Future of the trucking industry in USA?

Question

With all the craziness surrounding gas prices, is being a trucker going to become more difficult in the future? Will the increased cost of gas cause truckers to make a lot less money?

Thinking of becoming a trucker someday, so I just wanted to get people's opinions. Thanks! :)

Answer 1

Trucking is constantly changing these days. There are the mega companies that are taking over and then competition from the railroads is affecting the industry too. The industry is over regulated and will become more so...but it will survive in some fashion.

I think as public opinion continues to get worse towards trucking due to the yellow journalism of the media and the attacks by special interest groups, that trucking will become less about long haul and more about intermodal from railhead to consumer or maker to railhead. jmo

Unless they build railroads to every store in the country, there will always be trucks and truck drivers.

Some drivers do well, some cannot hack the stress, loneliness and long hours of the job. That cannot be determined until you try unless you do some real homework on the lifestyle and do a reality check on yourself.

Your first year, you can anticipate making between 25-35k, then as you gain experience, your pay will go up.

Yes, some companies experience a huge turnover, but after you get your first year or two of experience in, and if you do your homework well on the companies you choose to work for, then you can find one that suits your needs and perhaps retire from them. I personally avoid job jumping...I was with my last company 9 yrs, 9 months at the current one...it is more about the person than the company.

Join some trucking groups such as the yahoo group trailertruckintech and learn about trucking before making your decision, ask questions and listen to the answers.

Trucking isn't an easy job, but it has been good to me for many years.

Answer 2

The demand for trucking is increasing not decreasing. Trucking companies have a fuel surcharge to make up the excess cost of fuel in a market with pricing moving as much is it is now a days. The demand for truckers will keep the pay rates up. It would seem like trucking and nursing are both well protected occupations for the next 10-20 years.

Answer 3

The day of the owner operator is getting smaller and smaller most O/O's are selling their trucks. The big companies are able to soak up all the fuel costs, insurance rates, emission standards, and authority costs. It is tough to be an O/O anymore. Thinking of being a trucker huh? You realize you are entering an industry with a 130% turnover rate? You realize most guys last about six months and go home crying to mama. Stick with what you know. Wages for drivers have stagnated for the last 10 years. Everything else has gone up except driver pay.

Answer 4

Here are some things for you to think about.

We need products and services.
People have to eat. Products have to get to the stores.
Buildings need construction materials.

As it gets more expensive to move that stuff, the price gets passed along ... the delivered products cost more.

The price of milk goes up, because it is more expensive to deliver it. Due to supply and demand, and what people earn, some people try to survive with less of the good products. Does this mean people will be buying less milk? I don't think so, I think it will hurt car sales more than milk sales.

So the truckers who have refrigerated trucks delivery fresh foods will continue to have the same business, while some other kinds of products may get less demand.

Will everything increas in price because more expensive to deliver? Well there are trade-offs. I think more companies will move to telecommuting because of high costs of commuting. That's where you go on the Internet, and it is your place of work, and there's special security so that only your co-workers are interconnected there.

Can everyone do this? Well it depends on the work that you do. Some work needs a human being at the office or in the factory, or behind the wheel steering the truck.

Various things like global warming, gasoline prices, pollution, etc. will affect the availability of products and prices, but the products need to get there somehow ... cargo plane, trucking, railroad, barge ... they all have the same problems with fuel prices etc. So there will continue to be companies moving the products to market, and trucking is in many ways more convenient than the competion, except for special cases such as heavy bulk, need for extremely fast delivery.

So the trucking industry is going to continue to be around for a long long time.

Thanks to NAFTA, truckers can drive from Canada to Mexico, and from Mexito to Canada. Thanks to other Free Trade plans, this will be extended south to include truckers from south of Mexico. They are willing to work for a lot less money than employees from USA and Canada, so there'll be a lot of competition there.

This is slow to get going because of Immigration and Secure Borders after 9-11 concerns.

Answer 5

The price of gas is more likely to cause an increase in prices of goods due to increased transportation costs. Trucking companies will more likely be able to recover their increased costs.

Answer 6

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