Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I saw evidence today that the economy really is booming . . .

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If companies are willing to pay enough the workers will be there. Those complaining that they can't hire drivers are wanting to pay them a pittance. If you pay enough you'll find workers, simple economics."

Thank you, crow hunter. Yes I hear all these companies whining about not enough drivers. Simplest rule of economics, pay more money and more people will show up.
Wal Mart, UPS, and FedEx all pay top dollar, which is around $90K with good benefits, and they have plenty of drivers.

Swift is a mega carrier with over 12,000 drivers and they are always short, and they pay about $45 to $50K.
Swift has a driver turnover rate of 105 percent. Unreal. Every year, 12,500 drivers either quit, or are fired, from Swift. I know those numbers but can't wrap my head around them.

By comparison, WalMart has driver turnover of 3 percent and most of those are guys who retire.

That is exactly right.

If you aren't getting good candidates, you either aren't paying enough or don't offer good benefits. I think companies got accustomed to the recession years when they could pay poorly and cut benefits. In today's tight labor market, that doesn't work anymore.

LOL, I don't. I own the company, and I hire the guys that come out of the megas. Treat them right, pay them right, and they treat me right. Average driver pay is just under 70K, with average home time between three and four nights a week.

No, no problem hiring drivers. None. Even for our fairly demanding freight.

I agree. I did when a job change was forced upon me. Still drinking though. Come from a line of bourbon drinkers. Cheers!!

So, dutch, you own a trucking company.
My brother got a bug up his ass that our little company was no good. So he quit, and went to work for Swift.
Man, every day he was gone, he was calling me up with a sob story.

You need a gallon of oil, or antifreeze for the truck? You don't put it on the company card, you pay for it. Then you send in the bill and if you are lucky, in a few weeks you are reimbursed. With 12K drivers, this amounts to DRIVERS making a loan to SWIFT for many millions of dollars over the year. And, since Swift ditches over 12,000 drivers a year, if a guy happens to have run up $44 on two gallons of oil, and he quits the next week, and if Swift somehow "forgets" to reimburse him, tough luck on the $44 bucks. His only recourse would be to travel to Swift headquarters, wherever that is, and file claim in small claims court. Who is going to do that? Nobody. Guarantee you Swift pockets millions annually on that scam.

This happened 4 years ago. Brother was making 36 cents a mile. We are driving out of Greer SC. Brother got his first paycheck, and half of the miles were at 34 !/2 cents a mile.
He called his dispatcher, and he was told "Those lower miles were when you were across the Mississippi. We can't pay you full scale for those big open easy roads out in Texas."

I could go on and on, Swift accountants stay awake late at night figuring how to screw over their drivers.

Brother worked there for 6 weeks, and he came back with his tail between his legs.

Kentucky Mountain Man is obviously happily retired because he is cracking a little joke. If you got $40 an hour, for every hour away from home, and you worked for one week, you would get $6720 a week. I think that is how much giant Djibouti make in the NBA for throwing a ball through a hoop.

I was joking about the 40 bucks a Hour......But I really would come out of retirement for 30 bucks and unlimited free truck washes at the streaking Beacon.........I hate a dirty Truck....LOL

You know, you are rather a cheerful fellow, once one gets to know you.... (from "the Ghost and the Darkness), last movie I paid to see about 20 years ago.

This is the truth ! I’m an owner operator and wouldn’t dream of working for one of the major trucking companies. Trucking companies and shippers treat drivers like tools rather than people. F’em ! I’m getting the best rates ever and I don’t feel the least bit bad for the customers who’ve been sticking it to me and my fellow drivers for years. It’ll all come back around but I’m getting mine while the sun shines on my arse.

True story.

Interviewed a guy for an opening, and he looked like he would really fit with the company, so we made him a job offer. His wife wouldn't let him take it. Turns out, on his last job, the accountants turned off his fuel card and stranded him in Florida. In the summer. Took more than a week to get that "corrected". She was pawning crap and sending him Western Union so he could eat and buy a little fuel so he could run the truck for AC. You can imagine how done she was having him be a trucker.

So I sat them both down and showed them our standard trip packet, which includes plenty of cash to get home under any circumstances. That took care of that. Or the guy I hired out of Prime, who they wouldn't let go to the hospital where his dad was dying. Load had to be delivered!

I'll admit to some of the applicants being "interesting", and probably barely worth 34 CPM, but there's plenty of decent guys out there that are giving trucking the finger because of the way they are treated and paid (in that order).

Guys I work with who are willing to live on the road are netting after fuel , insurance , workers comp , etc $6500-$8500 a week. Take out truck maintenance and a payment you’re still at $5500-$7500 a week before taxes. They’re home about every other weekend.

I've even seen more women driving these trucks lately as well - albeit a tad on the hefty side but they are helping to MAGA.

It's not an occupation that is conducive to good health and lean physiques. Long hours sitting and driving which is also stressful with the responsibility of a big truck and all the jerks on the road.