America is now facing a "food shortage" crisis.

If there is no truck shortage, then how can there be a driver shortage?
Companies,especially big companies have been saying “driver shortage” for years.
If a man is ugly and women don’t want to date him. Does that mean there is a shortage of women?

 

The only empty shelves I've seen were in the TP aisle for a week in early 2020.

Its all BS.

 

Yeah no. If u know anything about the media. Truck drivers are easy scape goats for everything.. Has nothing to do with a driver shortage. Its all about the current administration and their policies they have created. Fuel has risen almost triple what it was 2 years ago. The federal reserve has introduced trillions of dollars of money because of a "crisis". Which has decreased the value of our dollars meaning u can buy less stuff with. Which pushes operating costs up for production . which drive prices up across the board... The driver shortage doesnt exist unless ur a mega company and your entire business model is based on hiring new drivers.... The media likes to blame everything on truck drivers because everybody hates us.. They will really hate us one day when guys stop putting up with all this crap and decide to shutdown for a couple weeks and nobody has food to eat.. Truck drivers have more power and control on people lives more than any government does. If only we could realize that and stand together.

 

There's not a shortage of trucks. There's a shortage of pay, industry wide. This includes owner operators. With fuel being out of this world, and rates dropping, any intelligent person isn't gonna start the truck for a loss.

I'm just a company schmuck, but here's what I'm seeing around the 150 mile air radius that I operate in. They built a bunch of warehouses all around central PA. Along I-81 and 78 where there used to be productive farms, there are now warehouses, many sitting empty. The ones that are being used have help wanted signs all over. Now, I make a decent living, averaging about $30/hr. But I can go into any one of these warehouses and get $20-25 per hour, and not have to deal with traffic, overzealous law enforcement, and the general B.S. that comes with my job. So why do I do it? Because I still like what I do.

People older than I am (I'm 40) are starting to hang up their keys in retirement, some quitting for those warehouse jobs, others getting pushed out for health reasons. Those younger than me don't wanna deal with the B.S for $1200 a week or whatever they're making. So they're looking at those warehouse jobs as well.


But, put yourself in an 18 year old's shoes. You can obtain a CDL at 18, but can't drive across state lines. You can get a job driving a dump truck or cement mixer and likely start at $20/ hour around here. So you go do that, and once you're 21, you start applying at OTR companies only to be told you have no credible experience, so you need to go through their training program as if you have zero experience. So why would they wanna bother?

You have some kids that grow up wanting to drive truck, but they wanna go OTR and see the country. They may have no desire to do local work, and in some areas of the country I couldn't blame them. But once they graduate high school, they have a 3 year period that they have to wait. Some go to the military, some to college, others to work somewhere else. Well we all know life happens, and once they're 21, they never pursue their career of driving OTR.

So then we're left with an industry of older folks who burned out in their chosen line of work, those who can't land a job anywhere else, and they begin driving truck. They don't really wanna be there, but they see it's their only option. And some just don't give a flip about the image they project to the public.

I say all that, to get back to my original point. Why would any same person want to drive truck anymore , when there's better options out there?

Food shortage? I haven't seen one yet. But, if we do, we can point the finger solely at the government and the ATA (don't get me started on those clowns) for enabling it.

 

i have an ice cube shortage......i keep forgetting to fill up the ice cube trays with water.

i guess this means i cannot have my icy cold drinks now..??

BS, i'm a man dang it, i can drink warm beverages...!!!!!

 

In a reasonably free market, shortages do not exist, prices rise and fall for goods modulating who can afford them, and on the labor side, wages rise and fall to meet the need to produce/transport them to consumers.

I said "reasonably" free, it doesnt need to be an anarchists wet-dream, but it cannot be too centrally controlled, be that by a monopoly or a centralized governmental force

 

there is no more a shortage of truckers today, than there was 50 years ago (or so) when i started.

there IS a shortage of PROFESSIONAL drivers, over the careless, reckless, ignorant steering wheel holders.

you know, the ones that crash, roll over, rear end others, and are "meth heads", and drunks, and road rage filled morons..???

the industry as a whole has been "short" on truth, like the companies are the ones paying the truckers. and as long as there will be low-life's driving those trucks, there will be a shortage of PROFESIONALS, that OBEY the traffic laws, drive with courtesy, arrive ON TIME for a pick up or delivery, those that DO NOT BLOCK the fuel islands, those that are CLEAN, SMELL GOOD, and dress NEATLY.

farmers have had to kill off millions of chickens due to the "bird flu".....so you gonna blame the industry for no chickens at the market?

farmers have suffered crop losses from NO rain, to tornadoes, to frost, to insects, you gonna blame the industry cuz of Mother Nature too..??

dozens of cattle were KILLED DUE TO STUPID cattle haulers crashing, for one reason or another....you gonna blame the industry too....??? (well on this maybe yes, cuz they drive like jerks, maybe one of'em CDL Mill driver, steering wheel holders???) hired just to meet the "shortage you speak of"...???