Newbie question about trucking industry

You can cut the some of the middle men out by getting your own authority. Getting your own authority means you are completely independent, you don't have any interests with a single company. You could haul a brokered load from Werner and the next day haul a brokered load from Swift.
The reason those middle men aren't getting cut out is because it's ###### tough/risky to get your own authority. You're in charge of finding loads, finding customers, managing your business. It's a lot more than your average driver wants on his plate.

It used to be a third of the revenue went to the driver, a third to the truck, and a third to the company. It's not so simple anymore.
Driver sees maybe a fifth or a sixth now.

There is a driver shortage because many people you see in the driver's seat aren't really drivers. They're in the industry for a year or two to save some money IF they can last even that long and then they're gone. The high turnover rate costs the industry loads despite what many say about the government paying for it.

 

You've hit the nail on the head. In the often misunderstood laws of supply and demand, the only time there can be a shortage is when the price, in our case, wages, are held down artificially. In a free market, the wages would rise to equilibrium. There are too few people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the low pay we get. In the Less Than Truckload market, the turnover is around 15%. In the truckload it is over 100%. Simply not normal!

 

I am sure that the LTL part of the industry loves the high turnover on the OTR segment. They can grab drivers sick of the ######## of OTR.

 

And then just when you think you have it figured out some place that hired your company to bring them their stuff demands you pay THEM to take position of THEIR stuff or they won't take THEIR stuff and charge you for not delivering when scheduled.

 

Reasons for the driver shortage 1: Companies dont want to pay enough.2 Companies(basically controlled) by their insurance company as to who they will insure. 3 The industry is so regulated... nobody wants the responsibility and or being controlled.4 its not something everbody can do

 

Drivers for the most part are treated like dirt. There are exceptions. But between the government treating us like third class citizens,the freight brokers that lie all day long. The companies that think of us as disposable, the piss bottles all over most truckstops, and the bathrooms that smell like a herd of livestock simultaneously took a dump.

It's no wonder why most don't last a year.

 

I love the mention of Supply and Demand above. What is wrong is that government action has created the shortage. Not everyone can drive a truck. Drug users for example are disqualified. Certain medical problems keep you out. Insurance Companies have requirements that also disqualify folks. All of these keep the supply of drivers down. That puts pressure on the wages to be up. Logs limit the number of hours a driver can do certain duties. This also keeps the supply down and should keep the wages up. People cheating on logs lowers the wages for those who do not cheat. Logs are your friend.

Now a basic primer on the Trucking Industry. Unless you buy directly from the producer all products are carried by truck at some point. Thus when the economy as a whole grows, jobs in trucking grow. The economy seems to be improving but the last trucking job I held was a reefer company. Reefers haul food. Food is needed year round, good economy and bad. Therefore Reefer jobs provide the most stable paycheck but are usually the lease paying. Dry freight pays more then reefers but around January through March there is less freight available. Flatbeds pay more but also have a drop off during non building seasons. Next up is tankers, then car haulers. Finally specialty freight. They make the big bucks but they have to understand their markets. All these Windmills, great money but they don't work and they are big cancer clusters waiting to happen.

You need to understand the concept of lanes. Different places pay different rates for shipping. Taking freight out of Kansas City for example usually pays $1.90 or so per mile. You can survive on that but it is not the most profitable. Going into New York pays good but finding a load to get out of there is difficult. New York does not make much that needs a truck to take out of there. Runs out of Louisville, Bowling Green and other parts of Kentucky pay good if you are going to Chicago or such.

Remember it is not about miles, it is about money.

You will make the most money not having to share your load with anyone else. 1 truck, 1 driver pays the best percentage. Find your own loads and do your own repairs. If you are not a good salesman call a company like Coyote and get them to find you loads. Keep good records. Use the stuff from Fog Line software. Diesel Bosses stuff is good.

 

What you are trying to figure out can't be. You are hearing from just one little section of the entire industry and to see a larger part is nearly impossible.

There is no driver shortage, never was and never will be unless there is a huge exodus of cdl holders out of the door at the same time. People come here and expect big bucks but then get pissed and leave when they have to work. A lot of others blame government or the carriers and don't seem to get that the customer is driving the entire thing with competition being so high that it is hard to impossible to get an effort into moving rates up, we are all for ourselves and not for the other drivers.