Is it even worth starting a career in trucking right now?

With the New Canadians its a numbers game and the dominant with the numbers of Truck Drivers. Many ads say they're 70% to 75% of Canadian OTR truckers. I will say 85% since 2023. Even with the deportation of many due visas etc. Theres still an abundance of them especially in Trucking. Currently on hwy# 11 North Ontario and that's all I see. The worst non coordinated drivers on the highways worst in class. If a load is averaging $2 cpm on the spot market, they'll do it for $1.35 cpm even either diesel costing $2 20 per litre. There's nothing up stairs with the majority. They are however, the fast regarding lowest rates on the spot market bottoming out.

 

Same story for me it has always been my dream job to be a truck driver since i was very young. I started with schneider national back in 2008 i had some set backs but I didn’t give up and got my Dream job. I actually failed a road test with my current employer before going to schneider because i learned on a 13spd and not a 10 spd that i used on road test . no one would hire me because of the trucking school i went too . i had to do a refresher course at cross roads in barrie after being told by schneider i would be reimbursed. i got told after spending $3500 that because i didn’t do the whole course so i didn’t qualify. Then once i actually got to schneider i failed their physical test because i wasn’t keeping my back straight while lifting a milk create . I didn’t give up i went to the gym to work on strengthening my muscles and back and 6-12 months later went back and passed their physical

That was 18 years ago , hard to believe how fast time flies. Unfortunately for newbies now there’s a lot less companies like schneider who are willing to put new drivers up in a hotel and train them

 

There still are jobs out there if a person has a year. Depends on area, more jobs in the north,,Timmins to Thunder Bay
I have not applied anywhere and yet I’ve gotten 3 offers, cold calls offering me part time runs
A year ago I thought I would have jumped on these but gawd,, see the daily carnage on 11/17, don’t wanna work!

 

Canada is one of those things you have to see to believe. The trucking thing is a total mess

 

Its not just trucking that's a mess in this country......

 

OMG yea! lol. You guys should see whats going on in construction these days! I swear to god, if you're buying any kind of house/apartment/townhouse built after 2018, you're commuting fiscal suicide! I've been on sites, servicing generators right in the thick of it. I've seen walls and trusses, where not all the boards are the same length LOL. Foundation walls that fell over, when they pulled the forms. Boxes and Boxes of tie plates, used to try and hold everything together, cause nothing is straight or even LOL.

Lets not even talk about warehouses or cross docks.....banks, grocery stores, liquor stores, any kind of fast food/takeout, that isn't some old people who've been at it since 1980 (or longer). I mean, its not like you can afford to eat out anyway. Basically go to work, go to Costco (Costco Liquor), go home and cook/meal prep, go back to work LOL.

 

I was doing exactly what you are doing now back when they were rebuilding after that fire up north 10 years ago. Lots of complaints about the quality of the rebuilds then as well.

 

The mines in NW Ontario frequently looking for drivers. Whether it operating the powder truck and hauling ore on site. Generally workers are on rotation which if you fine being away from home 2 or 3 weeks is not so bad when you making money every day
I know a married couple on 2 week rotation at mine 2 years now

 

We are hiring in Brampton.

https://ca.indeed.com/jobs?q=martin...fc36417d3ff6ced71d1cd4ba&vjk=38720397c2aef230

 

Yea, I've just about had enough of these "new construction types", Love being Heavy Duty, but Mobile is definitely a challenge having to deal with people. The part that sucks, is I live right by Finning Caterpillar Calgary, Wajax Hitachi, Tractorland (Kubota), like 10 min commute. Get this, they only want "2nd year Journeymen or better" LOL! good luck with that one boys, guess you like having empty bays. Like its bad enough you don't want apprentices, but now even Journeymen isn't good enough? this country is so cooked.