ICC regulation

Oh boy, here we go......

 

It was all good, biggest problem was what to do with all the money.

 

My father owned a small business with about 60 employees which included a small fleet of six semi tractor trailers in the 50' and 60'. It was the Memphis Hanger Company founded in 1948. They were running 6 southern states under his own authority to deliver truck load goods to customers. Back then lots of factories owned their fleet.

I can say this, it was heavily regulated, and it was cheaper to haul freight than use common carriers. Eventually the labor union tried to wreck his business...after several years with lawsuits pop sold the company in 1966.

I have fond memories back then, hanging out at the shop with the drivers and mechanics and the love for trucks...trucks have always been cool!

 

Many independents hauled produce. It was exempt, so you didn't need operating authority. Then you trip leased to haul freight back west.

 

It was the government picking winners and losers -- often for favors. Shipping costs were high and the economy was in shambles.

Perhaps you've heard of Lean Manufacturing (or Just-In-Time) -- US companies started adopting such strategies in the 80's when shiping rates were set by the market and not mob bosses.

If you had a good trucking job in the 70's you probably thought deregulation was a bad thing (I know my grandfather did). If you didn't, it was a good thing:

 

Wow no one remembers it but lived through the memories of their dads, cousins or uncles.

I was taught how to drive a truck in the 70's and traveled all over the place in a GMC Astro cab over pulling a flatbed. I drove until my parents talked me out of being a trucker and going to college/university which I regret doing.

But got to say this ...

It wasn't all that bad, competition was even, rates were published and no one really got screwed like they do today.

You could be an owner operator with your own authority, but you had to give a fixed rate to the icc as what you would charge, simple enough.

You could solicit for the work if you want, the guy who taught me to drive was a steel hauler and it was no uncommon to show up to a place like in Gary Indiana and ask for work and get it because you were there at the right time.

A lot of freight was moved by independents, more so than people seem to remember. A lot of the big companies worked on deticated routes with ltl freight doing what it does now, p&d work.

The biggest change with deregulation was to allow simpler rules to get the authority which meant it opened up a lot of problems for drivers. Competition increased then but with this thing called the Internet it boomed and then the broker was unleashed to screw over even more truckers.

Your biggest issue then was the state and local cops who were idiots at times and other times your freind. Speeding was the biggest issue, safety being another but nothing like today.

My god I remember being pulled over in Kentucky by a local just south of the Indiana border, had to go through the permit check, the Bol check and then written a ticket for a light out which I had to pay for on the spot ($10) and replace the lamp. Then moving across the border going through the entire thing again, by a state cop. Getting a ticket for improper paper work - I was not going to argue with the guy - and then told to get the hell out of there.

Anywho back to the bad days of trucking.

If you ran nation wide like my mentor did, he had all kinds of permits, stickers and plates to deal with, a big PIA. I forgot the term used for the plate you stick the stickers to, I remember being stuck in Vermont with an expired permit and having someone who happened to be driving from Detroit to Bennington bring me a new permit for this truck becuase they didn't have fax machines everywhere.

The other thing that comes to mind and a big change for me when I reentered this mess is the lack of comradely. It is pretty much gone and I was warned back in 1981 when I stopped driving that one day with all the progress, truckers will be isolated individuals who won't give a crap what happens to others in this profession, and that has come true for the most part.

 

Bingo cards, that's it. Thank you.

I can see almost every one of my trucks and where they are without too much trouble. I remember putting $3 of coins in a pay phone at some mom and pop to call a customer to see if they have any work to be picked up, now it costs me 30 cents if that to call that same customer.

The one thing that is gone is the days of the restaurant counter and the thing about getting out of the truck and actually eating/resting among others. My wife and I stopped into a T/A a month ago in Ohio to get something to eat at what should be their busiest time and it was dead in the place, no one at the counter and three girls standing around.