400,000 TRUCKING JOBS AVAILABLE...Here's why.

I hope you're able to get a good job back in tool and die. I have a 2-year degree in electronics, but electronics manufacturing has all but been shipped out of Texas to Mexico. The machine shop industry has really been hit too. I lived in Harrison, Ohio for many years, and I was only about 3 miles from Cincinnati Incorporated which made some of the best brake and punch presses in the world. I talked with a guy at my 35 year high school reunion who still worked there, and he said the work force was way down. He said instead of making about 40 machines/month, they were down to 8 to 10 machines/month. Also, you probably know what happened to Cincinnati Millicron. At one time these places made the best machine tools in the world. With the auto industry down and also the cheap Asian imports, the demand isn't there anymore. And unfortunately tool and die making is another trade that can be offshored. But, I can certainly see how working an 8-5 in an air conditioned office or even shop would be an easier job than going OTR. And, you actually get to watch your own TV at night and sleep in your own bed. But can you find a good paying job doing that? I hope you can.

 

The bad things....... well......for example......

Long hours..... and I do mean LONG!!!!.....(it was typical for me to average over 100 hours a week.... in essence I worked for less than minimum wage, and wouldn't ya know it, the industry is exempt from minimum wage laws.)

Krappy food..... try to find a descent meal on the road. Go ahead, I dare ya !

Sleeping conditions that are at times CHALLENGING, to say the least. With new restrictive idling laws, companies that forbid idling, and undependable APU's, getting sufficient rest can be a real hit and miss proposition.

Being treated with courtesy and respect. "FORGET-ABOUT-IT". Those days have long since passed.

Being lied to. It has become the rule, rather than the exception.




Deregulation?....... well...... in the old days, trucking companies had certain areas they could run. They could NOT run where ever they wanted to. This didn't eliminate competition, BUT, it certainly reduced it. Therefore, it was easier to remain profitable. Therefore, companies were in a better position to afford to pay better wages. WAGES ARE A CASUALTY OF DEREGULATION, pure and simple. The public can now go to their favorite store and purchase goods more cheaply then they could before, but they do so "at our expense".

I could go on and on...... but why continue to bash an already broken industry.

 

I read these comments and shake my head. Do you work in the same Trucking industry as I do? Minimum wage? No courtesy or respect? Just answer one question and maybe I can understand what your talking about. WHY DO YOU ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN TO YOU? If this is really how it is move on.

 

I agree with heavy dude. It is what you make of it and most drivers allow this to happen to themselves. Go buy a good rig and a 3 axle double drop or low boy and see what kind of money you make. I will bet you its way above minimum wage and is probably as much if not more then you will make as a tool and dye machinist.

Hey heavy dude what was your post from the other day that I asked you what you haul?
19K in roughly 6500 miles for the past 13 days??? Seems like somebody knows what he is doing and is SKILLED at what he does

 

Who said I was working for a paycheck? I've been an owner for far more years than I've been an employee.

As far as your ability to make more money than a skilled laborer..... entirely possible.... and I would never begrudge anyone for making as much money as they were capable. Good for you.

 

I made these comments from the perspective of a company driver... not an O/O. I'm assuming you're an O/O, and if so, I can understand your position.

But, a company driver has little if any leverage to affect the way they are treated.

 

There is no reason to work cheap as O/O or company driver. Go some place that will pay you a living wage. Save your money, buy your equ. Use your brains think of other options. I started doing this like everyone else: No exp. and no money. Whining won't help.

 

For starters.... I was making these comments as a company driver, not an O/O. It's entirely possible for an O/O to make more money than a tool and die maker who works for a paycheck.

But, I've owned tool and die shops for more years than I've worked as an employee. And, I can say with absolute certainty, You'll never make as much money driving your rig, as I did running my shop. GUARANTEED!!!!!

 

As a driver with some experience you do have plenty of leverage to research and find a company that will pay you enough to make it worthwhile.. I'm a company driver that is probably little more than a number but I'm OK with that so long as I feel I'm being compensated fairly for what I'm being asked/required to do..

 

I see people on here that have been driving for longer then I have. I started at .34 CPM at PRIME! There is companies out there that I have seen that start at .28CPM and you have to be there for atleast 5 or 6 years before you even get close to what I was making as a new driver who just obtained my CDL. I was running a minimum of 3K miles a week and had plenty of weeks that were over 4K miles. I was 21 years old and I was clearing a grand a week! That to me is plenty to live on then and now! To many drivers are just easily influenced by o I want to drive a large car, O I want a fast truck, I want a cat motor and I dont want a 9 speed or a 10 speed. To many complainers out there that wont drive for a company because people say this and that about them. Well to all of those drivers out there that have been at it for over 5 years and are making less money then I was as a FNG driver, your working for SH** and your company is playing you as a fool and your playing your cards way wrong.