The Driver Shortage?

Makes you wonder when and if the law of supply and demand will ever kick in.

 

Drivers that will work for almost "Free" shortage maybe...

Ya know, maybe that's their plan, "overfil the glass" with drivers so they can pay them less.

 

Exactly. There is no shortage of people to work. There is a shortage of people willing to stay away from home for weeks at a time to earn an average of $9 or $10 an hour.

Change the numbers, and the situation changes. Make it a 40 hour work week, with time and a half over 40 hours. Pay about $18 - $20 an hour, plus $48 to $58 a day per diem. Send them home on a regular basis.

Just like magic, there is suddenly no shortage of drivers. In fact, you would have a surplus of applicants.

 

So the real situation is that it is cheaper for companies to absorb the cost of turnover/training than it is to compensate properly for the job. Only when those two line cross on the graph will companies make things significantly better for the driver.

 

no just more government money to spread around that way for "training"

 

Driving a truck is one of the most demanding jobs out there today.It is an occupation that just about anyone can get into.But like was said before there are many unemployed people who will not put up with being away from home and family for weeks at a time.It takes a special kind of person to make that kind of a sacrifice.Myself I would rather be out on the road earning a living than to sit around moaning about not making any money.Course not everyone feels that way,or there wouldnt be a driver shortage.In an era where good paying,stay at home jobs are extremely hard to find,a truck driver can quit one job today and be working for someone else tomorrow.I am one of the luckier drivers out there,driving the 7 on 7 off program with Roehl.But it is still hard to leave my wife every other Sat.morning for a week.True everything we buy is shipped by truck at one point or another.As long as OTR driving requires being away from home for long periods of time there will be a driver shortage.Maybe someday it will all be done by relaying loads,and getting drivers home more often.Somehow there has to be a solution.I doubt that the trucking companies like having several driverless trucks sitting around their terminals.Thats all folks.

 

Tip, I read the post earlier, scratched my head on the empty shelves bit, decided not to reply, and went for a hot lemon tea.

It really didn't jive with the numerous driver complaints of short miles during slow freight season.

Do you have a solution for this 'conspiracy' theory I read about daily? :smt082

 

OK then, I have a couple questions about this driver "surplus". Why in every major newspaper are companies hiring drivers? The only other trade where there are more advertisments is nursing. Is there also a nursing surplus? Do you dispute the incredible turnover rate the big companies have? When you turn over at a 150 percent rate, something is seriously wrong. A lot of folks are being trained but the retention rate is dismal.......like so many folks here have said, it takes a special kind of person to go OTR. Please explain your conspiracy theory a little more.