Seeing as how the younger generations (younger Millenials and Generation XYZ) aren't replacing those truckers who are either retiring, or quit to go do something else, what is the solution? For those who believe that private companies know best, what will they have to do to get things back on track? Or does the government need to do something to entice those generations to go into that field? Or, is it going to get bad enough that we will need to look at bringing in labor, like with farms, from other countries, because that's the only way we'll get people into those jobs that Americans aren't wanting to do?
How do we fix the truck driver shortage?
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Last: 2 yr ago by doubledog
For starters, the government could stop paying people not to work.
Pay more?
DOT regs need to lighten up on hours.
Pay needs to be better and trucking companies need to stop trying to cheat deivers.
Shippers/receivers need to stop making pick ups/drops difficult and wasting drivers time.
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
Pay needs to be better and trucking companies need to stop trying to cheat deivers.
Shippers/receivers need to stop making pick ups/drops difficult and wasting drivers time.
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
A major issue right now are the chasis that the containers sit on if not stacked take up. Some big shops on west coast have the drivers but not the available chasis to load the containers.
Do what we always do when we have a worker shortage. Import people from India.
Doctor shortage: Bring them in from India
Engineer shortage: Bring them in from India
Call center shortage: Send calls to India
Truck driver shortage: Bring in drivers from India!
Doctor shortage: Bring them in from India
Engineer shortage: Bring them in from India
Call center shortage: Send calls to India
Truck driver shortage: Bring in drivers from India!
Thinking about this end to end...we are going to have to accelerate highway automation and then use human drivers from a near city DC from/to pickup and delivery points.
Upping pay will most likely lead to massive consolidation and M&A within the trucking companies to scale it.
Reality is we will probably plug the hole with foreign labor like everyone in the EU is doing. Our younger natives simply don't want to do this kind of work because they can only envision my first sentence and do not see the point in having human drivers when the tech is on the verge of existing.
Upping pay will most likely lead to massive consolidation and M&A within the trucking companies to scale it.
Reality is we will probably plug the hole with foreign labor like everyone in the EU is doing. Our younger natives simply don't want to do this kind of work because they can only envision my first sentence and do not see the point in having human drivers when the tech is on the verge of existing.
Part of the problem that washes a lot of CDL drivers out is the down time at pick up/drop off. The drivers really aren't paid for that time. And it used to be you could park at those locations and not notate it on your paper logs, with electronic logs those hours count against you and it really hurts your earning potential.Scruffy said:
DOT regs need to lighten up on hours.
Pay needs to be better and trucking companies need to stop trying to cheat deivers.
Shippers/receivers need to stop making pick ups/drops difficult and wasting drivers time.
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
MouthBQ98 said:
Pay more?
Truck drivers make quite a bit. It's not a career they tell you about in high school though.
They don't make good hourly rates and work like dogs to make what they make
aezmvp said:Part of the problem that washes a lot of CDL drivers out is the down time at pick up/drop off. The drivers really aren't paid for that time. And it used to be you could park at those locations and not notate it on your paper logs, with electronic logs those hours count against you and it really hurts your earning potential.Scruffy said:
DOT regs need to lighten up on hours.
Pay needs to be better and trucking companies need to stop trying to cheat deivers.
Shippers/receivers need to stop making pick ups/drops difficult and wasting drivers time.
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
I dont understand how those hours would count against you? Could you explain?
Scruffy said:
DOT regs need to lighten up on hours.
Pay needs to be better and trucking companies need to stop trying to cheat deivers.
Shippers/receivers need to stop making pick ups/drops difficult and wasting drivers time.
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
Drivers would still find ways to ***** and moan about wasting their time. **** happens when you show up 4 hours late to your delivery. There's a reason why we have appt times. And the problem is only made worse by the staffing shortages.
My opinion is to lesson the Hours of Service requirement. Many of OTR guys complain that there is no money to be made. Also, need more truck stops and places to rest. That's a huge problem (however one could argue truckers are to blame because they leave trash everywhere)
Rather than just give away money, I think paying for CDL training at a 3% return over 12 months would draw more people in. The major block is the CDL that is required, not the money. Or, we could focus on paying for abortions, birth control, college, vaccines, sex changes, etc..
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I gotta say you guys provided way more ideas and info than I was expecting. I don't know much about the industry, I just know, thanks to a lot of you guys, that it's a problem and I don't see anyone in a position to do anything, provide ideas or solutions like presented here. Hopefully they will and soon because I doubt we can go another decade like this.
Went down the rabbit hole of YouTube American trucking channels 3 or 4 years ago. Like you said, it is very eye-opening.Scruffy said:
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
Speaking of 'eye-opening', Polish trucker Iwona Blecharczyk's channel is very good.
Fix the logistical nightmare that resulted from NIMBY policies on warehouse storage.
The restrictions on stacking containers is one of the major issues in Long Beach.
The restrictions on stacking containers is one of the major issues in Long Beach.
Speedbird087 said:Went down the rabbit hole of YouTube American trucking channels 3 or 4 years ago. Like you said, it is very eye-opening.Scruffy said:
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
Speaking of 'eye-opening', Polish trucker Iwona Blecharczyk's channel is very good.
I watched a TV documentary on long haul trucking a year or so ago. It's not the huge money maker people say it is. Everyone claiming it is, doesn't drive a truck.
Shift student loans to needed careers and away from useless ones.
Seven and three are ten, not only now, but forever. There has never been a time when seven and three were not ten, nor will there ever be a time when they are not ten. Therefore, I have said that the truth of number is incorruptible and common to all who think. — St. Augustine
Do away with the 21 year old interstate travel restrictions. If you're old enough to take a bullet for your country you are old enough to haul produce/products across state lines.
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience" - Mark Twain
Yup.
Electronic logs combined with the DOT hours are killing any chance at making money.
Electronic logs combined with the DOT hours are killing any chance at making money.
It's quite simple really.. and it goes for every industry..
Get the government out of the way as a backstop for failure.
If you can't pay your bills, and refuse to find charity that will accommodate you, then you fail. It's painful, and it could even be life or death. But nothing motivates like hunger.
Instead.. people know they can skip out on hard work to attempt to be a full time youtube reactor. When they fail to make enough to buy a single taco from taco bell, they know the government will support them.
Get the government out of the way as a backstop for failure.
If you can't pay your bills, and refuse to find charity that will accommodate you, then you fail. It's painful, and it could even be life or death. But nothing motivates like hunger.
Instead.. people know they can skip out on hard work to attempt to be a full time youtube reactor. When they fail to make enough to buy a single taco from taco bell, they know the government will support them.
MehScruffy said:
Yup.
Electronic logs combined with the DOT hours are killing any chance at making money.
I know several guys here in the Valley that, own their own trucks and reefers run E Log legal and make a living but they are never home and run it right to the limits. After three years they pay off the truck and things get a lot better. It's not an occupation for anyone expecting a family home life.
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience" - Mark Twain
David Wallace said:
Do what we always do when we have a worker shortage. Import people from India.
Doctor shortage: Bring them in from India
Engineer shortage: Bring them in from India
Call center shortage: Send calls to India
Truck driver shortage: Bring in drivers from India!
I don't know about you, but I don't want Indians anywhere near big rigs.
The problems in Long Beach at the docks and California in general are 100% self inflicted and based on Newsome selling out to the unions and allowing them to monopolize the industry in that state.
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience" - Mark Twain
If you've been paying attention, you would know that there are already a lot of Sikh truck drivers out there.Cromagnum said:David Wallace said:
Do what we always do when we have a worker shortage. Import people from India.
Doctor shortage: Bring them in from India
Engineer shortage: Bring them in from India
Call center shortage: Send calls to India
Truck driver shortage: Bring in drivers from India!
I don't know about you, but I don't want Indians anywhere near big rigs.
Next time you go past a mom and pop truck stop, see if they offer Punjabi food. A lot of them even advertise it.
Scruffy said:
DOT regs need to lighten up on hours.
Pay needs to be better and trucking companies need to stop trying to cheat deivers.
Shippers/receivers need to stop making pick ups/drops difficult and wasting drivers time.
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
Relaxing the DOT medical rules would help too. I lost my CDL because I check one too many boxes on the medical form (age, overweight, marginal BP, and able to fall asleep watching TV)
OTR Truck drivers work off of 4 clocks.PooDoo said:I don't understand how those hours would count against you? Could you explain?aezmvp said:Part of the problem that washes a lot of CDL drivers out is the down time at pick up/drop off. The drivers really aren't paid for that time. And it used to be you could park at those locations and not notate it on your paper logs, with electronic logs those hours count against you and it really hurts your earning potential.Scruffy said:
DOT regs need to lighten up on hours.
Pay needs to be better and trucking companies need to stop trying to cheat drivers.
Shippers/receivers need to stop making pick ups/drops difficult and wasting drivers time.
I've been watching some youtube vids by several truckers. It has been eye opening.
To your question...the biggest hang up is the 14 hour clock. A driver can only work 14 hours a day...driving, tarping, strapping, loading, unloading, sitting around waiting. Even if a driver puts themselves in "Off-duty" status, that 14 hour clock keeps rolling...and often times when a driver is sitting at a shipper/receiver for numerous hours, waiting to be loaded/unloaded. It burns their 14 hour clock down.
There is a workaround to stop the 14 hour clock, but you have to remain parked for at least 2-3 hours. No truck movement. Often times, when a trucker tries to pull a 2-3 hour "off-duty/sleeper berth" split, to stop their 14-hour clock, the shipper/receiver will have them pull around to a door, or make them pull away from the dock, moving the truck before the 2-3 hour split is complete. The 14 hour clock resumes right where they tried to work in their split.
A lot of good YouTube trucking channels out there. I used to have one (actually still exists) but got out of a truck 5 years ago. I just film them now.
For your standard OTR operation, it's less of a driver shortage and more of a churn issue: drivers constantly jumping from company to company looking for the best job they can get.
Sure, there is a shortage here and there depending on a company's location and what they might haul. Dedicated 3PL lanes can sometimes be hard to fill. Case in point, my previous employer hauled windows. The pool of qualified drivers in the vicinity along with those that will go beyond just driving dock to dock and actually do the required hand unloading of all the product can be hard to come by.
For your standard OTR operation, it's less of a driver shortage and more of a churn issue: drivers constantly jumping from company to company looking for the best job they can get.
Sure, there is a shortage here and there depending on a company's location and what they might haul. Dedicated 3PL lanes can sometimes be hard to fill. Case in point, my previous employer hauled windows. The pool of qualified drivers in the vicinity along with those that will go beyond just driving dock to dock and actually do the required hand unloading of all the product can be hard to come by.
Many of the young, Indian truck drivers are fearless, unsafe, and rude to boot. They roll 70+mph because they are getting dispatched at 60mph, when the industry standard is 50mph.HollywoodBQ said:If you've been paying attention, you would know that there are already a lot of Sikh truck drivers out there.Cromagnum said:David Wallace said:
Do what we always do when we have a worker shortage. Import people from India.
Doctor shortage: Bring them in from India
Engineer shortage: Bring them in from India
Call center shortage: Send calls to India
Truck driver shortage: Bring in drivers from India!
I don't know about you, but I don't want Indians anywhere near big rigs.
Next time you go past a mom and pop truck stop, see if they offer Punjabi food. A lot of them even advertise it.
Vaccine Mandate should help.
That does not surprise me. The first part is just a characteristic of being Indian.TTUArmy said:Many of the young, Indian truck drivers are fearless, unsafe, and rude to boot. They roll 70+mph because they are getting dispatched at 60mph, when the industry standard is 50mph.HollywoodBQ said:If you've been paying attention, you would know that there are already a lot of Sikh truck drivers out there.Cromagnum said:David Wallace said:
Do what we always do when we have a worker shortage. Import people from India.
Doctor shortage: Bring them in from India
Engineer shortage: Bring them in from India
Call center shortage: Send calls to India
Truck driver shortage: Bring in drivers from India!
I don't know about you, but I don't want Indians anywhere near big rigs.
Next time you go past a mom and pop truck stop, see if they offer Punjabi food. A lot of them even advertise it.
The second part also kind of doesn't surprise me. I'm in IT and we frequently see Indian outsourcers taking on contracts that don't make any sense or have unreasonable terms for regular American workers.
did laughPhilip J Fry said:
Vaccine Mandate should help.
AI
According to the White House the problem isn't the number of truck drivers, it's the fact that there are too many trucks.