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As I’ve stated before, I own a small to medium sized trucking company. Most of our loads come from load boards as we are not big enough to secure dedicated lanes with companies like Walmart, Purdue, Aldis, Target etc.
One of the brokers we work with out of Carnegie, PA (large) called me about a dedicated lane for Bridgestone tires from Allentown, main distribution center to Nashville. Apparently the LARGE carrier that has the contract is in breach of contract as they cannot find enough drivers. My DOT consultant also called me asking if I’d be interested in buying a business with 20-30 trucks in PA. I asked why the owner was selling and he said he cant find anyone to drive his trucks and payments, overhead, insurance are killing him. More to come.

As I’ve stated before, I own a small to medium sized trucking company. Most of our loads come from load boards as we are not big enough to secure dedicated lanes with companies like Walmart, Purdue, Aldis, Target etc. One of the brokers we work with out of Carnegie, PA (large) called me about a dedicated lane for Bridgestone tires from Allentown, main distribution center to Nashville. Apparently the LARGE carrier that has the contract is in breach of contract as they cannot find enough drivers. My DOT consultant also called me asking if I’d be interested in buying a business with 20-30 trucks in PA. I asked why the owner was selling and he said he cant find anyone to drive his trucks and payments, overhead, insurance are killing him. More to come.

(post is archived)

[–] • 4 pts

I work for one of the largest LTL carriers. We cant get anyone to work. We have 400 loaded trailers sitting in our yard that we cant move. Im chasing hours ever week hitting my 70 hours by my 5th day on and chasing hours my 6th day in order to run city freight to help catch them up. Ill clear 112k this year.

[–] • 1 pt

112k this year.

That's enough money to live comfortably for sure, but what kind of life can you possibly be living if 70 hours a week is spent working?

[–] • 1 pt

Hmmmm. Now i know why the jew tag is given.

I see my kids everyday. I take vacations twice a year keep my kids busy with sports and clubs and playing musical instruments. They are well taken care of and i have a close nit family that we all help each other. The time i spend with family is all quality time and no one wants for everything. So id say i have a great life.

[–] • 3 pts

I can't get insurance to drive a truck for a company. It's 140 dollars a day for me as a person to get insurance. I don't own these vehicles I am delivering them for the company. It is utter bullshit how insurance works. What a fucking scam

[–] • 1 pt

As a new carrier, my insurance for 5 trucks and trailers is north of $180,000 a year! On top of that I have $25,000 a month in truck/ trailer payments, $50,000 a month in fuel, $11,000 for registration renewal, 3% for weekly factoring, 5% for my dispatcher, maintenance is $2,000 a month per truck - $10,000. Driver pay is $12,000 a week.....You get the idea

[–] • 0 pt

Damn!!! So my question is this. I'm moving uhauo type box trucks. Empty. 25k to 50k value if I borrowed one from a friend I would be covered by my regular iinsurance. But the second I make money off moving a truck literally no one will insure me.

It seems their should be a policy that says I am insured to drive vehicles up to 75k even I'd the policy would be expensive that would be fine.

But 140 a fucking day my insurance maybe 80 a month on a 22k dodge challenger

The math doesnt add up.

[–] • 3 pts

There's no shortage of drivers. Most drivers are fathers/grandfathers/uncles who're disciplined with managing their money. As long as this covid thing is going on and they know that evil people are trying to get at their kids/grand-kids/Nephews/nieces, they're staying home, home schooling the kids, and collecting those government stimulus checks.

[–] • 3 pts

Vaccines took out a lot of operators. They are now dead or disabled. Not quickly replaced.

It's the same for the airlines, even as they are trying to downplay it. Dead pilots in high numbers. Crippled pilots in even higher numbers.

It amounts to a shortage of healthy qualified pilots, at any price.

[–] • 0 pt

Do you have first hand knowledge? Like how do you know that? If true then the shot has killed way more than 11k. They can't all just be truck drivers and pilots in that number. Someone is hiding the numbers.

[–] • 1 pt

Yes, they are covering it up.

It's a slaughter.

[–] • 1 pt

I agree. Saw a bunch of things implying they're cooking the numbers in favor of the Vax. Horror.

[–] • 2 pts

Same issue with log trucking. There's tons of iron parked up and nobody to drive it. After paying for insurance, registrations, licensing, and other permits, there's not much left out of a load of logs to pay drivers a high enough wage to make it an attractive career.

[–] • 1 pt

can't get drivers either because they can still get covid unemployment or the truck companies are still trying to pay drivers like shit. that's the problem with getting drivers in my state

no one wants to haul fuel for 50k when anything else pays 10-15k+ more

[–] • 1 pt

Well, when shit starts drying up, those loads should start paying a helluva lot more

[–] • 1 pt

Why is there such a shortage of drivers? Does it have anything to do with the political climate and last year's riots or is the problem ongoing?

[–] • 1 pt

It is a tough life being an OTR trucker. Younger generations are simply not willing to replace the aging fleet of old school truckers who can stay out on the road for weeks at a time.

[–] • 1 pt

Do truckers really make $100k+?

Im not a trucker but a field tech and im driving all day. I feel like a big rig would be such a PITA to drive in cities.

[–] • 2 pts

YES! I pay between 27-32% of the weekly gross to the truck. Our refrigerated trailers/trucks avg. about $8500-9800/wk My drivers are a rare breed staying out 3 weeks home one week. If I were single, this is exactly what I would be doing.

[–] • 2 pts

I have a buddy who is a trucker with a HAZMAT license who rakes in 100K+

[–] • 1 pt

I pull about 90k and all I do is dry van, no hazmat. I could make a little more with tanker but I'm happier just sitting in docks and swinging doors.

You won't make that starting off but after 1-2 years experience you open up a shit load of opportunities.

[–] • 1 pt

Thanks for chiming in. Do you all mostly go long distances or do some companies stay close to a base? Just wondering how that works for families.

[–] • 2 pts (edited )

There's a shit ton of different options as well. Home daily, home weekly, or over the road. My company I worked before this I was home either every night or every other night. That was my favorite because it was enough for the wife to miss me but not gone too long.

Edit: meant to add, companies need drivers so bad right now that they'll pretty much work with you anyway you want. That last company I was just talking about has called me a few times promising me the routes, schedule, and truck I want if i came back.

[–] • 1 pt

Oh yikes. I just finished a website for a logistics company in PA.

I hope those guys do alright. I don't like seeing clients fail.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

Pennsylvania based firm Kane Logistics is losing it's contract with PA Liquor Control Board, due to similar issues. Fedex is picking up the work, along with KLS.