An observation

In the early '80s there came deregulation of this industry. Deregulation created a fertile ground for growth of the trucking industry, even if it was at the expense of freight rates. This fertile ground gave birth to many small companies in need of drivers.

In the mid '80s came the oil market bust, and a housing/construction slow down, thus creating a pool workers in need of a job. Guess where these unemployed people went? That's right! And, because there was so many of them the phrase, " Drivers are a dime a dozen. ", was born. With this motto came poor pay, equipment, and driver relations.

In the late '90s the industry started to change because of a percived driver shortage. Carriers began upgading pay, equipment, and they are still TRYING to do better in driver relations. All this in an effort to retain and recruite drivers; it had now become a driver's market. If you were a driver with a stable work history and a clean MVR, you could pick and choose your employer and get a decent wage with benifits, and for the fore seeable short term this still holds true.

Now let's evaluate the markets today. The oil industry is going great-guns and shows no sign of slowing down, but, the housing/construction industry has once again bit the dust, and many in the auto manufacturing industry are wondering where the next paycheck will come from. I have the answer! Yep, that's right. The good old trucking industry takes all commers.

So this has me thinking, with the slow down that we are currently experiencing in the trucking industry, and the influx of new drivers, " Will we be hearing that old phrase once again? "

A penny for your thoughts.

 

The link below proves there will be an influx of (ex)construction workers into the trucking industry.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/ask-an-owner-operator/40029-new-to-this.html

 

Read 4th paragraph of initial post.