Hey Big Truckers, notice many of you are running light or empty

A lot of drivers are heading home for the holidays!

 

Yes holiday season most drivers take off... Slow time of year... I do very well as a unionized driver.. I never work for free and I never chase a paycheck... I get payed for all my time and overtime after 40... That's how it should be.

 

Ok, and….

 

Its nearly christmas. Most folks are heading home this time of year and either taking small/short or partial loads or just deadheading the last of the way. Its been this way for about as long as i have been a driver. Some years are more obvious then others.

Besides a pretty good percentage of us based on whats being said in other threads are doing as well as or better then usual. Most of the panic is coming from the megas who keep folding but if you look into them there is usually a crystal clear pattern.

Explosive unsustainable growth especially around the covid era and freight normalizeing is killing them. They bought too much equipment at inflated prices and/or took on too much debt. Systemic mismanagment such as having 5 to 1 office critters to drivers or office critters making vastly higher wages. And the occsional ligit screwup costing a company millions theu dont have or lawfare such as the werner thing wringing them out like an old dishrag.

 

Local flatbed delivery driver. I deliver product to work sites and other stores up to 250 miles away. So I’m empty on the way back 99% of the time.

 

We'll be ok.

What did the truck driving parent say when you asked them?

 

Depends where you are driving, I leave home empty because there’s no money hauling anything out just justify spending an extra night in the truck

 

Must've been a long day.. lol id say anybody thats still kicking along in this business after the last 3 years is doing ok.. empty trucks going home for the holiday or bouncing to a better area to get a good run over the holiday

 

It's really affecting Canadian carriers who are operating with 70% Plus or more within the spot market. Exports & Import that already would be set at a significant difference because of the significant set populous ratio Usa (8): Canada (1). Its become even worst now since tariffs came into affect early this year. In Decemeber, imports into Canada from the Usa falling more than 10%. Imports from the U.S. dropped sharply in April 2025 (around 9-10% monthly) following U.S. tariffs, hitting lower levels than early 2025. On a broader scale this has caused a significant impact on Canadian Carriers. Reloads are disappearing daily regarding Canadian imports.