Thread: Big Trucking Wants Permanent Foreign Drivers

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Truckers helped by driver crunch, hurt by fuel
Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:20 AM ET



By Nick Carey

DAVENPORT, Iowa (Reuters) - Trucker Kevin Osbourn is struggling to keep up.

"I have so many loads to haul, sometimes they wait a day or two before I get to them," Osbourn said in the "Flying J" truck stop drivers' lounge in Davenport, Iowa, after introducing himself and asking if he could change channels to his favorite sport -- NASCAR racing.

"I only get home every two months," he said, slouching in front of the television. "But that's OK, business is good."

A burly man with a well-tended beard reminiscent of an American Civil War general, Osbourn is an owner-operator -- with his own truck and trailer for hire. On the road for 17 of his 37 years, he has been driving for Salt Lake City-based private truck company Advantage Transportation Inc. for the last year. The Vina, California, native is taking a break in Iowa, midway through hauling a load of wine from his home state to New Jersey.

Conversations with truckers like Osbourn along this stretch of Interstate 80 -- 2,900 miles of coast-to-coast highway from San Francisco to Teaneck, New Jersey -- appear to reinforce complaints of tight capacity due to increasing driver shortages for long-haul truck outfits like J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and Swift Transportation Co. Inc.

"The companies I haul for have a new load ready for me wherever I go," said owner-operator Richard Riedle, 31, who is hauling school notebooks from Louisville, Kentucky, to Seattle. Montana-based Riedle concurs with other drivers here that carriers minimize "deadheading" -- hauling empty trucks -- to maximize truck use.

Demand is strong, pushing wages up, but truckers say it's hard to survive, particularly because of high fuel prices.

SLOWDOWN, WHAT SLOWDOWN?

For trucking industry analysts, the state of the economy is paramount. Truck companies dominate the U.S. freight business with 2005 revenue of $623 billion, or 84 percent of the country's total, according to data from the American Trucking Associations. As they move so much freight, truck companies are also sensitive to economic ups and downs.

Investment bank Merrill Lynch on September 5 lowered its ratings on J.B. Hunt and Swift to "neutral" citing signs of a slowing U.S. economy. Credit Suisse cut Werner Enterprises Inc. and Knight Transportation Inc. to "neutral" on the same day for the same reason.

But truck drivers on I-80 in Iowa said they have seen no sign of a faltering economy.

"I don't know about the U.S. economy, but my economy is good," said Randy Frush, 51, an owner-operator from Iowa who hauls salad dressings to California from the Midwest and brings fresh vegetables back. "There is lots of work for good drivers."

Vince Barrett, who runs the "Flying J" in Davenport, said the truck stop handles 500 trucks daily, an increase from last year.

"We're not seeing a slowdown here," he said.

Transportation analyst Jon Langenfeld of R.W. Baird & Co. said truckers like Frush are busy more because of the driver shortage rather than what is happening in the economy.

Langenfeld has just lowered his price targets on J.B. Hunt, Knight, Swift, Werner and Heartland Express Inc., citing reports from truck industry contacts that peak season leading up to holidays in December is off to a slow start.

"The driver shortage should ebb and flow with the economy, but long-term it will be a big problem," Langenfeld said.

DRIVER SHORTAGE

According to a May 2005 study by Boston-based Global Insight for the American Trucking Associations, the industry is short 20,000 drivers. As the population ages, that shortage could hit 111,000 by 2014. Worst hit are truckload, or long-haul operators, which moved more than two-thirds of $610 billion in freight in 2003, according to ATA data.

Because many younger Americans are reluctant to spend long periods of time on the road, carriers court veteran drivers.

James Hill, 55, has 29 years experience, 25 of which have been spent as a trucker for Calgary, Alberta-based Trimac Group. Based out of Manning, South Carolina, Hill hauls mostly hazardous materials.

"With 29 years on the road, Trimac treats me well," he said, including good pay and assigning him preferred routes.

Carriers are being forced to raise wages to attract new drivers. J.B. Hunt Chief Executive Kirk Thompson recently said long-haul pay needs to "almost double" to boost hiring.

According to May 2005 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, truckers earned an annual average of $35,460.

Ash Shaw, 31, is currently employed by Contract Freighters Inc. of Joplin, Missouri. He said CFI gives him the best pay and treatment he has seen in nine years on the road.

"Trucker wages used to provide for a decent living, but it's much harder to get by nowadays," Shaw said.

Owner-operators like Randy Frush said rising fuel and equipment costs -- a new truck starts at around $100,000 -- have meant cutting back to survive.

Frush said unlike a company employee he cannot idle his engine to keep warm in the winter or provide air-conditioning in the summer, as his truck engine burns more than half a gallon of diesel an hour.

"I have to manage all costs," he said. "Otherwise, I'm out of business."



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This sounds like a ploy to allow foreigners to keep streaming in thru the NAFTA super highway. If we put up a wall, they have to find new legal routes of entry.

Just as I thought all along, they are making excuses to be able to hire cheap labor and put all the independant drivers and small trucking companies out of business.

My father was a truck driver for many years so I have one for ya. You know the toilet protectors that are in the bath rooms, The paper butt gaskets. My dad always called those Schneider driving hats. They always have hired the worst driver as they will work the cheapest.

I agree with American_Made as I have heard a lot from my brothers and my uncle. I do not recall which trucking company it is but one big hires drivers even though they have a criminal record as long is thier driving record is good. If they hire criminals then they will hire illegals as well.

Here's a link to that article:

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/ ... 090706.htm

I'm sending it to my friends who drive so as to remind them that No One is safe from sell-out.