Posted on 02/11/2008 5:33:39 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
A conspicuous shortage of truck drivers is creating a Catch-22 of sorts for the trucking industry, according to recent comments by carrier executives.
On the one hand, a lack of drivers is restricting the ability of trucking companies to expand and meet current freight volumes. Yet that same lack of drivers results in tight capacity, which is allowing fleets in many cases to get higher rates from customers and reject unprofitable business.
"Our results for the quarter were assisted by a favorable relationship between freight demand and truckload capacity," said Steve Russell, chairman & CEO of Indianapolis-based truckload carrier Celadon Group.
"We believe capacity growth in our industry continues to be constrained by a shortage of qualified drivers," he continued. "Assuming a continuation of the current freight environment, where growth in freight demand has exceeded increases in truckload capacity, we believe there will be opportunities to continue to raise freight rates faster than cost increases. Consequently, we continue to be confident in our ability to move to a 90% operating ratio or better."
"A solid U.S. economy and a favorable relationship between shipping demand and truckload capacity contributed to a 5.9% increase in our average revenue per loaded mile," noted Kevin Knight, chairman & CEO of Phoenix-based Knight Transportation.
"Solid productivity, improved fuel surcharge collection, and constant focus on expense control more than overcame cost increases relating to higher prices of revenue equipment, higher diesel fuel prices, declining fuel efficiency due to emissions control regulations, and increases in driver compensation," he added.
"Customer demand for our services continued to be strong," said Randolph "Randy" Marten, chairman and president of Mondovi, WI-based refrigerated carrier Marten Transport. "The combination of solid freight demand with limited industry-wide capacity and strong freight selection by our sales and operations team contributed to a 6.6% increase in our average freight revenue per total mile."
Still, the growing lack of drivers is causing fleets a variety of headaches - especially in terms of the bottom-line impact.
"The limited availability of experienced drivers continues to challenge the trucking industry," said Russ Gerdin, chairman & CEO of Coralville, IA-based Heartland Express. "We recently announced a driver pay increasa result our most senior and experienced company drivers will be earning 50 cents per mile while our owner-operators will be earning a base rate of 95 cents per mile by the end of 2006."
Marten Transport reached even deeper into its wallet to try and shore up its driver base by making a big equipment purchase at the end of 2005.
"After evaluating our expectations for customer demand, the continued attrition of owner-operators from our industry and our ability to attract and retain company drivers, we decided to take delivery of 246 tractors during the fourth quarter last year, more than half of the increase for the entire year," said Randy Marten. "But we believe that continuing to increase our capacity is important to major customers, and we wanted to make sure that we were prepared to grow with our customers in 2006."
"The driver recruiting and retention market remains more challenging than ever," said Clarence Werner, chairman, president & CEO of Omaha, NE-based Werner Enterprises. "The supply of qualified truck drivers continues to be constrained due to alternative jobs to truck driving that are available in today's economy. Yet we believe that a solid freight shipping market.. combined with extremely tight truck capacity is [maintaining] a strong freight market."
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SWIFT = See What I F’d Up Today
I got a CDL while driving drywall delivery truck one Spring/Summer. When the seasonal turndown came I went to work for a company driving tractor/trailer flatbeds. I worked 14-15 hours a day and when I computed out the hourly pay I was making worse than minimum wage.
After 6 months I quit that crappy job and walked into a temp agency. The next day I was making 11.50/hr working for a garbage company AS A TEMP! Three months later I had a fulltime job with a garbage company making 11.50 with benefits and a year later was making $15.75.
Trucking doesn’t pay except to the company owners. Of course, having a CDL and a spotless driving record means you will NEVER be unemployed.
You’re right on that. My final run was from Ontario,ca to Az. Military bases. Good run since it was running I-10 through the desert. Just couldn’t make enough money.
I’d say let the rates get higher and higher. THen maybe the railroads will start to take some of the business away from the trucking and ease up some of the traffic on our roads.
No-there is just tons of room for improvement. The industry whines about shortages, because they don’t want to raise rates. Us older guys that have driven tons of miles, seen many things, and kept our record clean, despite everything out there, well, they don’t want to pay for that experience.( I specialized in oversize loads, from 100,000 pound+ to 14’ wide,etc.Do they pay more for that experience? Nope)It is a cruddy lifestyle. Yes, there are nice places to eat here and there. But trucking is rated in the top ten of dangerous jobs. Almost every guy I knew hid a gun in his truck...One just feels that it should rate decent pay. 35-40 k? Do the math. 10-14 hours a day,every day. home for three days every three weeks. Read “sweatshops on wheels” sometime....
I’d love to get out of it. I make decent money, but I’m always working and I’m tired of the hassle. It just isn’t worth the trouble.
As a former trucking executive I can tell you the best paying jobs in the industry go to drivers who work for companies like UPS, Yellow, etc.. In other words union drivers ... they bid runs, work shorter hours and can have a home life.
It’s a stereotype that got established 50 years ago. Back then, truckdrivers were known to have chronic kidney problems from the constant vibration and bumps and jolts from the road and the motor. They were also known to have very strong arms from driving those big trucks without powersteering.
Funny how those old saws stick around for so long after they are no longer true anymore.
Yep - and they do it while running legal.
I drove for about four years in the early nineties, I got paid enough to stay, but Government regs were making it really tough. The PSC pulled me over for inspection at LEAST once a week. I decided if I was going to work for the government, I should be getting government benefits, so I left and dropped the CDL from my license when I renewed.
“Were I you, I’d avoid the OTR jobs like the plague: you won’t make good money for several years and you won’t ever see your family.”
My unemployment adviser didn’t recommend it either. I used to drive for a steel company many years ago when I was in college and it was ok but I really don’t want to be away from my wife that long.
You haven’t been to any truckstops lately have you? When we travel on vacation, that is where we stop. LOVES, etc are clean and nice.
Sure there may still be some dives but there are plenty of good clean places for truckers to stop at now.
You take your family to truck stops while on vacation?
ooook.
Are you driving a truck and trying to find parking?
Are you spending the night?
There are some better truck stops, but there are a lot of dumps as well. I avoid them as much as I can and I have fewer problems because of it.
Why is it I get the same feeling reading posts here its like when I hire drivers?
I read well over half if not 3/4ths of the posts do not have a clue what truck driving is and are just posting here because they are too lazy to get the facts right, like its too hard to substitute real knowledge in a forum with a quick Google search?
I have had my CDL for 14 years now, I manage a concrete batch plant, supervise, drive a mixer truck and hire, teach and eventually fire all kinds of drivers, my dad was a long haul driver most of his life starting as an owner operator and I lived in a sleeper, ate at the truck stops and loaded or unloaded the rig.The trucks nowaday cost more than most homes and offer almost everything a person could want, I have even seen a jacuzzi in one once.
The last couple of years its been a nightmare hiring decent drivers, I usually get seasonal drivers that drove school busses or fresh out of a school, the requirement for this skill area is actually demanding as delivering concrete requires not only the ability to drive a heavy turning top heavy liquid load it involves being able to offload it in a safe and timely manner that is extremely varied from sidewalks to runways, back yard porches to bridges, post holes in a backyard to underground vaults, its very demanding on the driver to jump into totally green, at best it takes a smart guy at least a week to handle the basics, it took me to years to master it.
As far as the trucking industry fuel charges is of course the problem, and after that its the need for profit margins, the days of drivers of loading their own rigs for the most part are gone because theses trailers are too big and most loads are palletized anyway so its too much for a single driver to handle, as a kid my dad hauled me and my two brothers with him to load/unload USPS mailbags or crates of motor oil, if I was told I had to load a 48 ft. trailer now in many states turnpike doubles or B-trains like here in Alaska I would just laugh and say what the forklift guy got a hangover?
And yes after 9/11 security got tighter but after the majority of drivers got screened, got their endorsements they got the wages, anybody here check out what the actual pay is first, if its low its probably a company skirting the edges anyway and are hiring cheap to pay cheap and we all know most people have different levels of skill. Truckers by and large are uniquely skilled and in the last decade are threatened by groups from all areas from those that hate big rigs and the noise, the green groups, the stigma that truckers are stupid greasy fat rednecks and I will go out on a limb and say to me the biggest threat is the most common fear of the other driver and his/her lack of attention because they are distracted while on a cell phone.
Good drivers get good wages, bad drivers get less wages and I think the ratio of jobs is that its an economy thing and everyone is pinching the belt, they want drivers, the drivers are there but who wants to load a rig, pay for the fuel and get paid idiot cheap wages, I sure as well won’t, its the 21st century now.
Will the trucking industry go cheap like Walmart? it could starting with hispanic drivers, I’ll really get scared when I see Chinese truck drivers appear, then I know the end is coming.
No we just stop for gas and bathroom, get something to eat. They are lit up, clean and better than some 7-11.
I worked (on the dock) for 4 years in trucking when younger. My wife works for USF Holland (office).
I don’t recommend driving to anyone. I always refused to learn and always said I would never be a driver.
My experiences were most OTR drivers were young (before marriage or kids) or old (after kids left home and sick of the wife). Not many in their 30’s and 40’s as the others I mentioned.
It's, "welcome to the middle class."
"Quandry" means "we need more illegals."
You’re right - most don’t load their own trucks. I do, but I’m hauling propane (and that’s a different cat completely).
It is still quite common to have to unload the trucks - though most pay a lumper to do that - or to re-stack part of the load onto acceptable pallet ties. As for me, I’d either pay the lumper or haul the load back. I didn’t buy the stuff and I’m not going to re-pallitize it for them either.
That said - I do unload my truck, but again - it’s propane and I have to pump the load off (and into their tanks).
As for the wages - they haven’t done a thing since the background checks (for Hazmat) were required. Some thought they would, since so many drivers refused to oblige (or failed the check) but there isn’t a bit of difference thus far. You find the wage difference is experience - safe driving records combined with multiple years of experience equals higher pay. Even that hasn’t really kept up with inflation. I know many drivers who are making 34 cents per mile and happy with it - that was decent pay 25 years ago.
The companies paying the least tend to be the bigger companies. They also tend to be the companies who will train the driver and send em’ on their way - often without a clue as to what they’re doing. These companies do this in order to offset their wages paid, which is done to offset the cheap freight bids they’ve given (which were given to undercut the competition). The trend isn’t really higher wages; it’s flooding the market with lower paid drivers.
Here on the east coast we see (hear actually) lots of drivers who can’t speak but a few words of English - that’s the trend, as they’ll do the job for far less and the companies simply hire more of them. Run with your radio on and you’ll hear plenty of them; all selling noise and jabbering up a storm. Most have governed trucks and get in the way; refusing to move when you try to pass them (I hate them). I usually run with the radio off - it’s just too much of an annoyance and I don’t feel like listening to them.
I think your fears are warranted and the end is here. There aren’t many old-timers left: they all sold their trucks and got out of it.
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