Posted on 05/28/2018 12:38:19 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Retailers are facing a shipping squeeze, and the trucking industry just can't keep up.
According to the American Trucking Associations, there's a shortage of roughly 50,000 truck drivers across the country. And it's hitting both businesses and consumers in the wallet.
Companies are complaining about how the driver shortage is impacting their business. Meanwhile, the cost of convenient shipping is starting to catch up with consumers.
Amazon recently hiked its Prime membership to $119 a year from $99 a year. The retail giant said one of the reasons for the price jump was increased shipping costs.
But the driver shortage isn't just because of demand created by online shopping. There's a lot going on behind the scenes, according to Bob Costello, chief economist at American Trucking Associations.
"We have a demographics problem, demand is strong, trucks haul over 70 percent of the freight tonnage, our average age is very high, [and] we don't have enough females," said Costello.....
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Obviously the ONLY answer to this problem is...High Speed Rail!
*SMIRK*
NTSB Report On Fatal Uber Crash In Tempe Arizona
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3658004/posts
Just gotta pay enough.
The same with agriculture or dishwashers in restaurants or whatever.
And that’s a lot of what the Trump admin is about.
Raise wages for driving, and I might take it up at 60. But my son tried it a few years ago & said the regulations made it slave wages.
Bring in 100,000 more illegals to do the jobs Americans refuse.
Fake News by Cheap Labor Globalists.
Globalist Republicans want to import more dangerous 3rd world drivers.
SHORTAGE of drivers - Republican Liars.
SCARCITY of resources - Correct Economic’s terminology.
AT WHAT PRICE?? Always ask that question.
Republicans are economically illiterate.
What about those coming out of the Armed forces?
I do remember an article right here that said the age limit for truck drivers should be lowered to 18. It’s now 21. We need more opportunities for our high school grads to go directly to work. Don’t know if I could trust them but Trump is the perfect messenger. Get the young black kids out there to see the countryside. Put a 24 hour satellite radio with it fixed on the rush channel.
And, they keep cutting down the amount of hours the truckers can drive-i know a few who quit when they had to start using the e-logs.
I’m confident that more regulation and taxes can solve this problem.
Some of our drivers are grossing $75K to $90K per year and we recently raised their subsistence from $30/nite to $45/nite. We haul hazmat and have a real hard time finding qualified applicants. I also think a lot of younger folks just don’t want all the hours involved.
21. Interesting. I have a daughter here 18 years old and is a SUPER driver. Hauls a horse trailer all over the county with no problems. She would be a great truck driver. I was thinking of suggesting this to her, but may have to wait a couple of years.
I'd recommend any young person to enlist and specialize in communications, languages, security, etc. and aim for a secret clearance at minimum. Keep your nose clean, and when you get out you can write your own ticket. All the three-letter agencies will compete for your services, not to mention a plethora of head hunters.
They have been doing this to an increasing extent since the 1930s and especially the 1980s. It is called intermodal or stack trains. Changes in transport design have resulted in very few factories or warehouses having rail access.
Unfortunately due to turnaround times the Railroads are not interested in less than unit train shipments that travel less than 500 to 750 miles. Once you tack on the shift to load and unload the well cars at each end of the trip it is quicker dock to dock to just use a truck. Also you would still need a truck to get the container from the dock to the intermodal yard at the start and from the intermodal yard to the destination.
to be frank I discouraged my son from going into trucking because of the ability of Mexican drivers to drive in the states.
also see my post above
It will only get worse with more states legalizing weed. The main problem being that it stays in the blood up to a month, so drug tests tell nothing about whether the person is actually high at work.
...or read English...
Get rid of legalized pot so job candidates are drug free. Pay good.
Why are we not using trains for the distance hauls?
A whole nuther subject; Mexican advantage over US trucking.
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