Trucking Pay-Numbers don't lie

Cmon guys, money won't buy you Love but it will sure get you alot of Broads! :>):>)

The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think. ​

 

"Employment in transportation and material moving occupations is projected to grow by 1.1 million between 2004 and 2014. Two-fifths of new jobs should be for truck drivers and driver/sales workers." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006-07 Career Guide to Industries)

The math: 1.1 million x 40% = 440,000/10years = 44,000 new drivers and driver/sales workers per year. 6 years down (2004-2009 inclusive) x 44,000 = 264,000 theoretically hired so far. 440,000 - 264,000 = 176,000 new drivers needed by end of 2014. And, my point is....hell, I don't know. I just want to be one of the 176,000! Frankly, I like my odds!

 

Your math is WAY off.
Look at the date of that career guide = 2006-2007.
This is when freight was booming.
Freight is no longer booming and neither are trucking jobs.
Most fleets have downsized, mothballed equipment, etc.
So you say "why are carriers still hiring, then?"
It's because they have to constantly replace their workforce because they can't keep drivers.

 

Yeah , I recognized those numbers right away . Some CDL mills still use them for recruiting . If those predictions were right why do you go to Safestat and see the number of drivers for almost every carrier either stay the same or decline for the past 2 years . They keep running thousands of drivers through orientation but still have the same number of drivers they had 2 years ago ? What's wrong with that picture ?

 

I am not looking at trucking to come home with lots of money. I am however doing it because its better than working in a kitchen. People out there will always want freight moved. Until there is something better than trucking, I will still look forward to driving.

The nice thing I do see is, when you do have freight and enough time for the load. At least you will know that you are going to be ale to do your HOS and have down time. The problem I see with Mickey Dees type jobs, they dont respect your time off and treat you like a bottom feeder does.

I am a proud man, proud of the work that I do, proud of the work I plan to do. I plan on working for and with you and plan on giving you the best that I can. Having a few dollars extra is always appreciated.

 

Everybody wants to knock down trucking but you get treated much better in trucking than you do at a fast food job.

 

People want less and less freight moved and there are more and more people thinking they will be needed to move it .
You look at carriers with a high percentage of driver Out Of Service and the reason is obvious . They are being pushed to violate HOS . Usually it isn't for violating the 70 hour rule but for being pushed to exceed the 11 or 14 hour rule . Carriers will let drivers sit a day or two then when they get hungry enough they'll throw them a load that can't possibly be legally done .

 

Why do they want to be truck drivers?The same reason they need a job .Haven't you heard?Truck driving is easy.All you day all day is sit on your but and drive.Once these people find out how hard it is they leave the industry altogether and find an easier job.Look at all the new drivers that want to be home every weekend.How can an OTR driver get any miles when the company has to give loads to the weekenders to get them home.

I logged legal so I only worked 70 hours a week.I wasn't going to work any more then that for what I was being paid.The Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25.In order for someone making minimum wage to make $800 a week he needs to work 110 hours a week.Some of you are going to say "but he's home every night".He's not working EIGHT hours a day.Subtract the time it takes him to drive home and drive back to work and that's how long he is home for every day.

Someone making $0.26 a mile needs to drive 3077 miles a week.Before the economy went bad it was easy to do that.

 

Trucking also gets you away from home for weeks at a time so you're not the one that has to deal with the bill collectors and try to feed the kids with money left after paying utilities with a bottom feeder paycheck .