don't become a truck driver

one thing I am curious about as a newb...
as a company driver, what can i expect in terms of weekly gross while it's slow...
is $500 a week too much to expect? would be about 1600 miles at newb. pay
I'm just trying to gain a little clarity here...

 

That might be about average for right now, just don't forget about taxes coming out and any advances that you take. You may see more than that too. Just depends on what's available.

My hubby's been getting just below or a bit above 2,000 miles lately. He would have been over 3,000 had it not been for losing a load yesterday because something went wrong with his truck. He's rolling now and headed home, but he won't get this trip done before tonight so it will be on next week's check.

 

if anythin, puttin everythin on the railroad only increases the amount of local drivin jobs you'll have

 

This "Practical Point of View" has going around for many many years. Of course there are slow periods in trucking but the goods still must go. And you'll find that one type of product may be slow at a different time than the other.

wahwah 70 has the right view. Unless of course you haul petroleum products like I did then nobody moves unless I do. Plus there's no slow period if you work for the right company.

 

My work has been slower than it has ever been, and a lot of other truckers up here in Canada are hurting as well. Freight going to the US had dried up. General freight has dried up so all these trucking companies are fighting for what little freight there is. I know other drivers hauling different kinds of freight (steel, reefer, van, tank)who are slow as well. The only drivers I know right now who are busy are the ones hauling fuel.

 

I've seen those ads, they claim moving thousands of pounds of freight for pennies a mile. But who gets it from the railyard to the store or vise versa? I'm guessing the local drivers you spoke of.
It may be cost effective to ship intermodal cross country but there will always be a need for Drivers.
And I never aspired to drive a 13 letter s#!t spreader day-cab thru town all day stopping every 10 mins. to deliver.

 

I'll say one thing Ive noticed on the road, there is a lack of traffic compared to 2 yrs ago but its not because there are less trucks. It seems Ive seen less cars than normal, and less 4-wheelers on the highway is never a bad thing.

Prices might skyrocket, and work well be harder for those not wanting to bend or break the rules but trucking isn't going anywhere...

 

I saw a news story about layoffs at a factory -- in China! The world economy, including ours, has been in recession for a year (Bush lied about it due to election etc.). So expect everything to be slower, smaller, more tight with money.

But also remember, large cities can not support themselves -- they grow no crops or livestock. Everything has to be sent in to cities from the rest of the country and ports. North America has the best road system in the world and it is going to be exploited with trucks one way or another.

Also, the economy is cyclical. After 9/11/01 I experienced my first recession while working and it scared me bad, I thought it was end of the world. Then things got better. Now we are in the worst recession since the Depression. Hold on tight, but if the USA can't pull out of this no one can.

So try to hang in there!

 

If the railroad is gonna put truckers otta work they need to reclaim hundreds of miles of track in this county alone that has all been paved over for NATURE TRAILS!.....there hasnt been a train thru here in over 20 years and that was BEFORE the nations LARGEST refigerator plant just 15 miles from my home moved to mexico 3 years ago. Yeah trains may get in the picture more BUT theres still lots of miles between the end of the tracks and all the customers.