Truck driver shortage sends shipping costs sky-high

[IronLionZion]

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/14/news/companies/truck-drivers-freight-costs/index.html

The biggest companies in America face the same dilemma: A truck driver shortage is squeezing profits.
Hasbro (HAS), Kellogg (K), Mondelez (MDLZ), Coke (KO), and Monster (MNST) have told Wall Street in recent weeks that higher freight and shipping expenses are eating into their profit margins. Rising costs will force them to absorb the hit or raise prices.

For these companies and hundreds of others, it's getting more expensive to move goods around the country because qualified truckers are in short supply in a tight labor market.

"There are more attractive options out there for potential truck drivers in a strong economy," said Gus Faucher, chief economist for PNC Financial. "It's difficult to find new workers to expand."

If it's in your home, it's been on a truck

Trucking is a vital link in the supply chain. It's how Coke gets its sodas to grocery stores and how Hasbro sends toys to Amazon and Walmart distribution centers.

More than 70% of goods in the United States hit the highway at some point before they get to your home, according to the American Trucking Associations, an industry trade group.

Companies paid about 6% more for trucking in April than a year ago, the fastest growth in almost seven years, according to the Labor Department.

There are lots of jobs out there for aspiring truckers. And unlike some jobs, the trucking industry has seen some wage growth recently.

[PearliePoo2]

1. Where I live, if you can drive truck and have a CDL you

can work today and name your deal. Problem is passing a drug test!

[blugbox]

2. I'm hearing two different stories that don't quite jive...

Truck drivers are complaining that automation and self-driving vehicles are taking their jobs.

Trucking companies are complaining that there aren't enough qualified truck drivers.

Is there some problem I'm overlooking, or is the end customer just getting squeezed harder?

[awesomerwb1]

5. Self-driving vehicles will not be a factor for years.

There has always been a driver shortage I believe, varies by region, but it was a minor factor.

Now recently the laws in some states have changed and now you need to have papers in order to get a CDL extensions.

I would imagine a lot of undocumented drivers who had had valid CDLs for ages can't renew their licenses anymore (California for example started asking for papers for renewals after May 10th 2017 or thereabouts for renewals).

This info. was provided to me by a friend who is a trucker in California.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. I'm always weary of an industry/company that is constantly "hiring"

It means they treat their employees like shit and fuck them over when possible.

So out of curiosity I once checked a driver forum. Yep. Apparently the mileage isn’t the mileage and these drivers get stranded out of town while not getting paid.

Not saying EVERY company is the same. But it sure seemed the the big outfits were the main culprits.

The same goes for any business that has hiring “kiosks”

[IronLionZion]

4. I don't know anyone who wants to be a trucker

and I grew up with several people who came from trucking families. Many truckers are independent, which has it's benefits and risks, like more pay but there are expensive legal fees when clients refuse to pay for BS reasons.

[awesomerwb1]

6. I don't wanna be a truck driver

even if I wanted to because I suffer from insomnia which is not good unless sleep deprived truck drivers are a good thing!

However I have two friends who drive trucks(owner operated) in CA and they make upwards of $120k+ a year driving within California.

So I've talked to them about buying a couple trucks, hiring drivers and starting a logistics company. That's how I know a little bit about the business.

I've heard horror stories about interstate truckers that will drop a load 2,000 miles away but the company they work for can't find any loads to bring back so they end up eating the cost of the fuel driving back to another pick up location which may be 600+ miles away.

[underpants]

7. One major delivery service is at capacity and is weeding out lower profit and bad customers

at least their trucking side of the business is.

[Hortensis]

8. It's been many years since we had a good trucker friend,

and back then he was starting to be squeezed and exploited, even though some could still retain some autonomy as independent operators and many still made decent money.

Since then,... Well, it's like what happened to the chicken farmers here in Georgia. It was once the same for them. They were proudly independent farmers.

Now too many are more like tenant farmers with only one possible low-pay "employer," contracted to perform one step in the chicken raising/processing line under strict instructions provided by the contracting company, so rather like factory workers on a line, only they work alone in buildings on their own land, or land and buildings leased from subsidiaries of international corporations.