Is there really a shortage of truck drivers?

[JTK]

Yes I work for a carrier and there is a pretty large CDL-qualified driver shortage because of Boomers and Gen X retiring and Gen Y (Millennials) favoring higher education over blue-collar work.

It's not anecdotal, its data.

Same. The majority of our product must be trucked, some is sold by pipeline. We're always short CDL/Hazmat drivers these days. It's basically shift work and a standard day would be 12hrs for the local drivers. These are ~$100K/year jobs and we can't attract or retain drivers. Many of the newer, younger ones we do have spend lots of time whining and complaining.

 

[PandaBear]

I think rail will if they can find a company to build autonomous trains and related infrastructure to support automation. I imagine the trains will be much smaller.

They sort of already have that, but the flexibility you get with a human driver is high and for a long train you don't need that many drivers / engineers to run, diluting the potential savings vs truck.

 

[SubLGT]

Forget trucking, and become a dock worker.

Meet the Port of Los Angeles' dock workers who make over $100,000 working with some of the world's largest robots

Christopher Mims' new book "Arriving Today" breaks down how shipments from overseas arrive at your door. Longshoremen represent a key part of it.

www.businessinsider.com

Dock workers at the Port of Los Angeles have one of the highest-paying blue-collar jobs in the US.

The over 7,000 longshoremen represented through the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) that work at the Southern California port are paid over $100,000 a year and receive free health insurance and full pensions, according to a new book from The Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims.

Harbor pilots can make $434,000 a year, face high fatality rates, and are responsible for guiding hulking cargo ships into ports

Christopher Mims' book "Arriving Today" breaks down how shipments from overseas arrive at your door. Harbor pilots represent a key part of it.

www.businessinsider.com

Harbor pilots have one of the highest paid — but simultaneously riskiest — jobs in the transportation industry.
The average harbor pilot at the Port of Los Angeles makes $434,000 a year, but also faces a one in 20 chance of dying on the job, according to a new book out Tuesday from The Wall Street Journal's Christopher Mims.

 

[IndyIan]

Same. The majority of our product must be trucked, some is sold by pipeline. We're always short CDL/Hazmat drivers these days. It's basically shift work and a standard day would be 12hrs for the local drivers. These are ~$100K/year jobs and we can't attract or retain drivers. Many of the newer, younger ones we do have spend lots of time whining and complaining.

So is it $100k for a normal life with 36-40hrs a week? Or is it $100k for 60-70hrs a week with 2 weeks of vacation a year?
Buffalo is a pretty cheap city to live in so I can see why people would take a 9-5 office job for half as much money, hours, and responsibility.
Or can guys work for 2-3 shifts a week? $60k for 3 days a week starts to get more interesting.

 

[JTK]

So is it $100k for a normal life with 36-40hrs a week? Or is it $100k for 60-70hrs a week with 2 weeks of vacation a year?
Buffalo is a pretty cheap city to live in so I can see why people would take a 9-5 office job for half as much money, hours, and responsibility.
Or can guys work for 2-3 shifts a week? $60k for 3 days a week starts to get more interesting.

Oh it's definitely 60hr/week range to get over $100K/year. Like you say, they can set up their weeks with shorter/fewer trips and earn less. Problem is, we've been so short on drivers, most have to put in more than 40hr weeks. It sure is heck is not a M-F 9am-5pm weekends off type of job. Then again, a 9 to 5 in my area, unless it's something highly skilled is 40K/year average I'd guess.

 

[loneryder]

There is no driver shortage, only a pay shortage. Long hours, poor working conditions, and they're treated poorly. Until those things are fixed, the "shortage" will not end.

It is also possible that TFI pays less than UPS pays their drivers. UPS is union. I don't know about TFI

Pay them well, treat them with respect, and they should be able to fill the jobs easily. This doesn't only apply to drivers; it applies to any job they have trouble filling. And like someone else already said, a delay anywhere in the supply chain will cause a delay in the entire chain. Something upstream of the freight terminals can cause it, too. If there is no freight to move, there is no work for the drivers.

Companies are already treating them better. Talked to a guy yesterday who left a state job to work in Estes freight warehouse driving a forklift for $22 per hour to start. Mc Donald’s is paying $18 per hour in WV!

 

[loneryder]

Plus deregulation of the trucking industry.

 

[loneryder]

It doesn't work that way though. The price is quoted up-front and it's what you pay (plus the usual random, bull**** fees but those are more nickel-and-diming vs thousands of dollars). I know what the container charges (+/-) will cost before it leaves the port in Europe. Nothing sits/waits in port either except in order to get a truck driver to pick it up and deliver it or for it to be loaded on a train. There simply isn't space.

The problem in California is that no truck older than 3yrs old can operate in the state due to environmental rules. That plus truckers having to wait a long time to pick up their trailer. it takes a long time to find their trailers in the over crowded dock lots. East coast ports aren’t having this problem.

 

[walterjay]

Shortage here. My son in law said they are begging for drivers at his soda plant.

 

[wdn]

Join the military for 4 years and learn a skill. Lots of training in the Reserves and Guard.

My son was in the Navy for 8 years (6 years active duty) and now he works for the Navy as a civilian worker at the naval shipyard. It pays big money and they pay overtime, plus the job security is fantastic and there is good career advancement. He learned a unique skillset in Navy schools. No outsourcing in this line of work either. The shipyard also has an apprenticeship program for civilians, for some of the other jobs. They get 44 days off each year with pay. They can sometimes travel to west coast to help out there. Downside is you need to live near a shipyard.

 

[Dave Hess]

I subscribe to this long haul trucker on YouTube named: SuperTruckerDan
I got lots of respect for long haul truckers crisscrossing the USA for 5-6 weeks on the road, then go home to rest for 2 weeks.

This video he is hauling 45,000 pounds of copper from a copper mine to a manufacturing facility near St. Louis.




.

 

[ragtoplvr]

I costs a lot to train a truck driver well. Even with automatic transmissions. all the different allowances for corners, cars past the stop line encroaching on the space you have to have, backing, coupling and uncoupling, bad weather, regulations, trip planning to get the maximum miles and have a safe place to stop safety safety safety hill, descents and loneliness You must have a camera to record what the car driver did to cause the accident. Lord help you if you make a mistake. Think you learn enough in a 4 to 8 week school?

 

[Dave Hess]

My son was in the Navy for 8 years (6 years active duty) and now he works for the Navy as a civilian worker at the naval shipyard. It pays big money and they pay overtime, plus the job security is fantastic and there is good career advancement. He learned a unique skillset in Navy schools. No outsourcing in this line of work either. The shipyard also has an apprenticeship program for civilians, for some of the other jobs. They get 44 days off each year with pay. They can sometimes travel to west coast to help out there. Downside is you need to live near a shipyard.

Folks with military electronics experience making $100K+ doing field service for medical equipment manufacturers.

Many leave active duty for various reasons...... money is one of them.

 

[M56959]

Topic has run its course