driver turnover

That's the answer right there! Drivers, new and experienced, not doing their homework before changing companies. Too many new drivers in CDL school take the first offer and don't shop around. I remember a post; three drivers in CDL school, in the same class, said they were going to Werner and don't care about the negative posts because they planned to go with Werner and change the whole culture there with their work ethic, and prove everyone wrong. Naivete at best!

 

I have always been an owner operator. When I started out I bought a 76 pete 359 tandem dump. Back then (mid to late 90's) you couldn't get a "spot"at the plant unless you bought a truck from someone with a spot,cost an extra $10,000 .A few short years later everyone who wanted a spot paid the dispatcher off.All because
we had a busy season. The guys who paid for a spot got screwed., our spot now was worthless.THAT FORCED a lot of us to leave and learn to hustle up our own work instead of sitting around playing cards and arguing who got a better load. This made us work harder, but also doubled our income. Most of this motivation came to us because we sank our savings into this business. Now guys leave a
job cuz it's not what they expected. They think they can make big bucks without experience.When you Pay your dues your much more likely to get better, learn and stick with it and find a way to get better.Not just give up.Different times. Now high school dropouts can't figure out why the mega corp would not make them instantly rich after FREE training.Duh !

 

I really feel this is a made up bunch of crap.

If the turn over rate is anywhere above 15% for any given company, they will not survive unless the margins are above 85% which they are not, lucky they are above 6% if that. Companies can not provide the labor at a high costs to them, and it is a cost.

The key issue is how problematic the industry has become with the labour that provides the means for transport.

I mean that we are all treated like a commodity, not as an asset and used as only a commodity. It is our own fault, we support the system of easy licensing, of tolerating bad behaviour and so on, so it comes down to how can we get from commodity to asset and that would mean serious changes to licensing and how we judge ourselves.

 

You are right on. I was looking on the Dept of Labor website back home. Trying to help my 19yo son find a job. Surprising how little many jobs pay, and how much experience they require. One example was a place wanted someone with 5 yrs experience, and a master's degree....38 grand was the pay offer. Trucking sure has that beat....

 

I quit at least once a day sometimes more.

 

I agree with you that we are treated like a commodity, or worse sometimes. In 2011 from Feb 11th to Dec 6th I worked in a little factory in Madison, SD. And the same issues where there, as here. Low pay with no improvement in the foreseeable future, no respect for experience and seniority, high turnover, commodity treatment and all. After working there, and reading/watching news reports, it seems these issues are society wide. As another poster said....50/50. Employers of all fields expecting perfect employees but not willing to compensate to get and keep them. And employees who want a great awesome job that pays 6 figures and full benefits without having to pay your dues or work for it. Sure is a hard situation to figure out how to fix. Especially since it seem to be a pervasive issue in every industry.

 

Maybe I wasn't clear, my first job out of school a decade ago was at $.27 a mile. Within 5 years I was with a different company and making $.10 a mile more plus I was only out 7 days at a time. I haven't been a company driver in 5 years so I have no idea what driver pay is now.

Money is important, but companies need to do more to allow their drivers to grow. One idea would be to come up with an incentive program to let their best drivers get rid of forced dispatch. Maybe they should take a real team approach to trucking and make the driver the team leader. The point is that the problem is more than just money.