Coronavirus triggered massive truck shortage east coast

Shoot my boss just bought a van if the rates gets higher then hog I might make him send me out there

 

I can see it now.

Driver Joe sitting in the company breakroom overhearing his dispatcher saying yes its 3500 dollars on 700 miles.

Driver joe figures his 0.34 a mile pay over 700 miles... oh 235 or so gross. Its a real pittance. And there is no extra for danger pay getting sick and infectious etc.

And dispatcher wonders why Driver Joe has gone out to buy a tractor trailer... and takes dispatchers load for 3000.

 

Are drivers still working for $.34 a mile? I couldn’t imagine that.

 

Us too

 

Just lunch counter talk at this point IMO. I hope rates jump up this week though. We saw some firming up last week but no big jumps.

 

I dont expect any big wind fall out of this as 99% of what I do is contract freight....maybe a small bump up on my frozen con agra loads to Penn.
Either way this isnt going to last long so dont run out and buy new trucks and trailers.
Will say tho if I do see these insane rates into Penn, NY and Nj outbound rates will drop even lower from their already dismal level .

 

A link to a write up that the overall industry pays 28 to 40 cents with a number over 45 cents for years of experience. Lost wages in the last 30 years against inflation and rising costs of living.

Truck Driving Per Mile Salary | AllTrucking.com

 

It's funny they should say that. What's wrong with people being prepared or actually going out and buying things to get that way? I look at it as proof that our whole supply chain is a house of cards one small catastrophe away from total chaos. This is what you get in a crisis when everything is all ordered as needed and nothing is ever stocked. DC's don't warehouse anything because warehousing stuff costs them money. The freight comes to the DC in the morning and leaves on trucks to the store that night. What could possibly go wrong, right? It's not a problem until there's a problem.

 

I don’t see any big rates advertised. Doesn’t look like I missed much this week. Stores cleaned out. Maybe most normal shipments were already booked? I’ve got next week booked. Waiting for the Boom. Meanwhile, almost out of coffee at home. Time to panic.