After one month of car dwelling.

[Headache]

If there is a shortage of drivers then the labor rate for truck drivers should increase in a free market.

If we truly had a free market this would be true, but we don't.  It's mostly politics which can't be discussed here so I'll leave it there.

I'm still interested to find out why/how the OP was misled in so many ways.  Granted tx2sturgis had one of the cream jobs of the time, he also doesn't fit that EEOC description and on top of that had to have one hell of a good employment record.  I couldn't get on with them even though I had an excellent driving record but didn't have the required employment history.  I know times have changed there(very sadly) but there are still many companies that don't have near the requirements.

 

[txmnjim]

 That idea came crashing down when I was asked to sign a GAP form stating I am/was not receiving unemployment (never collected unemployment in my life)... 

certainly nothing wrong with collecting unemployment if your due. i've been on it twice in my
life after being laid off (each time i was back to work within a month as it certainly isn't enough
to live on!). unemployment is a worker's right our ancestors fought for and won...
jim

 

[tx2sturgis]

I want to add this about the 'free market' and truck driver earnings:

Rookie (meaning first year) drivers have no leverage to bargain for higher pay...they have no track record. They might be the best, most conscientious, safety focused, brightest, and most productive person that walks in the recruiters or managers door that day, but they have no solid, proven, resume to back that up. So they are at the mercy of abusive policies, forced dispatch, un-popular loads, low pay, no seniority, and dis-respect at all levels within the company. Not all companies, but most of them, especially common carriers.

After the driver gains experience, (100,000 to 200,000 miles accident-free in all weather conditions) has a solid record of on-time deliveries, few or zero legal and logging infractions, does not damage equipment, handles shippers, receivers, and dispatchers with diplomacy and respect, (kisses ass, in other words) and does not rock the boat, then as a few years go by, he or she can begin to shop around for higher pay, better working conditions, increased respect, better benefits, more home time, preferred loads and routes, etc.

So the free market benefits exist....kinda....but not for new drivers. It's a jungle out there, and not a 'piece of cake' as the OP was lead to believe.

For the record, I spent my first ten years in trucking, driving for six different companies, some were good, some were lousy. But, I was slowly building my resume towards a GOOD job with a good company..which I finally achieved...and stayed there for over 26 years.

It was not luck, it was hard work.

 

[TXNomad]

I am not understanding how sleep apnea would affect an awake driver.

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/default.htm
"Sleep apnea occurs when your breathing is disrupted during sleep."

I see in the follow on sentence who could be targeted by this policy:
"Men, overweight people, and people over 40 are at greater risk for sleep apnea."

During DOT physicals, which was on the 2nd day of class, three guys were dropped out, one because he indicated on his application that he has a c-pap machine, but, had not followed up with his Dr in over a year apparently or turned in the sd memory card for analysis. That was dumb on his part. The class room instructor told me that the sponsoring truck company would likely ask me to submit to a sleep apnea test, upon arrival after 2-3 week mentor drive. That's after graduating with CDL license. Now, why would he tell me that? I think he was trying to save me the $6,000 tuition debt if I couldn't pass it. Besides, that trucking company was using a fine-tooth comb about my work history. I have 40 yrs of work history, never been unemployed. Yet, they asked me to sign a gap in employment statement swearing I was not receiving or have received unemployment...after I had been in class for two weeks. It was distracting as hell.

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[wayne49]

I get it now. The "driver shortage" is not critical (or real?). Freight moves. Trucking companies are making money.
I know about the dispatchers and the power that they wield. I think there must be some cash that falls onto their desk occasionally to get those good loads.
The weak perish or they get more aggressive and more diplomatic to survive.
The "shortage" is promulgated to promote driver's schools, new lessee/operators who become indentured servants, and ultimately the automation project.

When I say "in a free market" I am not implying we live in such a world.

 

[RoamerRV428]

wait til all those monster big rigs are on auto pilot and no drivers are needed? hmmm

 

[TXNomad]

Watch what Amazon does...

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[TXNomad]

I get it now. The "driver shortage" is not critical (or real?). Freight moves. Trucking companies are making money.
I know about the dispatchers and the power that they wield. I think there must be some cash that falls onto their desk occasionally to get those good loads.
The weak perish or they get more aggressive and more diplomatic to survive.
The "shortage" is promulgated to promote driver's schools, new lessee/operators who become indentured servants, and ultimately the automation project.

When I say "in a free market" I am not implying we live in such a world.

Exactly.

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[JD GUMBEE]

There are drivers who make good money.
(I have a friend who runs the "triple log book" mentality and runs reefer for a private firm. He made 92,000 last year.)
^^^This is like having a profitable YouTube page though. Thousands try for it, only the strong fish with the right alignment of the cosmos, ends up making any money at it.

Virtually no one who runs those indentured servant classes ever makes it out thinking it was a piece of cake.
They tell you bit by bit what they think you will swallow and they ALL mislead the drivers. Badly.
(As this guy found out...the hard way.)

I am truly glad you had the sense to walk away.

Even if you get your CDL, it is largely worthless until you have a few years of excellent history under you.

Even then...

I cannot walk far, but I still do not need a cpap (3 studies...no episodes) and have 28 years of a Class A with all the endorsements...no moving violations. (Like 3 lights and a brake cammed over in 28 years.) Pretty good record for a hiring agent.

Only, they will not hire me.
Too old. Cripple to boot. Fat even.

TX2STUR, would also have a hard time getting hired now. Been away for more than a year.
It is insane.
The safest drivers out there, are the super-experienced 60+ year olds. (Male or female.)
They tend not to beat the units to death and will tell a hot headed dispatcher to go F___ themselves if need be.

The truth is, the American trucker is a thing of the past.
They can lie and cheat enough suckers to be slaves for a year by all this hooplah, but the brokers are laughing all the way to the bank.
Most loads are listed for little more than fuel costs.
The entire business is one big lie.
There is NO shortage of drivers...there is a shortage of drivers who want to live life driving to the next dot on the GPS for less than 12 dollars an hour, though...and that is what they want to fix.
Folks who live in other countries will live in a 6X8 air conditioned cab for months on end and if they make 350 a week, they feel rich. Not most of those paying USA bills, though.
?Se habla Espanol?

______________________

cutoff, because I too began whining about the shortfalls of some thing that rhymes with "HAFTA" and that is a no no here...

The most hilarious thing I think I ever saw, was chewing damned near 400MG of Oxy a day, having to keep the lights on in the cab so I could see me own feet...(could not feel them, so I had to see them for the right pedal) and I was deemed the safest in the crew to drive the 110,000 pound 'nuke hauler' complete with a government agent escort...and a glowing payload.
Halliburton back in the day was a cash cow.
(Did I just admit that on an open forum?)
Yup.
Guess my clearance is pretty much worthless now anyways.

 

[tx2sturgis]

TX2STUR, would also have a hard time getting hired now. Been away for more than a year.

Retired almost 2 years now...And I have no plans to jump back into that line of work, but I kept my CDL, self-downgraded to a Texas intra-state CDL, called 'category 4'. I am grandfathered in on the medical for intra-state, and I would only have to get a current DOT physical to resume inter-state driving. 

I have entertained 'possibly' doing driver training at a local CDL mill, but that kinda sticks in my 'craw' so to speak.

I have been offered a job driving a charter bus, I don't want to do that....but those new buses are really comfy! And a couple of local small trucking outfits have made offers. I declined them all.

Besides, I have a sweet little dog now, and I am committed to her, and just can't do some jobs because of that situation.

There IS a driver shortage, capacity is tight, freight rates are UP as most anyone can verify, and quality drivers are in demand. But, there is also a hard 'cap' on what drivers can make, because freight rates are SO competitive.

There is little room in the freight rates to simply hand a driver more money...few solo drivers make more than about 50 cents per mile, (30c to 40c is kinda average) because if the company pays the driver more, they must jack up the rates, and then they will lose the business that another company will happily do for less money.

When a shipper pays (insert amount) per mile, some of that goes to fuel, maintenance, insurance, taxes, tolls, tires, depreciation, etc, and there is only a certain margin that can go towards driver pay. In order to pay more, they would have to CHARGE more, but there is very little 'cushion' in the rate structure.

So effectively there is a 'hard' limit to company driver pay. But many forward-thinking carriers are offering other 'perks' to attract and retain experienced drivers: More 'home time', flexible schedules, passenger and pet policies, off-duty and out-of-route permissions, layover pay, down-time pay, per-diem and meal reimbursements, holiday pay, non-forced dispatch, better insurance, paid cell phone plans, safety and fuel bonuses, premium equipment, big roomy sleepers, etc etc etc. 

Average regional and OTR driver pay can range from 30,000 to 120,000 per year...but the higher pay scales usually mean the driver is on the road 50 weeks a year. Ouch. No social life to speak of, high divorce rates, and poor eating, sleeping, and health habits are often the result. You have to find a balance, and for me, that was working part time for the last 20 years of my career. I still made good money, but I was able to balance life on the road with other interests, hobbies, local part time jobs, and a social life. 

But, again, new drivers are in for a surprise. It sure ain't the 'easy money' that it appears to be from the outside looking in.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Missed the 'edit window' for this:

Just FYI: the recent federal tax laws changed, and OTR company drivers can no longer deduct per-diem meal expenses while on the road. This effectively reduced driver earnings for 2018 by thousands of dollars per year. 

Double ouch.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Oh, and those 'sign-on' bonuses you hear about?

They are very often a 'carrot on a stick' that are only paid after a period of time...and paid over a period of time, such as months or years, and only then if the driver has had zero issues in his first year: No late deliveries, no tickets, no accidents, no damages, no logging infractions, and hit excellent mpg rates, plus a variety of other 'fine print' stipulations that make the 'bonus' almost impossible to earn.

I know of some companies who will send an office employee out in a normal car, to follow their own trucks, observing for anything that can 'strike' the bonus: Lack of turn signal use, following too close, speeding a mile or two over the speed limit, etc. Any observed infraction nets the driver a report that shows when and where it occurred, rendering the bonus un-earned and un-paid. Those reports are filed, and kept, so that when the bonus is due to be paid, the driver sees the reports months later...so he has no idea he lost the bonus months ago.

After taxes and IF the driver can manage to actually GET the bonus, the amount is barely noticeable on a paycheck after it kicks in, paid over months or even years.

There are always exceptions, but that is the problem...the recruiter will say Joe SoAndSo got his bonus just last week...meanwhile, 200 new drivers hired in the last 2 years never saw a penny of it.

Arrgh....I'll stop now.... :dodgy:

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Oh no...don't.
Lets give a real account on some more "goodies in the industry."
Like the newbie company penalizing you for running your A/C to sleep.
"Its under 80 degrees...so what if it's so loud you cannot sleep...you should have known that, it's part of trucking."

Or the inevitable, "I have 35 minutes on the clock...I made my exit for the appointment of a full load of California to NJ port LETTUCE." (Bet the reefer haulers here just smiled...SMH) ...and the DOT yanks you, 6 miles from the stop and runs your clock out...then sits there watching, daring you to go rogue as the prick smiles.
"Lettuce, huh? Well since my old lady was mean to me last night...you are now my prison bitch..."
(About reality with 3 out of ten LEO's and DOT people you will deal with on average...20 times a week.)

What about the "I'm buying a 'fixer upper' tractor to get rich at the trucking game" guy?
Poor, poor guy.

You mentioned bad food.
Not sure about you, but I ate out of the supermarkets, not the eateries @ the truck stops.
Fat ass or skinny ass, your life is severely shortened by the corn syrup laden, salty death food. That's a fact.
The guys with their 64 ounce Mountain Dew pails they fill @ the soda fountains used to make my shoulders hurt.
Diabetes, coming right up, driver...

What about "granny Martha" with the 84 Town Car and bad lenses in her coke bottle glasses?
(You know, the one some wise ass yanks the air horns towards and she rails the brakes in the middle lane of a 70MPH zone???)
Yeah, "Martha" can be the deadliest of all.

Or the fools on overpowered rice rockets, trying to see how close they can come to your air deflector?

Whores banging on your sleeper @ 3AM?

Meth dealers on the lots?

Taking a simple load 50 miles away for a freezer outfit...only to find out, they intend on using your reefer trailer as a staging unit...with its door wide open in Texas 100 degree weather (Thermo King SCREAM my boy...SCREAM) for about 8 hours as you sit there, unable to do a damned thing about it?? (...watching your clock run out again...)
Leave the load and they blackball you.
It's all a big screw-the-next-guy-game.



I guess we will have to agree to disagree on the "shortage."
Paupers wage is the entire reason for any problems we have.
LOADS of independents went under in the last few years because the brokers make ten times what the truckers do.
Kind of like a beer distributor making more money than the package store owner.
It's a fixed game.
None of our "8 trucks or less" mom and pop shops survived the squeeze.
Running three loads to get one you can profit from is no way to survive in a truck.
Eventually, it breaks and there is no $$$ to fix it...so they drop where they flop and we have to retrieve the (now less than properly maintained) truck for the next poor sucker.

I should record a chat with one of the brokers.
It would shock you all.
Rather see my children marry a lawyer or a used car salesman.
Scum sucking pigs with no souls.
Brokers lie. They ALL lie.

pssst, TX2S...you can bring the dog to move our units...

 

[Headache]

Besides, that trucking company was using a fine-tooth comb about my work history. I have 40 yrs of work history, never been unemployed. Yet, they asked me to sign a gap in employment statement swearing I was not receiving or have received unemployment...after I had been in class for two weeks. It was distracting as hell.

They were probably interested in you.  Unfortunately them asking you to verify an employment gap is a federal law, nothing to do with them.  It used to be anything within 10 years of applying.  I don't know now.

There has always been a driver shortage since before I started driving, even now while the threat of driverless trucks is a real future possibility.  To say that there isn't one is misleading if not entirely inaccurate.

Again, I'd really like to know how the OP was misled.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

I say...if they paid decent and actually brought people home every week...there are more than enough licensed CDL holders to move the freight.

A "shortage" means there aren't enough. We have plenty of drivers.

(only, once they figured out they made more net money working @ Home Depot, they refuse to drive a truck any more.)

To me, that is a pay/working conditions problem, not a driver shortage.

I guess it is all how you look at it.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Let me put it this way:

There IS a shortage of reliable, safe, experienced drivers who are willing to put up with the low pay, long hours, and poor treatment in the industry.

There is NO shortage of poorly trained 'warm bodies' being thrown into the driver's seat. As we saw from the horrendous truck crash near Denver a few weeks ago.

 

[Jimmyflorida]

I retired as an owner operator about 2 years ago I made good money but it is hard work most people dont realize that an average work week for a truck driver is 80 hours that's just normal I made more than most owning my own truck but it's good money if you dont mine driving but it is HARD WORK

 

[TXNomad]

You cannot drive for more than 10 hours straight without off-duty or berthing break on your log.

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[travelaround]

My son quit driving the truck because he was in that truck almost 24/7 for a week or two at a time with no off-duty time and nobody to converse with except a few, like me, who stuck with him and let him call any time he wanted to. Even though he had to, by law, take breaks... he was still stuck in the truck, far from home, a lot of the time.

Now he's moved back to our hometown in the mountains and found a good job there working for a multi-national company that's doing work in the area for the next five years. Great good fortune! Truck driving was a great reference for him... but he needed a 40-hour work week and his friends (he has a lot of them) to be happy.

 

[tx2sturgis]

One possible solution to the driver shortage is bringing in younger drivers...

The ATA (American Trucking Association) is behind the push for 18-20 year-olds being able to drive semi-trucks legally for interstate commerce. Currently that is not legal (they must be 21+ years old for interstate driving) although they CAN drive intra-state (within one state) in many states in the USA.

When I was a pimply 18 years old, I don't think I was in the right frame of mind to drive a large truck...hell I was getting in trouble just driving a car and a motorcycle!

But one of the problems with interstate truck driving as a career is that by the time a young adult is old enough to do it, they have already found some other career in most cases....or they may have started a family and can't be away from home all the time. 

The safety requirements for these young drivers will be strict, (training, supervision, etc) but still, I am on the fence about it. 

A teenager with a smartphone in the cab, in charge of 80,000 pounds rolling down the highways at 80 mph, makes me shudder.