Fair to assume the driver shortage is real?

Brsims, I have to ask do you actually have empty trucks sitting on your yard from lack or drivers?

 

Yep. Not many, but we aren't that big an outfit. Any empty truck is a not good thing.

 

no matter what company you are an empty truck isn't a good thing

it don't matter if you're Swift or Joe's Trucking

 

A carrier the size of Swift can absorb the cost of an empty a lot longer than Joe's trucking. Empty trucks still cost money (Insurance, registration, all that fun stuff) unless that empty is taken off the rolls completely either for sale or moved over to the lease/fleece side of operations.

 

which shows there are more trucks than freight to be hauled....

again, showing the supply and demand equation, prices stay low, because there are people willing to haul for those low rates... why, because there are more trucks than actually needed.

There are people who think they are making a profit running their truck, when in reality, they are only one breakdown away from bankruptcy.

 

Not necessarily, although it can be true for some areas. The problem we have is we gotta get the pay up to tempt the drivers we want, but the rates we are getting aren't coming up to compensate. Add in the time of year for flatbed (slow freight right now on a national basis, but some areas are running better than others) plus backing up the promises we made to drivers on home time, and the fact we are trying to fill the fleet seats for the upcoming upswing in freight (yes, I have been assured by Memphis that freight is gonna start running hard soon) and the problems start getting apparent with a mid sized fleet that a small fleet or a "mega" aren't seeing.

Small fleets in my area generally have set dedicated customers who run year round, so they can still pay the bills in the slow times, and larger fleets have more options that come from simply having more trailers they can leave sitting at a shipper for weeks at a time. We run a tight operation, trying to maximize the profit potential on every piece of equipment while, again, keeping our promises to the drivers. It's tough and stressful on our office staff, but I find a lot of satisfaction in working with them. Nothing beats a hard day of fighting the Great Freight War, and seeing a clean board at the end of the day with all the drivers heading where they need to be to get home at the end of the week.

 

Well said..
A lot of HARD work takes place in offices and cubicles all across this industry..
and a lot of horseplay..and a lot of free food(seems like you guys have free food day everytime I come to the office?..whatsup w that?

 

I tell ya, Trckdrvr, since I've started driving a desk I have had a massive eye-opening experience in what goes on in this industry that the drivers may not see. Plus the issues that single truck O/O operations don't have to deal with.

An O/O running one truck has ONE driver to keep happy. Himself. Or herself. My company has 350+ drivers, all with different demands and expectations, to keep happy. On top of the customers we need to keep happy to keep the freight, and the DOT to keep happy so we stay in operation. Each driver added to an operation multiplies the difficulties expotentially for a carrier.

Unless you run like a big carrier who doesn't give a rat's tail about the drivers.

 

Don't think the government pays for training any more, JB Hunt & Schneider don't train any more
if there was money to be made doing it they would be on it.Remember they had the 2 largest trainers back in the day.

 

im well aware of the day/day in the office. I couldn't personally do it.
Ive seen my dispatcher working 2 monitor screens at the same time on his computer and having to deal w drivers at the dispatch window as well as answer the constantly ringing phones..

But whats up with the free food?
Seems like in the office by 7-8 oclock they are sending someone out for biscuits and by 9-10 they start talking about whos doing what for lunch?
and if they don't have at least 2 food days a week I will eat my logbook..HaHaaa

You guys got it made like a gravy train with biscuit wheels(food reference)