Another 4,200 truck drivers lost their jobs in September as a recession slams America's $800 billion

I respectfully disagree. My 401k never has performed better than it has in the last year. My income has gone up, and I'm carrying less debt than ever. Politics aside, I think the economy is doing pretty well.

I graduated high school in 2000 with $35 to my name. I bought everything back in my younger days on credit. 2008 comes, and I nearly lost everything. Not because of the economy, but because I was dumb. I never blamed anyone but myself for any of this. But I kept chipping away at things,negotiated with creditors on my own, and was able to keep everything, without bankruptcy. Yeah, it hurt, and was painful. But I not only survived, I learned a lot.

I'm sure the steak dinner remark was kind of tongue in cheek. But, perhaps there's something more than what meets the eye. Maybe those who went through the disaster of 2008 remember what it was like, and learned a thing or two, and don't wanna ever go through it again. So instead of the steak dinner, maybe a hamburger instead.

One thing I've noticed is the truck stop parking lots are full at night. Back in 2008, you could find parking at 2am rather easily. You can blame ELD's or whatever you want, but there's more trucks on the road now. That tells me freight is moving, and the economy isn't in recession. Not yet anyway.

But I do believe one is coming soon. We're in a boom economy, and that's always followed by a bust. But, I'm ready for it.

 

I still am!

 

I've rarely seen a more cogent analysis of the situation.

 

The economy is not in a recession, not even close. Whoever has been telling you otherwise is a complete moron (and likely a leftist idealogue) who is completely ignoring all of the current data.

And the reason drivers aren't buying steak dinners in truck stops anymore is cuz it's getting harder and harder to find a truck stop that still sells steak dinners - and the ones that still do don't stay open all night anymore.

 

Thank you !

 

I've been trucking since 1996. Mostly long haul, but driving local now because the money is so shamefully low in long haul. The big carriers are advertising you will make up to $53K, but you always have to downgrade their inflated recruiting claims, so I'd estimate the reality would be about $46K if you run hard and only take a few days off every 2 months, but this is what I made in 2003. Since then restaurant meals have gone up a lot, and other costs of living, but now year after year the long haul pay just stagnates in this general range. But with the poor wages in our post-2008 economy, the carriers are getting the recruits they need,so there is no driver shortage. If we really had an economic recovery they would never get drivers at today's low pay.

Let me ask you all this.... if truck driving paid a million dollars a year, would there be enough drivers? If your answer is yes, and I think it is, then you don't have a driver shortage, you have an economic problem.