Shortage of Dry Van freight?

[Trapper]

I've been reading on here that there's a shortage of freight so why are the companies still hiring drivers and complaining there isn't enough people to fill their trucks? Is there actually a freight shortage or not?

I wouldn't think so at this time of year but I know a few workers at a large distribution center close to me that says they're down from last year but they are still hiring for seasonal help. I don't understand that either.

If the freight isn't there why hire new drivers? I've also seen some drivers say they are getting the same miles as before. Can anyone tell the real story? The battling Crete brothers have different views of their own company. :P

[mudflap276]

turn over. they have to hire new drivers to replace the ones that retire, promoted to office and just leave the industry. not to mention job hoppers.

[GMAN]

I have spoken to people in different parts of the country and most everyone tells me that things are slow. However, things are not going to be slow forever. There are always ups and downs in the economy. Things should pick up somewhat for the Christmas season, at least with van freight. There is a lot of movement within the industry. The average turn over is more than 100%. That means, on average these companies will need to replace every driver in their fleet each year. That is a lot of turn over. Some drivers will hang around for a few years and others may only stay a few months. Most companies are finding it difficult to recruit qualified drivers. While it is true that the economy is slow right now and there seems to be less freight than trucks to haul it, this is only a cycle. It would probably be better for the carriers if things were slow for a while. It would help reduce turnover. There won't be as many jobs so those who are working will stay where they are rather than taking a chance of not finding a good job.

I've been reading on here that there's a shortage of freight so why are the companies still hiring drivers and complaining there isn't enough people to fill their trucks? Is there actually a freight shortage or not?

The typical OTR mega-carrier sports about a 130% turnover rate, regardless of freight levels. Another way to look at it is that the entire labor force at these companies is replaced on average of 1.3 times per year!!!! So figure at a big company like Swift which has something like 15,000 power units, it means that 19,500 drivers come and go like the wind on an annual basis.

So what's the dealio? In a nutshell, there will always be a shortage of people willing to put up with the low pay, long hours away from home, and poor treatment in over-the-road truckdriving. That's why the whole "driver shortage" spiel is nothing but a crock perpetrated by an industry whose true aim is to put foriegners and immigrants behind the wheel.

The only real way to end the trucking "shortage" is to pay people what their worth. Pay em' to fuel the truck. Pay em' to scale the load. Pay em' for breakdowns, PM's, etc. Quit hosing them on smoke-and-mirror HHG mileage scams. The thing is, for all the time spent away from home, hours on the job, and dangers\liabilities drivers have to put up, OTR should pay $75,000 minimum. Anyone who thinks 40 - 60k is big money to live in a rolling cage is nuts.

[Frogman]

I've been reading on here that there's a shortage of freight so why are the companies still hiring drivers and complaining there isn't enough people to fill their trucks? Is there actually a freight shortage or not?

The typical OTR mega-carrier sports about a 130% turnover rate, regardless of freight levels. Another way to look at it is that the entire labor force at these companies is replaced on average of 1.3 times per year!!!! So figure at a big company like Swift which has something like 15,000 power units, it means that 19,500 drivers come and go like the wind on an annual basis.

I don't know squat about trucking but I suspect the numbers are a lot higher than that.

Let's say a company has 3,000 drivers. Say that 50% are there over one year and 50% are there less than one year. Now let's say the company has a 130% turnover.

The turnover is probably greatest in the least experienced segment (those with less than one year of time). But the turnover is figured as a total for the entire workforce.

So in our imaginary company, a 130% turnover is 3900 drivers . . . but they are going into those 1500 slots of people with less than one year.

That means you have closer to 260% turnover . . . and that's probably even on the low side.

I suspect the average company is churning drivers through . . . probably 5-10 get hired for every one that stays.

Of course, if a company admitted that 50% of their workforce was stable but the rest was churning like a drowning rat . . . and that your chances of surviving the first year were one in 5 or one in 10 . . . who the heck would volunteer to drive?

Much better to talk about miles, cents per mile and benefits . . . .