Lot of similarities to the regional airline world.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/truckin..._us_business_f

 

Most long haul trucker are paid by mile.
If you increase the pay, they will stick around longer.

Bottom feeders/entry level trucking companies are like the regionals. Get in/get out. Werner/Swift/US express/western global all take freshly minted CDL drivers. Pay averages about $0.25/mile. Pretty tough to Make a livable wage while being gone for weeks at a time.



The newly mandated Electronic Log Book plays a big role on old timers retiring or leaving the industry.

Trucking ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. They will always need drivers.

 

Yep, this is because of an increase in regulation. Plus it is a miserable lifestyle.

A labor shortage will hasten automation (or increase train usage).


There is a lesson for the aviation industry to learn here.

 

Continue to do nothing and use an impending nation-crippling logistics disaster as an excuse to push through deregulation allowing the jobs to be automated away for pennies on the dollar leaving an entire industry jobless?

 

Its exactly like the airlines. Companies that pay well, have good schedules and work rules, and treat their employees with respect have a line out the door of people that want to work there, and no one ever leaves. I was driving a truck before I came back to the airlines. If you have a good driving record, clean criminal record, and you are a decent employee it can be a real good career with minimal training and investment. The job I left was Monday through Friday, holidays off, day shift only, and I made 82,000 my last year there. Bottom line is there's only a shortage of pilots and truck drivers willing to work for a crappy employer for crappy pay. I don't see Delta, United, or American having any shortage of pilots.

 

And there are many that can't because raising prices to cover higher pay would put them out of business because the market won't support it.

 

Then they shouldn't be in business.

 

This right here. If the market doesn't support a business model that is too cheap to pay its employees a living wage it's because supply outpaces demand. Reduce supply (bottom feeder companies go out of business) and demand will be spread among fewer companies thus allowing the higher prices and better wages. In an economic downturn bottom feeder companies will return because labor supply will outpace labor demand. We are not in that situation today. Thus bottom feeder companies struggle.

Rarely do the employees have power over this directly. However, we and truckers both have a lot more power than usual over the supply-demand curve right now. Our employers need us to supply their service to their customer, and at the moment we are the critical asset that is rare and price-sensitive. Don't undervalue what you are supplying to the market. Go somewhere that pays you what the market will pay for your services. Recent CPAs have clearly demonstrated that major airlines are willing to pay more for regional feed. Don't fall into the lie that the market won't support you being paid a living wage.

 

If they can't pay the bills and turn a profit, then yes they should fold and liquidate because the market can't support them.

On the flip side of that, as long as there is an ample labor supply, then staffing isn't a problem. Because there is more scarcity to labor at present they will either have to raise pay rates if they can, cut back volume, or go out of business.


Except that if too many firms close then there is an over supply of labor again thus causing lower pay.

Depends on which market. Not everything is elastic.

 

I've heard it said before (but haven't really looked it up) that the only reason we use so much "trucking" is due to the teamsters. Rail is cheaper and can be used for a significant amount of trucking, but isn't utilized to it's full extent.