What’s next in trucking?

I don’t know, somehow they manage to get it out of rail cars without any railroad employees around to do it. I’m sure they can figure out how to get it out of trailers too if the price is right.

 

AI is taking over every industry, enjoy life the way you’ve known it while you can. Do what you have to do to save your money as quick as possible to not have to do it anymore if you don’t want to.

 

Universal income on the way…

 

Setting up OnlyFans ASAP!!

 

Yeah, this all happens because of the idea that anyone can drive a truck, and more importantly, anyone has the right to get a CDL.

Screw the idea that we have the most litigious industry on the face of the earth, sure let's get more moron steering wheel holders in the seat so we can put more at danger.

While we are at it, let's lower the standards even more to speed up the revolving door at the Megas and crap 1099 companies, hell with the idea of a ~110% turn over rate, we need to make it a record to beat Ford's 1914 turnover rate of 200% plus.

OK sure, drivers come here who were fired to say, "I only had 19 preventables, I deserve a second chance, but no one will give it to me ... they were not bad", Drivers are clueless to what it costs to fix even stupid little things like mirrors or flaring, while they claim it isn't a big deal.

Just the downtime of a truck costs money, and I am not talking about owner operators - some are horrible at fixing their truck by the way.

I had one applicant say to me a while back "I only bumped a couple cars while turning around in the parking lot, not any damage to the truck" so I looked at the lot she told me where this was happening, and it has 500 feet between the truck area and the employee parking lot ===>>> 500 feet. I could have turned an aircraft carrier around in that space. By the way, I confirmed, she took out two cars, totalled them, and damaged four more >>>> I did not hire her.

Then we have the lawsuits, as I said we are the most litigious industry on earth, there are a lot, if not hundreds of bill boards littering the highways claiming victory over these big bad trucks, some have in the past year posted what they have got for their clients and it isn't a million or two but they are claiming tens of millions for an accident that their clients caused. one said he has over a BILLION DOLLARS in settlements for his clients against trucking companies.

SO the tipping point has long passed, we need to get rid of AT LEAST 20% of the drivers who are on the road, the crap ones and start taking this seriously because the more we as an industry let it go, the more we justify the crap on the road, the more the USDOT/FMCSA and states react to it. We will have even more BS regulations and actual laws to "fix" a problem we could have fixed ourselves and it will cost us more, which also means the drivers get less and maybe they deserve less if they won't want to protect what they have now.

I won't even get into the problems we have with 1099 carriers and other POS crap carriers out there. This is a discussion beyond the driver problem - way beyond.

Oh, if I hurt someone's feelings, too bad. This is a business, and it should be treated as one. The nostalgia is long gone, we don't live in the world of "convoy" or whatever mythical world you want to put a title on that was created in the 90s, this is reality, we need to take responsibility for it.

 

yeah, I have seen them do it, steel sledge hammer to side of the car

 

The places I’ve seen would stick a probe into the car and blast air, same as they’d do on hopper trailers with stuck material. Or lots of companies just drop and hook and the trailers get unloaded by a yard truck. Just guessing but Foltz has at least 20 trailers at Blue Buffalo in Richmond IN anytime I’ve gone in there. Any large company like that could use autonomous trucks easily once the technology is widely available.

 

not Peco/omp/georges. They believe in giving employees a sledge

 

Swinging a sledge is a great way to get out frustration. Just saying what one could be hitting with it lol.

 

It will all be dependent on the accountants and lawyers saying when it would be more cost effective to add automatic material handling over employing another human hammer swinger. That point will come sooner for larger companies.

My bet is that the automated material handling will evolve slowly out from larger users. Docks and rail yards using automated yard trucks to move trailers around the yard. Then will add on moving from the stacks/yard to a staging area for street trucks with pickup appointments to keep the truck drivers out of the stacks eliminating that financial exposure. That was one of the points of contention for the labor unions and ports on the west coast last year.

Larger dog food type places, with drop and hook delivery options, will add vibrators that are lifted to the trailer by air or other actuators to eliminate the liability of employing hammer dude. Then will start having an automated yard truck pull the loaded trailer over the dump pit.

It will be a slow creeping transition. As an example, I worked in warehouses in the '80s. There was a constant ongoing discussion of installing lifts that were guided by cables embedded in the concrete floor. Now most Amazon type places have automated lifts that put boxes away and bring boxes to the shipping/staging area. A new local grocery wholesale distribution place has automated lifts for the freezer and fridge rooms. Saves on employees and them whining about being cold in a deep freeze.