Driver Shortage?

Also a large number of drivers want to step out on their own and not be a W2 , some are so desperate they will accept being paid by grains of rice. I don't know if it's true but I heard from a driver that went to orientation to lease a truck from JCT that they tell you , you have to run at least 2500 miles to break even .

 

There was an article that I read just the other day saying the mega are petitioning the government for just that. Import more cheap labor.

 

Wanting to step out on your own, and having the skill set, discipline, wear with all, and mojo to do so are two very different things.

 

that’s been going on in Canada for 40 yeArs. All the crap companies as well as trucking associations are behind bringing in cheap offshore help. See FB page Skilled Truckers Canada to see the daily carnage those people cause. Every frigging day! Yesterday prize winner piled into 7 vehicles in construction zone
For those of you not familiar with Ontario crossing it is 1000 miles single lane highway and the north shore hosts 7 % grades 5 miles long

 

Driver shortage is b.s. good excuse to import drivers who will work for cheap and will take any load as long as they're getting miles

 

For the longest time we have been saying that there is no shortage just a retention issue.
I think things recently may have changed.

Seen openings for local starting at 30 an hour and other coveted jobs wide open.

Retirement, lack of young people willing to work vs getting Covid unemployment, weed legalization also has a input.

Some new factors are in play that were not there in the past.

 

Ummmm I'm not sure I get your logic. Not everyone can afford to turn down jobs because of "low pay." Some sectors will definitely pay more for sure. If you're experienced, it's no reason why

I don't think higher pay will help driver shortage. Trucking is a job that requires mental toughness. A good majority are mentally fragile. People want that kind of money, but it has to come in the form of a cushy, 9-5, weekends off paid holidays office job. It needs to look like the image some people conjure up in their delusional minds. Trucking pays pretty good money, and if you bump docks, it's quite easy. Trucking just isn't sexy at all. You go down the highway, and just about every driver has a dirty truck. You go in the truck stop and many drivers look unkempt. Some of them wear their cleanest dirty shirt. Most of all, what makes everyone quit is the psychological part. No real balance between work and home. The first Christmas, birthday, or anniversary that's missed, there's the kiss of death for a lot of new CDL holders. I don't know if there's a shortage or not. I tend to lean on the side of yes there is a shortage, but megas will say yes, they have lots customers and so much freight they have to broker it out sometimes. Small fleet owners and owner ops will say shortage of pay since they numerically dominate the industry. Dry van/ reefer drivers may think its overkill, but flatbed and tankers will say shortage. You'll never have a shortage of local drivers though....

 

1.5 years left for me. Sell everything and move onto maybe a Food Truck as I love cooking.

I’m tired of the bs.

 

When I'm not driving, I vacation in the Philippines, so when I am driving, I'm thinking about all of the parties I'm missing out on! That's why I can only do the job for about 4 months and then I gotta bail. If you are a social animal, trucking is not for you, it's a job for loners and people with no strong family ties. That's the truth and it's irrefutable. I've been told many times, on this forum, to find another line of work!

 

Lol to some degree you're right. It ain't for everyone that's for sure. Its not as bad as people make it out to be in my opinion. I'll always have a loyalty to OTR trucking because it saved my life and made a man out of me