Trucking

Blogging is a major phenomenon on the world wide web. Everyone from actors (William Shatner) and politicians (Bush, Kerry) to the guy next door has a blog. Political bloggers are being invited to the Democratic National Convention as journalists. There are industry specific blogs, news blogs, political blogs, personal blogs, blogs about anything and everything. Blogging is huge.
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US News Article | Reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday threw out federal regulations that allowed truck drivers to be on the road longer without taking a break, ruling the government failed to consider the impact on drivers’ health.

“We hold that the final rule is arbitrary and capricious because the agency neglected to consider a statutorily mandated factor - the impact of the rule on the health of drivers,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said.

The court sent the rules back to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for reconsideration.

So, now what?
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In between all the stats, there are three points that show age does matter. This is from Jim York’s June column in Fleetowner mag.

Older but wiser - Fleetowner.com

…the majority (62.7%)) of drivers are under age 46. However, that demographic changed during 1999-2001. The number of younger drivers (under 46) declined from 65.2% in 1999 to 62.7% in 2001.

Younger drivers start at 46? And that number declined. We have a bunch of ‘old farts’ driving around.
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At least companies are looking good. Read that first line a couple of times and let it sink in.

Looking good - From Fleetowner.com

Despite a tight labor market and higher fuel costs, most Truckload and LTL carriers showed remarkably higher profits for the first quarter.

Did you get that? Despite a “driver shortage” and higher fuel costs, (most) everyone’s making money!
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A good article from Milwaukee.

JS Online: Truck drivers needed all over

Trucking companies in Wisconsin and nationwide again are struggling to fill their rigs with drivers amid an expanding economy and strong demand for shipping.

That sounds reasonable enough from what we’ve been hearing. The answer to the problem is in the same article.
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This from Schneider National

Schneider National Announces a $5,000 Sign-on Bonus

North America’s largest truckload carrier, announced today it will offer a $5,000 sign-on bonus for experienced drivers and owner operators. Experienced new hires and owner operators will receive $1,400 after orientation and $300 each month for 12 months.

It’s a start, but not enough. They are saying that they want experienced drivers and owner ops. Freight is good now and they want a short term solution. They offer this signon bonus, but their rates are still ridiculously low.
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