardly professional
They get these eager kids right out of roadmaster who don’t know any better to do whatever they want and it hurts the industry as a whole…Experts in 3 weeks..
I often wish there was a way for all truckers to unite and shut down for just one day..It might get the point across..They need us as well as we need them
After 30 years driving a truck I think it has become truly a nightmare. I live for the day I can get out of it. Let me tell you a little secret… There is NO driver shortage. What there is instead is a whole lot of companies that wish they could get and keep more drivers, but can’t and never will because of the way they treat drivers. What there is instead is a constant stream of rooky drivers coming out of driving schools to replace older drivers that are fed up or disqualified. All these new rules and new ways of making sure drivers have no privacy is doing is making the highways more and more dangerous as the very thing that makes a driver experienced is used to disqualify them from driving. Nothing beats experience. The companies know this, but the government and the insurance companies are making sure that experience doesn’t pay off. The government and the insurance companies are running the trucking industry these days and it’s a disaster. One day soon it’s going to come back and bite us all in the keyster.
i was one of those drivers that got fed up!! i got out after 15 years as an owner/operator.luckly i was able to go back to being a truck mechanic of which i did for 14 years before i got into trucking.i only answer to 1 person now,i make the decisions,the boss/owner ok’s it.trucking used to be fun,people respected you,but not any more.the government and people for the most part make truck drivers to be at the bottom of the pile!! i did not want to end up being a puppet!!the government is ruining the trucking industry just as they did to the farming industry,the 2 industries that keep this country moving.
The Dot have become tax collectors using paramilitary attitudes with the backing of the state.Experience drivers are leaving everyday because they know the difference.Trucking companies have consolidated backing the Data which is no friend of truckers. They the Csa, the Dot and the insurance companies have formed a cabal which sole purpose is to eliminate small operators and owner operators . The considers swift etc. Know that a large percentage of freight is or was hauled by owner operators. The day obama was reelected, I sold my truck and quit trucking. God bless those still out there you are fighting a losing battle.
Speaking for myself,about driver shortage,I was a road driver since 1993 I have clean mvr and my CSA score is 0.The problem with company driving is you can’t make any money,you can’t get home and frankly companys just don’t care about anything but how slow they can make the truck go and how much money a driver can make for them. I was told when I was a kid that you should not ever bite the hand that feeds you,but I guess that is not how trucking see’s it!!!!
You hit the nail right on the head brother!!!
It used to be, back in the day, every truck driver walked around with 6,7, 8 Hundred dollars in their pocket at any given time. Now days after the de-regulation, some driver don’t even make 6 or 7 Hundred dollars for the week! You don’t see a problem here ? Truck Driving use to be fun…you and I could go from point A to Point B and have a ball every step of the way. Now days, it is just plain hateful! Companies….now that’s a joke! There are no good Companies any more. Hartland Express was “suppose to be” one of the top companies. I offered them 25 years experience with Zero points on my CSA and they offered me “Midwest Regional” which was what I wanted ….until I found out that they believe that New York is now in the Midwest!! Every company out there tries to pull their little pros and cons on you now days. It use to be that companies catered more to their drivers and worked with the drivers but the companies of today treat drivers like a cheap comodity and think they will just “do what you are told!” One day they will lear that Drivers are people too and this shortage will no longer be.
@Dave Peck, I got the same deal with Venture Logistics. Apparently the southeast includes Boston, Lincoln, Oklahoma, and Loredo. When a company hires you with to run regional remember that promise was just to get a warm body in a seat. It won’t be long until they ask you for a “favor” to cover a driver that is sick, or ran out of hours, or family emergency. These are not favors. These are ploys to transition you to OTR. Once you start, you set a new precedent as to what you’ll do. Companies take the Darth Vader approach to employment agreements; “I’m altering the agreement, pray I don’t alter it further.”
Let me just add this. I understand the plight discussed here. Lack of qualified drivers ( that is the industries fault. Too short of training hours. You cant learn to drive a truck in 3 weeks I’m sorry.) Lack of good mileage pay. ( There are so many large major carriers in the industry that choose not to compensate there drivers with a livable wage they just choose not to. Yes I know the cost of operation fuel, maintenance etc. But please you have millions if not billions of dollars you can afford to give your drivers an incentive to drive and move freight. Pay them something and they will move.) Bad bosses. ( From what I am gathering if you can use a computer and have a heart beat you qualify. It takes an experienced “Former Driver” to dispatch and plan fright movement not a computer tech. Home time is a huge issue. They want you to move freight and get it there on time and when you do they don’t want to give you home time when you ask for it. They want happy and qualified drivers but the system is not set up to put out trained licensed drivers and knowledgeable planners and dispatchers. There are so many bad managers and staff out there that it makes the industry a hard place to work. I here this from so many drivers from so many companies big and small corporate and owner operators as well. The system needs a change and overhaul to make it work more efficient.
Just got my CDL and currently looking for work… After reading all these stories from old school truckers, i think i made the wrong career choice!!!
Well, I can tell you that I am a former driver that came into some money and started a small fleet of refrigerated trucks. My business makes VERY little money . However, my drivers run 3 weeks and are off 5 days. We have part time drivers that will slip seat and make run so the driver can get his truck back. My son cleans the trucks with de greasers and armor all inside before the main driver comes back and it is washed. I have a good crew. no one has been with me for less than a year. I think what it comes down to is home time. My guys stay because if there is an emergency we will route them back home, the trucks are parked every thanksgiving, x mas, and new years. If they are on a load far away not in time to get home we will dead head them home to be with their family ( we run western 12 and keep them close during or close to holiday time). I have had one guy not home during the holidays because of a breakdown and he was given a Christmas bonus and flowers to his wife delivered. I am human. I have been on the other end of things. Who does not want to sleep in their own bed with their wife at night? I understand the sacrifices my guys make. I have fired my share of thieves and shitheads in the past, but that is few and very far between between. Everybody wants a good life. I am not rich. I run owner operator myself for a local company (I drive) and have two local car haulers as well to help out. you know what? I sleep at night, and I like it that way.
If there is a driver shortage why are trucking companies locking out a large pool of qualified drivers? I have 7 years of OTR experience with no accidents and no moving violations. I was our company’s driver trainer. You’d think I could have my pick of jobs. But…10 years ago my wife and I accepted a call to do mission work in eastern Europe. Now I am back and all I hear is go to SWIFT or its equivalent and start over. This is absurd. You don’t forget what you have spent 7 years doing, and we all know safety is as much about attitude and mentality as it about skills. Why not give the driver without recent experience a 2 week refresher course and put them back to work?
To bad we can’t sell our CDLs on Ebay, forget that with a reserve bid it would leave us losing money!
Had a recruiter try to get me to go with them after asking for more information this was my response. Excellent home time? “Anticipated Time Out: 21 days out, 4 days home” No thank you. By the way .36/mile with over two years experience! Can’t wait till the operation high paid butt kissers find they are being replaced by guys that eat tacos or fish head soup!
There are always two sides to each story. Don’t let some bad comments discourage you. If you act and look professional in you work,you will be Ok. I am sorry to say that many of the complainers are the ones that don’t do a good job. They are always late, nasty with the customers,look like bums and then wonder why they are MISTREATED.
I have been a professional driver for 33 yrs. and I can tell you the job is what you make it. I now sleep in my own bed at night and eat my wifes GOOD cooking. And make 70K a yr. with great benifits,driving a company truck.
I won’t say it will be easy the 1st couple of years until you get experience and a good reputation, just keep your record clean and do a good job for your company and you will be rewarded.
Good luck George
Where do you work George? 70k a year? Home every night? I’m guessing you’ve been with the same company the whole 33 years running a dedicated route and just can’t understand what all the fuss is all about. Sure, there are plenty of bad apples out there but nowadays they couldn’t care less about your previous experience or achievements. I challenge you to take your 33 years experience to another company and see if they don’t want to start you out at beginners pay, expecting 34 hr resets on the road. $10,000 health insurance deductible and a bevy of other things you haven’t experienced in your charmed career. But seriously, where do you work? You’re retiring soon, right? I’m looking for a good job around Nashville, Tn. I’ve got 18 years experience, mostly reefer. Driver of the Quarter twice, Driver of the Year 2006. Almost 2 million safe miles. Clean DAC. Looking for Dedicated/Regional- Southeast.
Most of the comments here are making some very valid points. I hope some of the younger drivers listen to and appreciate what many veterans are telling them. This is just my opinion and know that many will not agree but I have been around trucking for the past 35+ years. Personally I see a big lack of common sense in the overall movement of freight today. There are a handful of companies slowly starting to see and use the benefit of “Driver” home location and load swapping but they are far and few. Seriously as we entered the “computer age” “satellite tracking “electronic logs” and the alike I thought gee any time and we will see a whole different trucking environment where carriers would be looking for drivers to take care of a geographical daily lane, never happened. When you look at the overall effect on the driver it has gotten wost not better. performance is still being addressed at the trucks wheel level, and not where it should be with the advancement today in teleology. To make this easier to understand when you have pete and joe heading from the same company in opposite directions one loaded one empty and both moving away from their home 2o then you will have this environment of hiring drivers for 7,14,21 days on and a day off situation. All because the advancements in electronics are not being utilized . Now add to that trying to fit pickups and deliveries especially in major metro areas in a time box, and you will have this recipe for driver low pay, high sitting time and loss of home time. What is very discouraging to ageing driver like myself is when you relate these thoughts and ideas to people who could try and enact a improvement to drivers and trucking you are basically shooed away like a bothersome fly.
Newbie, I just got my cdl’s in may. Skipped the big companies and went right to car hauling. Assuming you can find someone who maintains their equipment, and will keep you loaded, $1500-$2000 a week isn’t bad money. Don’t be turned away by older trucks, just do a good PTI before taking the job. Skip the big companies, unless you want to hold a steering wheel, and from what I’ve heard, own stock in Vaseline.
dereg is not the problem .Its the new Gov, rules and restrictions. I worked fine and made good money untill 2005. Fuel went up HOS canges all the time now, Insurence com. set controls. This very good driver is about to call it quits
This can all change every one who says they cannot afford to take a week off. I say YES YOU CAN. It may set you back one weeks billpay now but we all would gain more. Basic like a truckers union, No ,Im not a union person however we could write our own ticket when we all agree to take one week off all together. Some say you cannot stirke that the Goverment will make you go back to work. Here again I say YES we can. We are major commoddites movers and we have to drive because we signed a cdl, is like telling Pilots they have to fly because the have there permitts, yet the shut down and write there own tickets, yes they are union,that does not matter. What matter is we ALL get together write a contract and stick to it , That is all of drivers, even new drivers coming in. Face it ONE WEEK no goods moved for one week unanounced ( drivers stock up )The Gov. and the public will see what we reall do and apprecieate us more. LETS COME TOGETHER
The old say6ing goes: “Crap rolls down hill.”
It does.
Consumers want lower prices at Walmart. Because they want to “Pay Less! Live Better!” you know!
But then, so do all of us.
But at any rate, it boils down to the end companies needing to get lower prices to consumers, in order to be able to remain competitive.
They do this by slashing their employees’ benefits, by lowering their wages, and demanding lower freight rates from their vendors. And guess what? When the vendors are pressured to lower freight rates, the trucking companies find themselves in positions of having to haul the same freight more cheaply.
That means, they have to slash OUR benefits. It means they have to slash OUR pay. It means they have to keep new drivers in their seats because it is too expensive to keep experienced drivers.
It all boils down to the end consumer, everyone – every Tom, Dick and Harry out there wanting to pay a nickle less on those things they want to buy. If their favorite store won’t sell it to them for that discounted price, they’ll find a store that will. There is absolutely no escaping nakedly selfish consumerism.
Trucking companies can’t pull money out of nowhere. And they are getting less and less of it for every load of freight they’re asked to haul. It rolls down hill, ending in a deflated wallet for drivers.
But then, we’re not the only one’s taking the hit. Almost every manufacturer, broker and what have you, are subject to the whims of lower price demands from consumers. Everybody is suffering.
Great suggestions… none of which will be used however because the trucking industry has been getting away with dirt for decades. It is time for them to pay the piper!
I wonder what company hired you Eric? The car haulers usually want experience. You forgot to mention however that car hauling is a built in headache. Good luck to you!
Lets all quit together….probably the only way it would get someone’s attention and change things for the best
….never going to change!Keep your mouth shut,and drive.Owner’s do not care.Trucking is a souless mistress!
Nit one single one of you whiners deserve any better than you are getting. You whine and complain, but you won’t so much as lift your little finger to help yourselves.
I drove a truck for 30+ years, a city – local area driver for union common ltl carriers, even those jobs now suck.
While I understand some of your complaints as a driver, I however am on the other side of the fence. I own one truck. Trying to find a driver for that truck immediately is like pulling out all my hair & teeth. Us small time company owners are under the same boat. We don’t get enough pay to give driver’s what THEY want. My overhead is huge with workers comp., ins, unemployment ins., matching what I have to take out of a drivers pay for Medicare & SSI. Then we get to my shop rent, maintenance on the truck, repairs of the truck, fuel for the truck. You seem to think that we are making hand over first when in truth, we are close to just getting by. If I can get by with just getting a little over breaking even for the year, I call that a success!
After reading some of your posts…I just wanted to give a view of the other side of the spectrum. Even the bigger companies have a lot of overhead, but at least with them…they have enough trucks that pay out after their overhead is met. I, however, do not! Some day it would be nice to actually make some money & maybe some day I will. I have to start somewhere & keep fighting for the legacy that I will some day, hopefully, be passed down to my son & grandsons.
This isn’t a two-sides argument, and I’m tired of hearing this false dichotomy. There is no category of humans called, “truck drivers”. We are not “truck drivers”—we are human beings who happen to be available and qualified to drive trucks (if we feel like it) as well as do a lot of other things for a living. This is a fundamental and critical flaw in the argument. While trucking companies need us, we DON’T need them! There are literally hundreds of other professions out there that we can do, and ALL of them are in competition with truck driving for employees. This flawed article reflects a seemingly hopeless rift that won’t be settled any time soon, since until trucking companies pull their heads out of somewhere, they’ll never face the fact that until slavery is re-instated, no potential driver is going to need to care whether or not trucking companies think they are bending over backwards. The fundamental problems with hiring safe truckers are, quite frankly, not OUR problems; personally I easily found work elsewhere. Neither is any other problem concerning the trucking industry; whether it’s federal regulation, wages, working conditions or anything else. It doesn’t matter to us if it’s difficult or impossible to comply with our demands as we have other options to not work with trucks at all—they don’t. Except maybe to go out of business. For example, while the trucking company thinks there’s an argument about driver-facing cameras (like I’m going to sit there and bicker with them over this), their driverless truck is sitting there permanently parked safely on their lot—guaranteed to never get in an accident again—because I’m working in a factory or office now.