Is trucking that Bad?

you picked up some negativity,you can be profitable as an 0/0 but you need to know and understand the industry,some company drivers really do well,all depends on the driver and the company.but you also need to take in consideration with money you have to be happy.

 

It's a long, hard, lonely road with no respect. And that's the positive side!

 

You can't believe everything you read on the internet. This industry seems to have more than our share of whiners and complainers. You can earn a good living in trucking. I still earn a good living from trucking. Many others also do well. Like most professions, you get out of this business pretty much what you expect and what you put into it. Where some owner operators get into trouble is they jump too fast before they really take the time to learn the business or save enough money to get through the difficult times. It isn't all that difficult to buy a truck. Too many forget that this is a business. They find it difficult to make the transition from company driver to businessman. I think that most drivers want to become an owner operator. Many should stay a company driver. And there is nothing wrong with being a company driver. Some will earn most as a company driver as they would an owner operator. There are pros and cons to both.

 

Exactly.

Trucking is not that profitable BECAUSE there are so many trucks on the road.

When talking about the size of his massive fleet, wasn't it J.B. Hunt said...."I only need to make $.02/mile profit per truck"? There seems to be alot of companies with that philosophy. That might be fine if you've got half a million trucks, but for the guy that has one or two or three.....well, it ain't viable.

 

Zoombie.........Do yourself a favor and find another profession. If you must drive,stay a company driver. Freight brokers have decimated the rates and they're not going to get much better. Many OO's are packing it in and heading into retirement or back into a company truck. The money just isn't there anymore.

The 80's are over along with the 90's and freight volume has been in decline due to NAFTA seeing many manufacturing jobs moved abroad. Which translates into lower freight volume meaning all the "new drivers" are "obligated" to work for less than minimum wage to aquire experience.
Simply read through the number of posts "newbies" lament at how poorly they are being paid and the conditions they endure for some experience.
Back in the 90's it wasn't uncommon for a new driver to be handed the keys to a new truck and cut loose on his own. Those days are gone. Companies simply don't feel they need to invest in new drivers like they once did.

Drivers use to be able to work their entire lives at one company which is no longer the case. Companies tend to come and go quite frequently these days.
Only the megacarriers are able to continue to grow and that is only because they continually are striving for ways to lower costs and the two principal costs in this business are feul and wages............feul is pretty much non negotiable as far as price but wages are constantly under assault. Drivers haven't seen REAL pay increases since the 80's. In fact wages haven't kept up with the cost of living over the years.
If there is such a large demand for drivers as I am sure you are being told then why have wages been stagnant over the last 20 years? Seems to defy the laws of "supply and demand",don't you think?

Driving as a job is headed toward minimum wage.

This industry is no longer a good choice for someone searching for a lifelong career.
If you are able to read and write choose a trade or anything other than driving.

 

looks like you just found it again.

 

There is a constant demand for drivers to replace newbies that get disgusted and quit when they find out how bad they were lied to by recruiters . As long as there is a steady supply of fresh meat from CDL mills wages won't improve .

 

You will find the biggest issue around being an O/O is that most have just bought a job and have zero understanding about the business. They will blame everything from brokers, to fuel, to new drivers and to mega companies.

But every once in a while you come across someone who gets that it is a business first and driving is just a task. Still good money to be made in the BUSINESS of trucking. It just needs to be approached like a business.