It seems carriers havenโt clued in yet.ย ย
Recently at MATS and then at ExpoCam, there were literally hundreds of carriers looking to fill those unoccupied seats in their trucks.ย But when you analyze their draw cards, theyโre pretty much the same.ย In fact, while carriers need to be upping their game, theyโre looking to shave more from that new driver and even the ones already working for them.
Essentially, drivers wages havenโt changed much in the past thirty years.ย Certainly, the driverโs buying power has taken a major hit.ย Why is a man or woman going to put his life on the line daily, in a high pressure job, where he or she is disrespected by his employer, by the general public with whom he must interact safely constantly, by the shippers, by the receivers, by the various authoritative bodies checking his every move, being away from home, loved ones, families for weeks at a time, rarely seeing his own bed in a real home for a few pennies more than could be earned asking โwould you like fries with thatโ?
The carriers may have razor thin margins but collectively they can stop the cheap freight.ย They can refuse to haul it.ย If shippers couldnโt get their products to market, then theyโd figure that carriers have costs that must be met and a fair wage for their employees is worthy of a better look. ย
