Can you be a really good truck driver and still be bad?

No they wouldn't, because many carriers would have gone out of business and the ones that didn't would not be paying triple to new drivers who had recently entered the industry.

 

If a trucking company goes out and buys an extra1,000 trucks but doesn't have enought freight to keep any of them busy do they suddenly have a 1,000 driver shortage or a 1,000 truck surplus?

If a trucking company hires 1,000 janitors/security guards did they affect the driver shortage? The stat you cite says more about the availability of certain pieces of data (reported jobs & reported freight volume) than the usefulness of the measurement. Why not count the tons of freight & the number of body piercings of employees?

This is not Soviet Russia and the govt doesn't decide how many truck drivers will be required. The industry wants an infinite number of low-wage drivers so that each company can tell every customer "yes" to any request. We have too many trucks/trailers/trucking companies for the number of working drivers. Hiring is in a slump, that's not a shortage of drivers. It's the opposite.

 

I knew it, I just knew they were spreading those lies and misleading claims. Thanks for clearing that up.

Just one thing, when i look up that NAICS 484 code those lying government employees somehow put this description:

"Industries in the Truck Transportation subsector provide over-the-road transportation of cargo using motor vehicles, such as trucks and tractor trailers. The subsector is subdivided into general freight trucking and specialized freight trucking. This distinction reflects differences in equipment used, type of load carried, scheduling, terminal, and other networking services. General freight transportation establishments handle a wide variety of general commodities, generally palletized, and transported in a container or van trailer. Specialized freight transportation is the transportation of cargo that, because of size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics require specialized equipment for transportation."

Those jokers didn't even include the janitors and security guards.

 

Will you please give the answer to the question you asked?

In your example, is it a 1,000 driver shortage or a 1,000 truck surplus?

I think I almost understand.

 

Don’t forget, there are thousands of potential drivers pouring across the border as we speak.
There are efforts underway to get rid of the English language requirement and giving illegals the ability to work here no matter their status.
We all know the megas are salivating at the prospect of cheap obedient drivers.

 

I do appreciate your awareness of an issue that's decidedly bad...and also very unfair -- to say the least.

But I'm not so sure I'm ready to sign on to that perspective completely, just yet.

My experience with that demographic suggests that most of them really don't belong behind the wheel of a 4-wheeler -- much less, a true big rig.

Years ago, my folks taugh me: "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

Will most starter carriers be genuinely successful with turning decidedly bad 4-wheel illegals (or even legals) into overnight professionals?

I may be all alone on this one -- but personally....I'm not holding my breath.

I of course can't speak for the other "starter" companies -- but if you can't really drive well -- you won't last long as a beginner at Schneider.

-- L

 

Understand what?

 

Your description of trucking sector doesn't mention who is included in the "employee" category so why is it relevant? Also why is comparing employees & weight of shipped freight relevant to how many drivers are or should be employed?

 

My example wasn't arguing how to run a successful trucking company. It was arguing how to get more applicants, and new drivers in the industry. Labor is a commodity. If one set of employers suddenly & significantly boosted the pay required less effort for a job more people would suddenly decide trucking might be future they want.

Pay & conditions are not attractive to enough people for the industry to get enough quality applicants who have other options.

 

In your example, is it a 1,000 driver shortage or a 1,000 truck surplus?

Can share the answer to your question?