Large carriers often complain about the driver shortage. The research arm of the American Trucking Association (ATA) has named the driver shortage the industry’s top concern for the last two years in a row. But now the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s (OOIDA) own research team is firing back. And the data shows that the “driver shortage” might just be a shortage of truckers who want to drive for megacarriers.
The OOIDA Foundation tackled the issue by breaking down the numbers. First, there is no shortage of people earning CDLs. Every year, there are around 455,000 new entry-level CDL holders joining the industry. Only 98,000 CDL renewals are issued every year though. Even with that drop-off, the FMCSA expects there to be 5,530,000 new CDL holders and CDL renewals over the next 10 years. That’s more than enough to fill any empty trucks… provided carriers can keep drivers from leaving. And it turns out that small carriers are better at adding and then keeping drivers than large carriers.
From 2012 to 2018, the number of truckers working at mega carriers (500+ trucks) increased by 20%. During that same time period, fleets with less than 500 trucks had a 32% increase in the number of truckers employed. But by far the biggest change was for small fleets with 6 or fewer trucks. In just 6 years, the number of drivers employed by those fleets increased by nearly 70%.
Those numbers are also reflected in driver turnover rates, where large fleets have consistently higher turnover than smaller fleets.
“Those that perpetuate the notion of a driver shortage ask you to believe that basic laws of supply and demand simply don’t work,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in a video on the subject posted last year. “In that they say we’ve got a shortage, yet if there’s a shortage of anything, it will be reflected in the price or value of that particular service. Incomes for drivers adjusted for inflation going back to 1980 would be twice what they are right now – or more – if they had just kept pace for inflation.”
Source: OOIDA, OOIDA, overdrive, thetrucker
I say BS on the shortage everyday. Sometimes I get message from my fleet manager that freight is soft so if you are sitting or have to deadhead don’t get frustrated. I say yeah lack of freight in a driver shortage it’s a load of crap
Ure fleet mgr ooh mister college grad who couldn’t park a terd, but can read the computer and,tell u all sorts of useless info
tUrd…
Mostly I see the old “does, does not” argument on driver shortage but I did my own research in the late ninetys thru 2003 by asking shippers and consignees if they ever had issues moving or receiving freight. Not one of hundreds ever had issues except for weather delays. Not one!
Good point!
Theres no shortage of drivers, theres shortage of pay, these megacarriers dont want to pay drivers a fair wage, cheat them on detention pay and layover pay, the rules need to change in that arena
I agree. The big carriers are very slow on keeping up with wage demands. They also seem to think they don’t have to concern themselves with their drivers’ complaints. They have a bad habit of thinking they’ll just have to deal with it, that’s why they leave.
No shortage of drivers? Seems to me there is. I work in oil field trucking and can get a job with a phone call (and an on line application.) Everywhere I look, I see “Hiring CDL Drivers.” But, 90% of the gigs are not worth it…….
That’s nit a shortage, that’s mega carriers not wanting to pay the price. As you stated, you can get a job with just a phone call, but are they paying well, are they offering benefits, home time, etc etc. no sir, there is not a driver shortage. There is a shortage of shippers willing to pay a decent living rate to move their crap.
You hit the nail right on the head, these mega carriers got rich off the backs of drivers, I left the driving industry years ago because I couldn’t make ends meet making pennies on the dollar making less than minimum wages. Until these “MEGA Companies “. Start paying better than dirt.. there will be a driver shortage..
100% in aggreement! Driver’s aren’t as ignorant as the public thinks. A large majority are educated enough and the ones who aren’t, are getting educated by the ones who are!
Absouloutely!
Its American’s that don’t want to pay the price. Including drivers ourselves.
1. Americans buy the cheapest stuff from the Big Box stores and Walmart. They expect those companies to do whatever it takes to keep costs down and keep them as customers.
2. Those companies cuts costs of products to stay competitive.
They expect their shippers/receivers/manufacturers to take a loss to keep their business so they pass it down to them.
3. Shippers/receivers/manufacturers have to cut costs to keep the Big Store contracts. They expect trucking companies to absorb that loss to keep their contracts and pass that down to them.
4. Trucking companies are trying to employ millions of Americans with an above average income. They are playing with tight 1-5% margins and expect drivers to just take $50k-$100k per years jobs and not complain about them constantly.
5. Drivers want more money for all of the sacrifices they make being away from their home. So they pass on that hit too…Unfortunately – they are the bottom rung and have no one else to pass the loss onto.
Drivers want more money. That’s fair. Who doesn’t? But this is America. This is capitalism. The first rule of capitalism is – don’t be the bottom rung. And especially don’t be the bottom rung in an industry where the Avg OTR driver makes more than the Avg American Household. (Fact).
Fact – In American, Every industry has had depressed wages since the 1980’s. Its not just trucking. But…
FACT – No other industry has seen the wage increases that truckers have gotten since 2015 – and its not even close. Truck Drivers have had the largest year-to-year pay increases of any job sector in the United States in 4 of the last 5 years.
If you’re not making over $50,000 driving OTR – yes, you should be complaining.
But if you are? STFU already!
50% of full time working Americans make less than $30,000.
$50,000 puts you in the top 30% of the United States, and Top 0.3% of the entire world.
Only truck drivers could find a way to complain about being part of the top 1/3 of the richest country in the world.
You hit it . Stop complaining . My biggest concern is not getting killed by aggressive drivers now it has passed over to the truck drivers. Many are driving a truck like a sportscar. DOT does nothing and Police officers dont seem to give a crap.
The word “FACT” doesn’t make it fact. Where did you find your “facts”? What study provided these numbers to you? Where was the data pulled from? I’ve been in the industry for 30 yrs and have heard many claims such as yours and like you the only “fact” that is shown is that your information is pulled out of thin air or straight out of your butt. Good use of caps by the way. Just like the blow hole who doesn’t have a leg to stand on and raises their voice to drown out anyone who disagrees.
Just to help educate you some, large carriers say that you can make between $50k and $60K a year when you add in unrealistic fuel mileage incentives in fuel guzzling overly emissions controlled equipment, among other incentives they have no intention of following through with. In reality you can only make between $35K to $40K a year. And on top of all it all, after the drivers arrive to their destination and then have to wait hours after their scheduled delivery time, pay outrageous fees to have the receivers product unloaded from their trailer, re-stack it on the receivers pallets to fit in their warehouse, and treated like the scum of the earth. Tell me I’m wrong after living it for so many years. I flatbed now because of it all. I don’t shop at the Big Box stores because they are no different than their warehouse counter parts. Does this happen to all drivers? I can only assume this from talking to other drivers and my own experiences. But for you to say that truck drivers are in the top 1/3 of the highest paid in the United States is ridiculous.
I’m a company driver and I make 62,000 to 63,000 the last 4 years and I don’t pay Lumber fees and I am off on the weekends and I don’t leave Florida and Georgia.
Ok Jeff so what you make good money 💴, off weekends, what, to reset your hours?
So what else do you do besides WORK?
Have you filed your taxes yet? LOL 😝
What exactly do you do for $63k a year?
I’ll bet you put up with a lot don’t you?
It’s not just the amount of money drivers receive. There is also the issue of respect. We are doing a job that the majority of people are unable or unwilling to do. Pay has a lot to do with it, but (just speaking for myself) respect makes lower pay acceptable.
Yes, I have fallen for the “driver shortage” myth. The reason companies say that they can’t find drivers is because they can’t find drivers that will work for their ridiculously low rates. Someone driving a company truck, in my opinion, should bring home a minimum of $1000.00. That is after taxes, medical, all the deductions. Drivers are not warehouse workers, or construction equipment operators or machinists that show up at 7am and go home at 3:30. We are out in our truck, never seeing our house, our family for weeks at a time. We guide 80,000 pound vehicles through every weather condition, with four wheelers constantly harassing us, DOT and LEO everywhere just waiting for one mistake. I got my CDL thinking that it was a license to print money. Now I know better. I rarely see jobs that meet what I said above about $1000 a week take home. If I’m going to make less than that, I might as well drive a dump truck locally and be home each evening. To be out, enduring all the stresses of driving a a commercial vehicle for weeks at a time should be compensated the same as any professional vocation. As far as I can tell now, about the only way to make “real money” is to own a small fleet. Then you might make enough to pay insurance, taxes, maybe some benefits for your drivers, and all the registrations for your trucks and have enough left over to make it worth your time. Just my two cents
Agree with that
There is no driver shortage, just a shortage of drivers willing to give up their lifestyle, family life and social life for a meager check. This new bill allows companies to get the workforce they need for the lack luster wages they depend on.
Meger check?
50% of full time working Americans make less than $30,000.
$50,000 puts you in the top 30% of the United States, and Top 0.3% of the entire world.
Only truck drivers could find a way to complain about being part of the top 1/3 of the richest country in the world.
Who is making $50K a year? You? Who do you work for, yourself?
I make $50,000+ a year
And how many days are they away from home, how many hours do they sit around and wait , for nothing. 50,000 for all the BS. And government bs on the road. If I stay out for extended periods of time shouldn’t have to get a 2nd, job to spend a little quality time at home.
Also have you ever stopped at a truck stop, and see how expensive everything is , 50000, in this day and age is not that much , and as for the CEO, their not as important as they’d like to think, drivers park t uh e truck , and see how his wages are paid!
I don’t sit around usually have reload 2 days before del. Attitude is name of the game. Driver’s want more money try unloading at stops, take better care of truck, and above all stop saying what you will or won’t do.
True a lot of driving positions aren’t worth the trouble
Unload trucks all day ,than you are expected to drive all night ,how safe are you at that point ,I am a professional with approx.32 yrs. experience,I do not fingerprint freight,most places I deliver to ,don’t even allow drivers on their docks , real drivers are hired to get the load there on time and in good condition , when you unload just see how many damage claims come against you ,I have done it b4 ,not worth the headaches.
I don’t understand the term “CDL Driver”. How do you drive a CDL?
REALLY ?
Doing a pre-trip on my CDL right now!
Commercial Drivers License
I don’t drive my CDL ,I drive my CMV with my CDL does that you’re stupid question?
You will always see “Now hiring CDL drivers” especially for the big carriers. Their pay simply isn’t enough and they keep replacing drivers faster than toilet paper rolls.
Yup. Water hauling , crude hauling , pump operators , winch trucks. Endless list. Some I’ve done some not at all. I’m by West Texas / NM east border. So I see what you mean. 10-4 be safe out there in the patch.
The only shortage is of drivers who are willing to continue earning pennies per mile while the CEOs make millions for driving companies into the ground.
I guess OOIDA has not tried finding a qualified driver lately. There may not be a shortage I paid top dollar with a guarantee, give them the finest equipment on the road. Treated them like family and still couldn’t fill my trucks.
I give up. Back to 1 money making truck.
What is top dollar to you? Just curious.
Good point drivers make 8 bucks CEO makes 8 million ,something wrong with this picture
Does a driver do the work of a CEO? No. He doesn’t, does he need to be compensated like a CEO no, he doesn’t. If you want to be paid like a CEO, BETTER yourself and become a CEO. So tired of this entitlement crap. As truck drivers were nothing but glorified delivery drivers, don’t like what your making move to a better company. That’s what’s great about this country that you Liberals are trying to change, we have freedoms to become and do whatever we want. All YOU have to do is EARN it.
You said it brother. All truckers are Liberals. LMAO!!!! How do you figure a driver doesn’t earn good pay? I’d say the CEOs need to earn it. Just look at the amount of big carriers that have sold out or have been forced to merge because those well educated CEOs that you say earned it fouled it up so badly. All of the trucking companies today no matter how small or big they are started with one truck and a dream. Once the dream was realized and things were running good, it became a corporation and a CEO took over and ran it into the ground because someone thought they knew how to run a trucking business. They certainly didn’t earn it. So sick of the CEO entitlement crap! Doesn’t make me a Liberal, or someone who thinks that they are entitled. I’m someone that has a differing opinion and experiences than those damn conservatives.
I think most not all drivers simply want a cleaner industry to work in knowing if they fail its because they failed to try and if they succeed its because they did put the work into it and made the most of it all. However its not so cut n dry as people like to put in these nifty lil clauses and quips. The industry is manipulated by falsehoods that affect pricing and cost in a myriad of ways. We tend to brush over with cool comments that dismiss and demean earnest efforts. EPA issues with or without corruption affects cost of equipment, repairs. The nations lax standards of quality affect it. Companies hiring low waged poorly trained service mechanics. Companies designed to take advantage not give advantages to the industry. Drivers cost running up and up that dont resolve issues that should benefit the drivers investment.Investments with low returns. Drivers are riddled with endless cost that eat away the profit and throw a serious imbalance into the scheme of things. That simply cant be written off with a shallow political smear. Truths get buried under the guise of clever quips that are meaningless but this is half the problem in this country. A nation full of people able to paste meaningless labels onto problems with no substance and no clue as to the mechanics behind the problems. The intricate details that are affecting the general success and failures of the industry. You would think people might learn this gimmick has never solved our problems but we dont use em to solve problems. We use em to beat our chest and blow some smoke up each others arse. Knowledge. We might try to earn that.
I think 🤔 that says something. Well said.
I’m surprised they didn’t Moderate, as the smart people’s comments are always up for MODERATION. 😲😡😇
So start your own trucking company, if these idiots can do it why can’t you?
Correct! And what gets me about this is most drivers I know adamently support the very politicians who push legislation to funnel all the $ into the pockets of the already wealthy. I never sit at the counter When I eat – dont want to hear the loud-mouthed stupidity.
I won’t drive for a mega carrier! They don’t pay, are stingy with hometime and treat you like a sack of meat in a seat! Small companys are the way to go!! Since Trump screwed us company Drivers on our Taxes, I quit the Company I was working for and I found a small company that does 1099! Now Im an independent contractor able to itemize my return.
After 19:30 anywhere you can park a truck there’s a truck parked there, Truckstop’s are packed from coast to coast some even during the day.
In my opinion, the shortage is a lack of 24hr Shippers & Receivers So Drivers can make their pickup and deliveries 🚚.
I’m a night runner, I love running at night, especially through Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, you know all the pain in the BLEEP places that’s nuts during the day.
What’s so strange to me is, sometimes I see more cars 🚙 than trucks on the road at night. All the trucks are parked in the Truckstop at night. STRANGE.
I run overnight linehaul. Love the night drive. Always have. Less stress too.
Me, too! I’m with you there!
Absolutely, how a truck driver drives only in the daytime, YIKES
I drive only during daylight hours
Nights = Less traffic. More Parking. Less Stress.
Agreed. When I ran OTR I loved running at night. Scales closed , traffic light and in the wee hrs of morning get me a shower before others get up and running and enjoy my rest. Houston was the worst to go thru then DFW or all other TX cities. Be safe out there driver 10-4
I run at night because the loads I get are local in Texas and all the shippers load the local loads last. I go to Houston a lot and I never, ever want to be in Houston between 6am to 10pm. I want to get in and out of Houston always in the middle of the night. In other words, Houston sucks.
Especially if you have to deliver to Michelin on City Park Drive in Houston, those security guards love to fight with truck drivers.
If you’re out of hours and have to park in Houston good luck, I always PC OUT.!
Remember drivers, BAD COMPANIES ARE ALWAYS HIRING, they’re only looking to keep you around for at least 6 months, how much freight can you move in 6 months?
GET IT? Bellyaching about a driver shortage keeps the focus off of them and why they’re turnover is so high., right JB HUNT?
It doesn’t matter if a monkey 🐒 is in the driver seat, so long that the freight is moving down the road.
I live in Louisville, KY and the medial wage is somewhere north of $650. The economy is great, everyone is hiring, wages are going up except in trucking.
It’s pretty bad when I can walk into Amazon in shepherdsville as unskilled labor and make $17.50/hr and most trucking jobs pay $18/hr
Also, just wait until you road drivers do your taxes. They took away the per diem!
It’s double down screwing for the drivers once again!
Sorry, medial wage is $48,886 yearly or $940 a week. That’s actually worse for trucking.
Don’t ever get sick 🤒 in trucking, they’ll view you as USELESS.
Not OTR Trucking. OTR Trucking Avg is at worst, $50,000 minimum. The avg numbers they use for “Trucking Income” when you Google it includes Class B, Local, people using pickup trucks…
But Dig deeper and see what the Avg Class A OTR driver makes. It’s north of $50k for sure. Heck, the avg driver at my company made $65,400 last year, and we’re a reefer company that hauls meat.
50% of full time working Americans make less than $30,000.
$50,000 puts you in the top 30% of the United States, and Top 0.3% of the entire world.
Only truck drivers could find a way to complain about being part of the top 1/3 of the richest country in the world.
These are 2016 dollars, but still in America:
Less than high school – $488/week ($25,376/yr)
High school graduates – $668/week ($35,776/yr)
Some college/associate degree – $761/week ($39,572/yr)
Bachelor’s degree or higher – $1,193/week ($62,036/yr)
Must be true, the internet told him. EVERYTHING on the internet is true. Right people?
They may have taken the per diem away but, as a married filer, I automatically get a $24000 break. That beats what I have been able to claim with per diem and road expenses. Now, if you’re a single filer, you’re screwed!
I DON’T CARE WHAT THESE COMPANIES SAY THERE’S NO DRIVER SHORTAGE THE SHORTAGE IS ON THE DRIVERS PAY THAT’S WHY THEY SAY THERE IS A DRIVER SHORTAGE THE MEGA CARRIES DON’T WANT TO PAY A DESENT WAGE THY SAY WE PAY $1100 A WEEK THAT IS GROSS AFTER TAXES AND INSURANCE YOU MIGHT TAKE HOME $600 BUT I BEEN WITH MY COMPANY 4 YEARS AND THEY DO LOOK OUT FOR THEIR DRIVERS IAM OTR AND I GROSS OVER $1400 TO 1700 A WEEK AND SOME TIME 1800 A WEEK WE HAVE VERY LITTLE TURNOVER GOOD BENEFITS BONUS LAYOVER BRAKE HOLADAY PAY AND GET HOME WHEN YOU WANT TO I AVERAGE 3000 TO 3400 MILES A WEEK I RUN COAST TO COAST I DO PULL A FLATBED NO TARPS NO CHINES NO BINDERS JUST STRAPS AND WITH IN 15 TO 30 MINUTES I AM IN AND OUT LOL.
Though you can’t spell for crap nor use proper grammar or you know , punctuation.. just saying.. and get off the caps lock man
Walter R Grogan ………. LOL man
QUIET !
Haha! Right, man!
Give e the phone number of your company. I wanna work for them.
You can keep those East coast runs..you’re not doing as well as you think either, I gross 1400 without running flatbed and stay in the south, no east coast.
Steve, this might be a shock to you… but did you know that GROSS is what the company pays you from its bank account?
Your NET is between you, your government, your accountant and your personal withholdings (Alimony, Child Support, etc).
You know that is not just for truckers, right? That’s everyone.
Are you saying that companies now need to pay for your taxes and child support? Imagine how invasive THOSE applications would be… No one would ever hire a divorced guy again, and married guys with kids would still be risky hires!
I DON’T CARE WHAT THESE COMPANIES SAY THERE’S NO DRIVER SHORTAGE THE SHORTAGE IS ON THE DRIVERS PAY THAT’S WHY THEY SAY THERE IS A DRIVER SHORTAGE THE MEGA CARRIES DON’T WANT TO PAY A DESENT WAGE THY SAY WE PAY $1100 A WEEK THAT IS GROSS AFTER TAXES AND INSURANCE YOU MIGHT TAKE HOME $600 BUT I BEEN WITH MY COMPANY 4 YEARS AND THEY DO LOOK OUT FOR THEIR DRIVERS IAM OTR AND I GROSS OVER $1400 TO 1700 A WEEK AND SOME TIME 1800 A WEEK WE HAVE VERY LITTLE TURNOVER GOOD BENEFITS BONUS LAYOVER BRAKE HOLADAY PAY AND GET HOME WHEN YOU WANT TO I AVERAGE 3000 TO 3400 MILES A WEEK I RUN COAST TO COAST I DO PULL A FLATBED NO TARPS NO CHINES NO BINDERS JUST STRAPS AND WITH IN 15 TO 30 MINUTES I AM IN AND OUT LOL. I love my job lol
Good for you, as I smile at this. I don’t do many 3k weeks anymore. However if I did the revenue better be 6.5k or over. Also let’s see pull into shipper, park, check in, move to loading, be loaded, strap it, get bills. Thirty minutes possibly on a perfect day, fifteen minutes, LOL that’s funny.
PRE LOADED TRAILERS
Gif in AL hauling shingles
Well, there will be two less drivers in the industry very soon. We are preparing to close our company. We have had it with dishonest brokers, low paying loads, DOT, ELDs and the continue of over regulation and harassment by our government and DOT! I have been in this industry for over 30 years and it use to be good. Not anymore! I pray one day that the truckers will ALL unit and bring America to its knees! We have been mistreated long enough.
I’ve said it before. It’s a shortage of pay and family time. I have been driving for 13 years. I did 5 over the road 2 years with a “mega carrier”. And 3 with an owner operator. The owner operator paid me more, but benefits were non existent. I have been hauling fuel local for 5 years now. I can tell you the difference in pay, benefits, vacation, holiday pay, 401K match, and over all treatment of drivers is day and night. Over the road working for a “mega carrier” your treated like recyclable garbage. I had one call me the other day. Just to entertain myself I started asking questions about pay and policy. I asked about breakdown pay. I’ve waited 4 hours for a tire change in the middle of Nortb Dakota once. Sometimes things take time. Well I gave her that same situation. She informed me that I would only receive breakdown pay after 24 hours. After the first 24 hours it would be $75 every 24 hours. Let’s do the math here. After being at work for free for 24 hours I’ll receive $75. Well on a 14 hour day that’s around $5.35 an hour. I kindly told her “well ma’am unfortunately I’m not the right candidate for the position. My loyalty stops when my pay stops. That truck would be sitting on the side of the road and I’d be in an uber on the way to the airport. I can’t be at work and not get paid.” She said she understood. Another example is air miles. If they are only paying 600 miles for a trip that takes 701 miles. Well we stop the truck at 600 miles and call dispatch, and let them know you arrived. However you don’t see the receiver. After the questions and they pull your truck up, you kindly remind them that you are only being paid 600 miles. If they choose to add the mileage that’s fine. If not start making plans to leave. After all why not your not getting paid anymore. That’s just 2 of many of examples they way truckers are exploited. We should stop asking and wondering for a Change. We should start demanding and expecting a change. That’s just my opinion on why people find this industry unattractive. Well I hope everyone stays safe out there.
The smartest comment on this entire board. Well said driver.
Dude, that one made me laugh. I used to be in truck recovery for Swift. I admired the drivers who parked their trucks on the side of the road after weeks of no paycheck practically because they were waiting for reimbursement for tolls in the Northeast. Swift lost more drivers because of their policy of no EZ Pass for its northeast regional drivers. It was the stupidest policy any company could have where you expect the driver to pay $75 to cross the GW Bridge or use the NJ or Penn turnpikes. Those tolls in the N.E. are criminal. I quit because I tired of being in the other room listening to driver managers whom had never even driven a truck before or been on a run with a driver to see what they go thru laughing at some of them. It was disgusting.
When have you visited a store and found the shelves mostly empty due to lack of truckers delivering the product? Never? That’s what I thought. The trucker shortage is a big lie.
There is NO shortage of drivers
Just a shortage of companies that can retain the drivers they have
My son recently attended a CDL class at a local state vo-tech school
The recruiters were in every week and my so. Would always ask em about their turnover rate
Which was always 150%+
Then he would ask em “why?”
All the recruiters , none of whom had actually ever been drivers would just shrug
He got recruited by a company that has some govt contracts
And all their drivers have to obtain a “secret” fed gov clearance
You think it’s hard to find normal steering wheel holders ….
Try finding drivers with good FICO scores , no arrests ever , no DUIs ever , no traffic tickets at all in the last three years and able to obtain a gov security clearance
24 students in the class and they were all ears when the recruiter talked average wage, then he said
“Can’t have any unpaid child support “
Several guys walk out
“Can’t have any foreclosures, Liens , judgements , bankruptcies or any unpaid bills ever “
Several walk out
“Can’t have any criminal record at all ever “
Several walk out
“Can’t have any DUIs ever , no reckless driving ever ,doesn’t matter how long ago “
Several more walk out and there’s three students left
Recruited holds up the application for the security clearance , 230 pages , says it’s gonna take 2 to 5 days to fill it out , drops it on the table with a bang, the other two students walk out .
Recruiter points to my son and says
“You’re hired !”
Almost all their cargo is overweight , over length , over width , requires permits and pilot cars and careful planning of the trip
Must have endorsements for triples since their 9 axle trailers have three kingpins
And haz Mat, Gotta have a TWIC
Took about six weeks to get all that done
On the flip side , most of their drivers have been working there 6-10-15 years
They don’t have any turnover , but it also pays pretty good on a percentage of revenue and the trucks are all 650 Hp 18 speed four axle W-900-L
They gave up trying to find experienced drivers that could pass the background check, they now find people who can pass the background check and teach em how to drive
It’s actully nice to see a company that will hire people with a freshly minted CDL and zero experience
And refers perspective wanna be drivers to the local vo tech school $1600 CDL class instead of the scam most companies use of loaning you $8,000 for their in house class that costs them almost nothing
Pass the class and get your CDL , pass the security clearance , you’re hired , in less than a year you’ll be driving a 50 wheel ,130 foot long rig that weighs a quarter of a million pounds
Been saying this for almost 2 DECADES.
The ATA companies – Werner, England, CRST, Swift, Schneider, JB Hunt, Crete, and so forth (the same ones that forced elogs and tried to force a national speed limit on us) – buy trucks from the factories in lots of 500 to 1,000. (This is also why it takes so long to get your new truck – the factories are not going to stop their run of company trucks for yours.) Go by any of their yards and you will see dozens, if not hundreds, of tractors sitting empty.
Then, once they can entice drivers into those trucks, they have no freight. Many times, they underbid freight to get it, then broker it to the stupid O/Os who are willing to run cheap freight, because it costs the big company too much to run that cheap freight, and their driver sit. The drivers leave.
When a driver gets too much seniority in a big company, they are near the top of the pay scale, and the companies tend to like to sit these guys, and give the freight to the newbies who are making 10-15¢ less per mile. The older drivers leave.
The big companies don’t like to get their drivers home on a specific date. The driver misses his family functions – after 3-4 times, the driver leaves.
This all leaves empty trucks at the yards, and the megacorps cry “driver shortage! We gotta hire immigrants to do the work!”…..
Unbelievable – TruckersReport moderator algorithms say “immîgránt” is a banned word! I had to use alternate vowels!
Last sentence that got me moderated – the megacorps can’t fill seats, and cry “driver shortage! We gotta hire immïgrânts to drive!”
It’s the same old BS cry from the mega carriers!
It’s just a way to drive down rates, so low, that only the mega carriers can turn a small profit, due to their fleet size. They can absorb more than smaller fleets, and independents.
The more trucks out there, the more competition, the better rates mega carriers can offer, the lower rates go.
It’s the same old mega carrier attempt at monopolizing the trucking industry, and trying to squeeze out small fleets, or absorb them, and make independents to disappear.
That’s my theory anyway.
you theory is closer to fact than the garbage Duh has been spewing on the subject.
I used to work for a big carrier for 6 years. Now I’m working for a small company close to home. It’s a night and day difference. With the big carrier that starts with a W, they take away your name and turn you into a number. With the small company, my boss has to ask me what my employee number is for the one time he has to enter it into the computer. Heck I have the CEO’s personal phone number I can text or call at any time if something is up. Same for the safety manager. Having everyone you need on tap without going through a phone tree like I did at the W company and getting the run-around when I needed someone the most.
It is bull, there is no driver shortage, but there is a shortage in drivers who are willing to do cheap freight…..
I see exactly what you’re saying Ralph but what I’ve seen on the boards it’s all cheap the brokers are hoarding the money as well as the shippers don’t want to pay, then the companies pull the cheap freight to run us into o/o and ICs out of business
Don’t accept the cheap rate and the Brokers have to loosen their purse strings to get the freight moved. Has worked for me dozens of times. If they don’t get it hauled then they will go to the mega carriers and they make them pay because they don’t have to under bid then. I believe in what you are saying. Just make some changes in your negotiations.
There is no shortage, its mega carriers not paying worth a crap, treating drivers like they are nothing more than a number and a warm body in the seat. They have such a high turn over that it looks like there is not enough drivers cause they can’t keep 75% of the ones they get. Like they say, great work isn’t cheap, and cheap work isn’t great. I have been driving for 20 years and they have been screaming driver shortage the whole time I have been out here and its always the large mega carriers that bring it to the table.
When turnover ratios are up to 100%, a shortage of drivers is not your issue.
I could not agree with you more
Come on folks, if you can’t see we need a lot more drivers. Then you aren’t paying attention. Every company near me is short drivers, none are mega-carriers.
LOL 😂, hiring drivers keeps the wages down.
If a company has to pay a driver $30.00 per hour or $1.95 a mile, of course they’re going to want to hire more drivers.
Also hiring drivers gives them a bigger TAX WRITE OFF, while they make over $100K a year plus quarterly bonuses.
Driver shortage psychologically makes a driver feel needed as they know we all have giant EGOS.
Eddie, I work in the oilfield too, and it does SEEM there’s a shortage or drivers. Then you talk to people crying about making .30 cents a mile and they whine that oilfield hours are too long, the locations are too far away, etc. There’s a reason why some driving jobs have an abundance of people willing to work, and others don’t. Personally, if I’m going to be out here, I’m going to need $1,500 a week or better.
There’s just a shortage of drivers that are willing to bend over and take it up the wazoo.
Du to the FMCSA Regulations regarding the HOS rules enforced by ELD along with regulated freight brokerage, the trucking industry is Patron-Client / Feudalism rather than ” free market” . Patron- Client/ Feudalism like a multi level marketing pyramid scam , aways defendant on indentured servants, peons and slaves. Thus there will aways be a driver shortage. Modern technology has allowed the carrier to create “fake demand” just like brokers create “fake loads” to drive trucks to a targeted area ,( some do it just to get phone calls)
I suggest everyone read the USA Today article ” Rigged”, while this is a extreme case, I think most all us who been here while can relate to this, especially if you work with brokers.While author of “Rigged” blaims Big Business Corp[orate America , he dose a real jog of disclosing the culture of how it works, what he miss is this culture is created by the FMSCA regulations
I haul fuel for a large carrier. It’s one of the very few companies that is ALWAYS aggressively advertising for drivers, regardless of temporary hiccups in the economy. There are NEVER enough drivers to satisfy demand. I’ve only been sat a couple of times because all our customers were full. Other than that, they are always in a panic situation.
Don’t make much of an effort even getting to know trainees, as it’s not uncommon for them to quit after a few days into the training. There’s no shortage of drivers who walk in the front door. Problem is, they walk just as fast out the back door.
Qualified and experienced drivers will look elsewhere, simply because there is better money to be made for half the headaches and stress. Qualified and experienced driver shortage: yes General driver shortage: no.
Right Richard
Yeah it’s true, you can take the love you found here, but not the money when you go. I feel sad for the uninlighted.
the trickle down affect of ripping off abusing misusing and derelict driver management is something none of these companies cared to see down the road or prior. Its blind ambition but the reality is when you abuse 10000 drivers well that has a ripple affect through the entire industry. your bad rep is passed around. but its not 10k they abused. its hundreds of thousands of potential people that got tossed under the trucks and the affects having been mounting up. thus some wanted to lower the age range to offset that..open another pool of victims..go into the highschools and scam the kids into thinking they could offer drivers more than a college education..These kids would end up in the same boat as all the others the mega carriers abused. In ruins. Perhaps even missing a chance to finance college due to these companies practice of truck leasing schemes.
I worked 4 23 years OTR , single and I’m Thankful for at least getting a priceless min-pin out of that career choice. Oh well, could of been worse. We spent alot of time together exploring the world. If you judge that wealth, i did good.
There is no driver shortage. The problem is to many trucks. The mega companies have more truck than they can fill. Freight rates are low because of so many trucks. Companies are searching for good paying freight when the shippers should be searching for carriers.
Texas Jester – You’re crazy. The longest tenured drivers get the highest pay and the most miles at any company that is profitable and growing. For hundreds of reasons, but let’s just talk about the 2-3 easiest ones for you to wrap your mind around.
Let’s say we continue down the logic road in your pretend world. The TexJester world where equipment & repair costs don’t matter, schedules are unimportant, and customers never cancel contracts. In this fantasy world, yes, your make-believe business strategy would make sense. It would be stupid to pay someone more to do the EXACT same job that someone else can do for 20% less. You’re fully admitting that in this fantasy world, a veteran driver brings absolutely no added value over that of a rookie driver. That is what YOU said.
But now back to reality – since rookie drivers damage more equipment & aren’t great at managing their clock and miss more deadlines, companies love their expensive, long tenured experienced drivers with proven track records. They are worth every extra penny they get paid. You trust them to get the job done, you know what they are capable of, and you’re giving them the most miles, the highest pay and you’re happy about it.
If you are one of those rare exceptions that topped the pay scale and notice your miles getting cut, you probably got there on longevity alone. They don’t trust you, they are worried about your driving, and you are an expensive risk to put on the road.
(Right now, some guy with 30 jobs in 10 years is crying about why he’s not one of those highly paid experienced drivers. It’s because every time you switch companies, you are hitting the reset button on your known experience, style and quality of driving. You have no trust built up with operations at all, and to them, you are basically just a rookie again, granted, one that they don’t have to hold hands with as much )
Driver shortage. It is more like a broken logistics system. At anytime in this country you can have several trucks passing by each other with the same product going to the same receiver/shipper. Not to mention the just in time freight BS. No one wants to have an weeks worth of of stock anymore. If they did the costs would go down just due to the volume of buying power. Oh don’t forget that when they run out it’s the trucks fault for not keeping them running. JMO
In my years of driving I found that the mega carriers have more customer base
than the smaller fleets so their more likely to have problems with drivers,
the big companies haul dirt cheap freight also, the smaller companies only
do that when forced to so you sit more, dedicated is the best option for both
there’s no guessing what your doing from week to week no matter the direction
I did dedicated as a o/o it was nice knowing that I had something I could
depend on every week.
There is no driver shortage. Anything I want I can get. I simply order it and it shows up at my door in a very short time frame , very short time frame. Store shelf’s are full if products. Stores are all full of products. You want to see shortages ? Go to North Korea , Venezuela , Cuba , Soviet Union , East Germany. Communist China. Lots and lots of shortages there. Shortages of everything. To few people study economics. To few people study Trivium.
I dont even have to read the article. I could look at the heading and know whats in the content if its truth. Because we know who caused the so called driver shortage. The notorious liars who became mega carriers off the backs of newbies and rookie drivers trying to make a career for themselves. The companies that grew through lies deceits and manipulations of any and all they did business with. We know the air heads they use to mimic safety concerns they air at conventions and all the fraudulent faces that make up what ive come to see as the Rat Packs. Those companies intertwined that spent their entire existance figuring out one more scheme to hustle this industry and get away with it. They spent all their time being the BEST CON not the BEST COMPANIES. Nuff said..I could write more but its a merry go round of comments we have all read heard and said.
i remember as a rookie telling my company that i was New to the industry but not new to the planet. An example of the con lie and scams these people pulled. I got a message over the qualcomm saying “the company would not longer be recruiting experienced drivers because these drivers could and would not conform to the companies safety practices” Now first off..they hardly ever hired experienced drivers except guys who had previously lost their jobs due to accidents or incidents that cost them their licenses for a period of time. Pretty much fellas needing to revive their career afresh with a clean start.
First off the company had a pretty lousy safety record score with DOT. There simply were no significant practices or knowledge passed around or trained into drivers that would make the drivers more safe. The company practiced the starve a driver into performing kinda mentality. They had all their drivers locked into what seemed inescapable contracts that would ruin them unless they simply went on the suicide mission of obedience. When i saw the message on my qualcomm i knew the problem that caused them to react. Some of those fellas looking to revive their careers had to turn to these rookie companies to break back in. However in the process they could from experience see the con job and the truth. Naturally theyd voice this to other drivers and newbies with no clue would suddenly get a clue and get insight and realize the industry didnt really work the way this company worked it. Something was amiss. SO the company had to weed out these experienced drivers who ruined the scam. That was the ultimate meaning of the phony safety concern. And this was a norm with these mega carriers. These incredulous insane ideas to covertly manipulate drivers with schemes and sheep skin disguises. THis is a tiny example of what became a norm and still is with many mega carriers..built on lies and deceptions..
Ok the main issue with what the proverbial they call a driver shortage is actually a problem with upper level management at the big carriers. They are continually finding ways to charge the driver for everything they can with no regard for the driver. As a 30 + year driver I can tell you that when they say you are going to make 50,000 a year that means you are going to see about 50% of that for your take home. Trucking companies are always going to take advantage of drivers by shorting the miles on loads. They say that they pay household movers guide and that it averages out at the end of the year. I have watched it for a period of 5 years and it always has worked out in favor of the company. Not once has it worked out in my favor. How did I do this by taking my total miles driven minus deadhead and minus my miles to and from home then taking my total paid for the entire year and comparing it to total miles driven from shipper to receiver. Only once was it below 12%. Now when you take the fact that I run over 125000 paid miles per year avg (125604 was the actual over the 5 year period) then add 12 % that comes to 15000 miles that I wasn’t paid for. An average of 3000 per year not paid. Keep in mind I’ve already subtracted the deadhead and my miles to and from home. Now a lot of you are going to say thats not too bad but when you look at it from a business standpoint it means over 2 truck payments or three house payments. Now how does it sound? Would you be able to breath a little better at the end of the year knowing that you could really afford to take that vacation? This is just one of many ways they get you. Owner operators how many of you have asked the shipper what the load you are hauling for them is actually brokered for? You will be amazed when you start asking that question. I caught a company double brokering a load by doing this of course they completely denied any wrong by saying that they buy the loads from the brokers bs. Look at the rate confirmation most will not say that the load can not be double brokered. What they are really doing is brokering the freight through the company you work for or (an affiliate broker) so they can show you a rate con that shows way less money. Companies that have both company drivers and o/os are very good at this. Also the fmcsr states that the company should provide you with a rate con but many companies will tell you that you have to come to the office and give them notice that you will be there if you want to see the ratecon. Why do they need a notice from you that you want to look at documents that concern your pay. What are they hiding hmm. These are just a couple of ways that they get you. Start looking into how you are being cheated out of money that you’ve earned. You’ll be amazed at the lengths some will go to to cheat you. Now think about the cost of your truck permits fuel repairs regular maintenance. The cost of replacement items out on the road are extravagant to say the least. I recently replaced a cab marker light at a TA $43.98 I still have the receipt. Now I have been able to buy them for $11.00 and just keep a couple extra on hand. As you well know food out here is far more expensive than what its worth. Also you are expected to tip the waitress 15% or more and they wont even keep your coffee cup filled. I have never been one to not tip for good service. In fact my wife got on me one time for a 30.00 tip I left for a waitress and my wife used to wait tables at a restaurant. Sorry guys the waitress wasnt that pretty lol. But she gave great service. Ok maybe offtrack a little but you get the picture. This is our problem and we have to fix it in the only way that we can. Lets all figure a good date to shut the trucks down for one week. Dont say your company will fire you because thats just showing ignorance. These companies can’tafford to fire us because then they have to rehire us and pay for drugscreens and mvr reports and then wait for the results do you think they want to add 2 or 3 days to a week long shut down? Think about that. They will lose hundreds of thousands if not more with just 1 week how much more do you think they want lose by firing us? Some will say who is going to pay my bills? You are call your creditors if you have to but you should be responsible enough to have an emergency fund savings for this. What do you do when your truck is in the shop for 2 days and you only make $75.00 after the first 24 hours? You suffer through it or you pull from savings until you get back to work. Just some food for thought from a 30+ year veteran. We can fix this problem and the HOS all at the same time if we do it responsibly. It will only take once for people to not be able to get what they want and need to wake up the powers that be. Think about this you nor I can own one thing except land that wasn’t brought to us on a truck. I dont care how much you have you cant own anything but land that isnt brought by truck. Who got it to the supermarket from the slaughter house. Who brought the gas you put in your car? Who brings in the raw materials for manufacturing? Who takes out the finished product? Office workers who brought the desk and computers you use? Think about it drivers we run this country ! Lets do something about the abuse we’ve been subjected to.
Wow!
The law of supply and demand contradicts any trucker shortage as evidenced by truckers wages.not that complicated.
You got it.
The MOST dangerous kind of strike is one that is unorganized by a specific group or entity but by oneself to determine the detrimental adverse effects larger trucking companies have on the driver. After years of fabrication of the truth. The digital age has for once put a foot print and a trail of disgusting stench behind these larger carriers that are and have been destroying the very life blood of their company “the driver”. Unfortunately this will be the down fall of larger more greedy companies that follow this similar platform. It’s not that no one wants to drive. It’s what drives you that no one wants to drive. So you see “you reap what you sow”. I’d say good job chap for making our industry crap. Drivers are now making an individual independent decision after well informed digital foot printed stench history report NOT TO DRIVE. This only hurts the economic grow and stability of the God blessed country. The question is How are these large carriers going recruit on an individual scale? They aren’t because trucking companies think profit not human value. This is why individual strike is far worse than a United front.
And the beat goes on, and the hits just keep on coming. LOL.
If you offered to pay someone $20000.00 dollars if they could tell you what they posted here and when, you would be able to put that $20K back in your pocket.
How can workers ever have control over their lives when they can’t remember what they’ve done from one minute to the next?
One of the most important things for a trucker is BRAIN EXCERCISE, in my opinion.
I CANNOT STAND TO MUCH CONVENIENCE, WHERE EVERYTHING IS DONE FOR ME.
They say there is a shortage of drivers? Have they considered that they have taken every ounce of Pleasure that the job allowed drivers and replaced it with low pay, demeaning and demoralizing personal home time…and the only way you can make a living is to be part of the machine that mass produces drivers that have no clue when left to themselves. They jump out into the passing lane when the speed is 80mph and they go 65 and expect the world to stop and wait on them. They park crooked at truck stop or pull in, instead of backing in with their trailer sticking out 6 feet so everyone else has to work hard to get around their inability…a person use to be able to get out and do work on their truck in the lots, but the new drivers, pour their piss bottles on the ground thinking that’s Okay. But it in the trash. The list goes on and on…
My point being who wants to work in that environment, and be associated with that caliber of people. These large companies, Earl about prospering themselves and not the betterment of the trucking industry or the people they say they are there to represent the American Trucking Association is as far from being American is anything could possibly get. It is actually anti-American they are doing everything they can do to monopolize the industry, and to put out of business the independent truck driver. That is their whole goal. They do not care about the American people at all, and it seems like the government doesn’t really care about the American people either. Because if they did they would be cracking down on automobile drivers who drive while they’re talking on the phone who do not practice safe driving habits around trucks, I could write a book. Seriously I’ve been driving truck for over 20 years.