Is Anyone Noticing This?

I'm wondering if I'm goofy. Haha, that shouldn't take long for me to figure that one out!

Seriously, I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this... it seems like trucking companies are ramping up on their recruiting efforts. Are things starting to turn around a little? Are we turning the corner and heading for better times in the industry?

Our son Michael made the move to another company a little over a month ago and doing flatbedding and he has not had any idle time between loads. I saw his company posted a shout out to their trailer repair facility and said they needed all the trailers they could get as volume was increasing. Maybe you're not crazy!

Maybe but I'm not counting on it just yet. Knight, Swift and several others dumped their contracts and let those loads go back to the spot market, hoping it would raise the rates as their contract negotiations were not going to be profitable at the current time. They'll need to grab as many of those loads as they can as things get progressively worse in an attempt to buffer themselves as well as possible.

I've noticed an increase in Recruits, yet a shedding of experienced drivers.

It's anecdotal, but at the terminals I had visited lately, most of the drivers I've seen lately have been brand new, few spoke English to any reasonable level. I did conversate with a few of them in Vegas, Fontana and Denver. The ones I spoke to were recieving 40 cpm on their Squire miles, where I was at 44 a few years ago. my hunch would be that that in response to the market conditions, carriers are trying desperately to reduce costs even more than normally.

Whether it's corelation or not, my DMs that I had, explained to me that most of their experienced drivers were leaving or had left already. They were struggling to find qualified trainers and retain long term drivers. 5 had quit my last DMs board, me making it 6. I think she had 20 or drivers on her board. Most were unable to tolerate the lack of miles.

There was an article in Freightwaves a while back questioning the practice of forcing out experienced drivers in favor of low cost entry level drivers, it mentioned a congressional inquiry. The practice is legal, but ethically questionable.

I'm not taking a stand on whether it does or doesn't take place, just saying that I think there are multiple factors for the increase in new drivers and it may not necessarily indicate relief from the freight drought.

I follow freightwaves sonar reports weekly as well as a few other sources from so called experts. They are all still conflicted in their views of the state of the industry. It seems the past 3 quarters there have been a few signs of improvement, but then more indicators of more of the same.

I think things have bumped along at the bottom long enough now that companies are doing whatever they can to stay afloat and those changes are skewing the numbers to a degree.

In south Ga schneider is now pulling trees, old dominion is hauling containers, werner is doing containers, Howard Shepard is doing side dumps from mines and quarries. Just a few examples of companies getting into modes they historcally never did before.

I have actually gained 2 customers that were unhappy with a large carrier that they had used for years because when they book a load and get a schedule it generally is a week behind what was agreed to. I stumbled onto them by accident really. They gave me a shot and are happy with my service, which I am grateful for.

I hope and pray things turn around sooner than later, but most experts are now predicting quarter 2 of 2025 before any real change occurs. More of the same really. Been hearing the same message for the past 18-24 months.

They are all still conflicted in their views of the state of the industry.

Yeah, isn't that the truth! This is a crazy business. The government has not helped at all. The covid fiasco threw us all an outrageous curve ball. Much of what we are experiencing today is still ramifications from shutting down our economy and then expecting to just flip the switch and make it magically heal itself from an almost fatal wound.

I have been surprised at how many players have stayed in the game as long as they have. I really thought there would be a total blood bath of bankruptcies, and there have been a good many, but not to the magnitude I was anticipating. Capacity is still excessive, and rates have stayed unbelievably low due to the crazy amount of pressure on them. Everyone is cutting wherever they can. In business, creativity rules the day.

PJ, you have been smart by sticking with niche opportunities. I've always believed those type opportunities were the best thing going for O/Os. But even as you commented, most of the big players are looking elsewhere for types of loads and freight. Everything becomes a target of those who are needing to increase their revenues.

I love watching this stuff. It is fascinating and educational. It is better than morning coffee for me. I have just noticed some extra recruiting going on all across the industry. I appreciate all the comments. It gives me some different perspectives. I was hoping it might indicate the people much smarter than me are seeing good things on the horizon, but we shall see as this drama continues to unfold.

I noticed trucking companies are dropping their pays. One company that paid 65cpm last year is now starting at 58cpm.

I've noticed this also Kearsey. There's so much going on right now. Everybody seems to be scrambling to get an edge somehow. It's all intriguing to me.

Congressman Nunn, Iowa 3rd District, has just informed me that the United States of America is now about 80,000 CDL drivers short, and that number is expected to double over the next five years according to him. I suspect that motor carrier companies will get very desperate and therefore feel the need to have to lower the standards and/or offer more and more perks and favorable working conditions to fill those huge numbers of vacant slots. Or, autonomous trucking technology in earnest will have to go full bore.

Nobody gives a hoot about the motor freight trade, but everybody buys some product from milk to women's shoes to TV sets to tablets to dog food that rode on a big rig at one time or another. I love food when I get hungry. During the pandemic, food shelves were empty in supermarkets. A year later, there was no bread at Walmart because winter conditions held up the trucks for about a week in Oklahoma. I asked the manager about it and that was what she had told me. Truckers need some kind of lobby like the NRA and Gun Owners of America is for law-abiding gun owners. We Americans need some kind of program in public schools that makes children highly aware and appreciative of big-rig drivers and how vital they are to our nation's economy.

I noticed trucking companies are dropping their pays. One company that paid 65cpm last year is now starting at 58cpm.

So much for perks to lure more drivers.