The Latest Rumor ....

Because its said on the internet that there is a driver shortage its true right? I have yet to go to a dock and see freight stacked up waiting for trucks and over flowing out the doors.

They are basing the driver shortage on truck to load ratios. Some areas of the country there is a 1 truck for every 4 loads. Some areas are a lot higher 1 truck to 11 loads. What is not being looked at is what kind of loads versus trucks available. There maybe 11 flatbed loads waiting in the area for a truck to take them but there are 200 dry van truck in the area waiting on a load. In this example there is a shortage of flatbed drivers and way to many dry van drivers. So is there really a driver shortage?

Having more loads than trucks is good for the trucking industry. If the loads were a 1 to 1 ratio the prices would drop and no one makes any money then cause the brokers and the shippers could set a price and you can bet it would be to low and drivers quit do to the low money for the loads and then we are right back to an uneven ratio of flatbed truck versus dry van trucks.

If it were only once or twice, or even half a dozen times, I would ignore comments about a driver shortage. Or if it weren't on almost every truck on the road, I would ignore it. But when you see it everywhere and everyone is talking about it. Even trucking mags, maybe just maybe, there might be at least a little bit of truth in it.

Just sayin'.

And I do understand about the load ratio. Well to an extent. Something in a truck stop mag I read a few months ago. I read the article 5 times and it got more confusing each time I read it.

I will try to explain in a very few words, because it is hard to explain what you don't understand. But it talked about companies/warehouses holding loads with drivers waiting because the seller wasn't getting the price they wanted for the load. So everyone except the seller was hurt. The drivers waiting for the load, not making money. The load taking up space in the warehouse. And the buyer having to pay a higher price.

Maybe you that are already in the field understand that. But it it a little confusing to me. Why a shipper would hold a shipment. I can understand a seller holding it, but not a shipper/warehouse.

Keep it safe out there, Joe S.

The only reason that trucking companies can cry that theres a driver shortage with a straight face is because those same companies have a 100 % driver turnover.....That is the main reason that rookie drivers need to REALLY RESEARCH COMPANIES before they get out of CDL school...Its a major decision....

The only reason that trucking companies can cry that theres a driver shortage with a straight face is because those same companies have a 100 % driver turnover.....That is the main reason that rookie drivers need to REALLY RESEARCH COMPANIES before they get out of CDL school...Its a major decision....

Starcar, fantastic point and I agree 1,000%. But I have a simple question. I know what Brett says about talking to drivers and even contacting a shop with a company that you are interested in. I have tried talking to truckers when I had the time. But in actuality, most of the truckers I have run onto, have been very, I don't want to say rude, but maybe what we call "stand offish".

I even called a shop with Schneider (before I found out that Schneider didn't do schooling anymore). Told the guy what I wanted, who I was and everything. I think he thought I was crazy. He hung up on me. Said he was too busy to answer stupid question from a wanna be trucker. Then he hung up on me.

But if other truckers don't talk to you. Nor parts of the company. And how many articles on here talk about the truth of a recruiter. If we don't get true answers, how do "newbies" know what company to actually go with. Or what school to pick if you are, like me, looking for a company sponsored school.

I am going to post a topic/question on TT, along the lines of what is being discussed here. Please keep an eye out for the post and any incite would be appreciated.

Yes. There is no perfect school. There is no perfect company. But even I know, not being a trucker yet, there are some better companies than others. Less of a turn over rate, better benefits, better home time, better pay, etc. It all depends on what one is looking for.

I would gladly go with a company that had decent pay, maybe not the best. But what I am looking for is benefits. I ain't getting any younger.

I need a company that have good 401 plans. Good health insurance. And decent pay. And home time, that does not seem to vary much with OTR drivers.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S.

Hey Joe maybe you should try a different approach when talking to people. Every time I talk to someone they generally go out of there way to help me. From a science standpoint becoming obese is dangerous. From a non science standpoint how many fat 80 year olds do you know?

Hey Joe maybe you should try a different approach when talking to people. Every time I talk to someone they generally go out of there way to help me. From a science standpoint becoming obese is dangerous. From a non science standpoint how many fat 80 year olds do you know?

With all due respect Brock Monday, you don't know how I talk to anyone. You don't know how or what I have said to truck drivers. As a matter of fact, I have had long talks with drivers from time to time, but when I start asking specifics about the company they are working for, that is when they change the subject or have something else to do. Maybe they think I am a spy for their company, who knows.

And as far as the shop person, he could have been having a bad day. Been so busy he couldn't turn around. I have no idea. I don't blame him for anything. Nor am I upset over it. It was just something that happened.

As far as being how many 80 year old fat people do I know. My father was 92 years old. We just had his funeral on Friday. He was overweight. Not to extremes, but he was overweight. My grandmother on my Mom's side was overweight when she died.... she was in her 80s. My grandmother on my Dad's side was also overweight when she passed away... at 86.

From a scientific standpoint cigarette smoking is harmful. My great grandfather died at 79 with hardening of the arteries as it is called without a sign of lung cancer. He had smoked since he was 12 years old. A few years ago, an Olympic skater, age 26, dropped dead right on the ice of a massive heart attack while he was practicing. My aunt died of lung cancer. She never smoked a cigarette in her whole life.

Breathing the polluted air of LA or NYC is dangerous but millions do it everyday. Some scientific studies say that eating meat with preservatives is dangerous but millions do it everyday.

I was a Paramedic for over 9 years and an EMT for over 12 years before that. I can tell you story after story of this person or that person dying of cancer that never smoked. Dying of a heart attack and not overweight.

And I can tell you just as many stories of people dying of lung cancer that want to smoke another one on the way to the hospital. Of overweight people dropping dead of a heart attack.

My point is this. There are more factors that control our lives than being overweight, smoking, eating, etc.

Is being overweight good for you? No, not a bit. But neither is a ton of other things that happens everyday or things we do everyday. For that matter, a truckers life is more at risk than most people on the highway just due to the fact of how much time they spend on the highway.

The bus I drive, when I first started driving, I was told that it is a death trap for a driver. That 95% of the time a serious wreck happened, the driver didn't survive. Something like the old cab over trucks that are making a comeback.

"According to science", people that live in NYC have a shorter expected life span than people living in more rural area due to stress, lifestyles, etc. Does it mean that everyone in NYC is going to die at a young age. I sure hope not.

We will live as long as we live. No more no less. Can we shorten it? Sure by the choices we make, but nothing is set in stone. We can make our lives better or worse by choice we make. But it is not always up to us. The best we can do, as the song says, "Don't worry, Be happy". Just live your life your way.

It reminds me of an old joke. A man dies and stands in front of God. God says, I am sorry, someone misread the book. You are not suppose to be here for many more years. God sends him back. Knowing he has many more years, he lost tons of weight, had plastic surgery, his hair colored. A full body make over. As he stepped out of the spa and crossed the street he was run over and killed by a city bus. When he went to Heaven, he looked at God and said, you said I have many more years. God said, I am sorry I didn't recognize you will all the work you had done.

When it is our time, it is our time.

Now it is to the point that overweight people are being singled out for sleep apena tests. If that is so, anyone with allergies, all men, anyone with acid reflux, etc. should be tested too. Those are all factors in sleep apena.

Our choices dictate a very large portion of our lives. Even how much we weight. And how many of us can say we have never made a mistake in our choices?

I will be the first to admit that people should loose weight if they can. I myself have lost 5 since my last physical. But there are medical conditions where people can't. And for that matter, it is not in my place to judge someone else on how they live their lives.

I am sorry if I took this too far, but I am really tired of people pointing fingers at people that are overweight and calling them names. Or saying they can't do this or can't do that. Or saying it is unhealthy for them. How many NFL linemen has anyone ever seen that are not quiet large?

Keep it safe out there. Joe S.

I've never seen a discussion twist around to so many topics like this one. I have no clue what this discussion was originally about. But talking about whether or not their is actually a driver shortage - who cares????

Why do I say that?

Because there seems like a driver shortage. Every company in America is hiring 95% of the time. It's been that way for decades. Simply supply and demand logic tells you that if there's a very high demand for something, there must be a shortage of supply.

There are plenty of reasons for the high turnover, some of which include:

1) Relatively low pay considering the challenges, risks, and sacrifices involved

2) A very difficult, challenging environment

3) A steady decline of decent paying blue collar jobs over the past 30+ years in this country has brought in a lot of people who really don't belong in the industry and don't last long

4) It's a self-fulfilling prophecy - if you didn't think you could quit your job at any time and have 10 more by lunchtime, you wouldn't consider it. You'd be much more inclined to stick it out with the company you're at.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if there's a shortage or not. But it's hard to argue that there isn't. People like to say

There's no shortage. Companies just bring people in, keep em for a few months, then turn em loose and bring new people in at a lower wage."

Well that doesn't make sense on any level. First of all, look at how quickly the salary rises in the first 12 months. It's not uncommon to see a company start a new driver out at 25 cents per mile, raise it to 28 cpm after 6 months, and have em at 32 cpm in a year. That's a massive 25% increase in one year. If they wanted to keep their labor costs down they wouldn't give such large raises.

And of course the cost of constantly recruiting drivers is astronomical.

So whether or not you think there's a true shortage of drivers, which I happen to think there is, the end result is that it seems as if there's a shortage, so there's plenty of work to go around.

Somebody once told me, if you don't hear a good rumor by 10 am ... start one. And from what I read on here, rumors abound on HOS , companies folding, etc etc etc.

Anyway ... been talking to my family about going into trucking, and my Brother-in-law who was a Dispatcher for a union company says he hears rumblings about BIg Brother Government (FMCSA ?) putting an age limit on truck drivers 55 .. for 'safety' reasons.

Is this just another 10am rumor? or does this have any legs? Is the government kicking this idea around?

Thanks

This was the original post Brett ... and yea, this has certainly raised a few hairs and gotten a bit animated.....

Here we go again.

Irregardless of what "rumor" tells you, I'll give you a few facts about company turnover. I have operated a few different businesses, all with employees on the books. I will tell you up front, that irregardless of what kind of business you have, EVERY new employee is going to cost you money for atleast the first 6 months, and some up to a year. Why?? because they don't know HOW you run your business..you want them to do it YOUR way. The job of setting them up for taxes is a nightmare, and then theres insurance, etc. That is why, as a owner, you have to pick the person who is best for the job, but also will stick with you, atleast until you start to make a profit off them. I know this sounds kind of hard hearted...but its true. Employees are a commodity that is in constant flux, and its your job to make sure they make you money...and the longer they are there and making you money, the more money you will make. Having said that..and believing it...what would make me believe that a trucking company just runs students/rookies thru the front door and out the back door ?? As I understand it, in most cdl schools, if you are sent home, or go home, PRIOR to getting your CDL, you don't have to pay for the schooling. And I'd be glad to be corrected,..by someone who KNOWS the facts, not rumor. The insurance cost for companies that put those rosy cheeked new cdl wavers in their trucks is astronomical. The crash and dent probability is also higher, so the premiums will be higher and the co-pay. EVERYTHING is higher when you put new rookies in your trucks and send them out on America's highways. My point being: There is no way that a company can make a corporate living with a revolving door policy for employees. It doesn't work for any other business, and it won't work for trucking.