Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtimba
No question there will be changes in this business. While it would be purely speculative to predict when it will happen, PPM/CPM is on it's way out. Instead, you can expect to see a day rate which takes into consideration all Driver responsibilities beyond the driving. It will restore the incentive (necessity) to use the truck and Driver more efficiently, eliminate downtime and eliminate the productivity penalty Drivers experience for circumstances beyond their control. Between lower MPH and the inevitable onset of more resrtictive idling rules, it's going to make more sense to pay Drivers NOT to sleep or even be in the truck when it's not moving. That could mean a lot more trucks parked in hotel lots or a lot more hotel like accomodations at truck stops.
It's entirely conceivable that it will require forced dispatch and a lot more freight fingerprinting, when appropriate, but that just makes sense. What good does it do anyone to have the driver sitting . . and waiting . . while someone else loads/unloads.
Drivers can expect to earn more, attrition will decline, safety will improve and it will go a long way toward eliminating the artificial "subsidized" rates shippers have been demanding and eliminate a lot of the so called "cheap freight".
The only thing I take issue with in the OP is the night driving thing. There is new and better information regarding night driving all the time. The bottom line is that most people aren't programmed and cannot program themselves to rearrange their sleep. I know . . plenty of drivers love it and prefer it but I doubt that many liability sensative companies are going to impose or expect more of it.
Thanks for the well thought out and insightful post bigtimba. Some may not like hearing this, but, CFM had been prophetizing most of these same points for quite some time. Albeit, to mostly deaf ears. Until now.
Try telling all of the above to the coolie carrier management types and see how fast that they start to squeal that all problems are the fault of the driver. This has become the standard response. 'Drivers will have to adapt.' Again and again and again.
I think the opposite. The driver will be there tomorrow, in one form or another. Whether X, Y or Z company will be with us is the operative question. The air of desperation is becoming stifling.