Who says "frieght is slow"? I've got dispatch asking if I'll be in their areas early because they've got no drivers to load and flatbedders are pre-planned 3 loads out.

If freight is slow why do they say there's a shortage of drivers?

I think they are trying to do to truck drivers what they did to programmers. They say there is a huge shortage and therefore need to import millions of programmers ( or truck drivers) from foreign countries on work visas, but they just want to DRIVE DOWN WAGES by getting a larger supply of workers competing for the available jobs. It's all part of the wonderful thing called globalism. That's why so many drivers can't speak English, wear turbans, etc.... gotta keep those wages down to increase profits.

Fun to believe all those 'foreigners' are working for peanuts, but 'tain't always true. Kid in Odum, GA told me that the landscape company wouldn't hire him because he didn't speak spanish and couldn't communicate with all the spanish-speakers. Why did he want the job?.........Because they are paying 17$ an hour.
So he unloaded my truck for me.

Also, consider the fact - and it is a fact - that all these companies that are hiring have idle equipment. That's an investment; it needs to work, and that means getting a driver. They are not hiring just to drive down wages, and wages are not going down.

They are not hiring just to drive down wages, and wages are not going down .

Its true that the paid rate per mile may not be going down. But not going up with the rate of inflation is the same thing.
Not getting paid at a dock or garage, etc adds up to be over $10,000 lost wages per year.

Very true Evinrude. Once you count in for inflation, you are making less each year for the same amount of work. The much ballyhooed minimum wage increase, now is equal to the earnings of 1957, when you factor in for inflation. Imagine working for a company for 50 years and never receiving a raise!

Plus more trucks going after the same pool of miles means fewer miles per truck, and less money to more drivers.

If freight is so slow, why are the truck stops and highways choked with big trucks? :shock:

Are they just driving around empty, looking for freight?

Trucks (in one form or another) move a majority of this country's freight. Remember that the US economy is huge and it is not currently in recession (as of yet). It's just not growing at the 5% clip of previous years.

Part of the problem is that fleets bought too many trucks for the available freight because they wanted to pre-buy before the 2007 engine emissions standards took effect. This oversupply of capacity forces rates down across the board. In addition, less freight = an increase in deadhead miles, more waiting/idling of equipment, more layover pay, and increased turnover rates among drivers.

All of this lowers overall fleet profitability.

And now with the mexican trucks here, Jose will drop his load in NYC (one job he took from an American at Laredo), then pick up one or 2 more loads ( one or two more loads taken from Americans) on his way back to Mexico.

Thankyou Bushes, Clinton, Reagan for the screwing.... Oh wait, why am I complaining? Prfoits for the international corporations will go up, and that is always good, right ??

Call your congressfolks, tell them you oppose mexican trucks taking our jobs.