Driver Shortage in the USA

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
61

Carryfast:

switchlogic:

Carryfast:

RB84:
I would hazard a guess that the big ole expanse of water between the UK AND USA/Canada is the main spanner in the works of making it worth while taking a vehicle over :wink:

It wasn’t that which stopped me.It was the two problems that the shipping lines won’t match ro ro rates for a truck with container rates :

Why would they match prices though? Carrying an artic involves more work, more space and more man power than a container. And let face it no one is mad enough to think the idea of sending accompanied freight across the Atlantic makes any sense! Why waste money and space on a tractor unit that will spend 90% of its time on a boat?

How does driving a truck onto/off a ro ro deck involve more work or manpower than moving and unloading a container from a truck or train then loading it onto a ship then unloading it at the other end and dropping it onto a truck/train when all those operations have to be paid for ?.Also doesn’t require dockside space for storage while switching between modes.While in this case the deck crews involved on the ro ro decks are already there being paid for so might as well make use of them.While around just a week at sea each way isn’t anywhere close to 90% of a decent Euro-North American return run more like 30%.While in most cases it’s not a case of driver accompanied.Just driver ( me ) collected on landing.Which seems to be confirmed by the answer which I was given which wasn’t that it couldn’t be done.It’s that it ‘could’ foreseeably work too well,from the customers’ point of view and thereby had the potential to create an ‘inbalance’ in the North Atlantic container v ro ro market.Especially in the case of the combined ro ro/container shipping operations which offered the most ideal shortest crossing route ( Halifax ).IE they were worried about shifting too much demand from their container capacity onto their ro ro decks capacity.While my pleas that it’s only one bleedin owner driver operation and will stay that way,not a new division of Ferrymasters,didn’t make any difference to that mistaken perception. :unamused: :laughing:

Still living in that fantasy land where everything is a big conspiracy I see Carryfast. Do you really not see how ridiculous this all sounds? You couldn’t even get a job doing European work when it was at its height yet you thought you could run and make money as an owner driver doing UK - USA? You really are so hilariously bonkers it’s almost charming. Almost… :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

These are the sort of fantasies I had as a trucking obsessed teen. You seem not to have ever grown out of them

62

Pat Hasler:

newmercman:
Take truckstops, when I first started over here ten years ago, you had a choice of menu items freshly cooked and a buffet, it wasn’t fine dining, but you got a decent feed. Now it’s hard to find a sit down meal, the restaurants have gone and been replaced by fast food joints. Worst of the lot being Subway, who the [zb] wants to work a 14hr day on a poxy sandwich! Another downside apart from nutrition is that drivers now often leave their truck on the fuel pumps while they grab a sandwich or burger and cause line ups as drivers have to wait to get fuel.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

Gotta agree with that, Pilot for instance seem to buy out old smaller truckstops and strip out the sit down diner to replace them with fast food places.

The only American chain I really like eating in is Dennys for breakfast. To my friends annoyance I’m a bit obsessed with Dennys and if we see one he knows that’s where we are eating. I’d love a chain doing breakfast 24 hours a day in UK, which may be happening as Dennys have opened their first UK restaurant in Swansea, can’t wait to try it!

Oh and In-N-Out burger, though there arent many of them alas

63

switchlogic:
Still living in that fantasy land where everything is a big conspiracy I see Carryfast. Do you really not see how ridiculous this all sounds? You couldn’t even get a job doing European work when it was at its height yet you thought you could run and make money as an owner driver doing UK - USA? You really are so hilariously bonkers it’s almost charming. Almost… :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

These are the sort of fantasies I had as a trucking obsessed teen. You seem not to have ever grown out of them

No more fantasy than that which the first M/E and later Russo Asian pioneers applied in getting those routes up and running.It was all very real from my dealings with the relevant North American authorities to negotiating with shippers.With what I’ve said being their answer at the end of the day as to why they wouldn’t/couldn’t offer a workable ro ro rate and certainly no conspiracy. :unamused:

64

Rob, we have Costco here, their meat is still crap as it’s sourced from the same suppliers as the rest of the grocers. I agree about the high street and that’s where I always shopped in the past, we had an award winning butcher near where we lived in Britain and that’s where we bought out meat. Over here we go one better and buy an animal, raise it naturally at a friend’s farm, murder it, peel it, take out all the smelly snotty parts and take the rest to a butcher to be, well, butchered. For bread we go to the supermarket and buy the stuff baked in-house. Fruit and veg is from the supermarket, organic if possible.

When I go trucking I take my own food and cook it fresh, I’ve got a fridge/freezer, grill, toaster oven, slow cooker and microwave in the truck, I just vacuum bag a bunch of ingredients at home and knock up a gastronomic delight when I fancy eating. I use china plates and proper knives and forks and eat exactly the same type of meals I would if I was at home, I’ve even got a Starbucks espresso machine to make my coffee.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

65

newmercman:
I use china plates and proper knives and forks and eat exactly the same type of meals I would if I was at home, I’ve even got a Starbucks espresso machine to make my coffee.

Glad to hear It! One of my pet hates is on a lot of American YouTube truckers videos that cover cooking everything they use is disposable, plastic knives, forks, paper plates and some even plastic cups! The world is going to hell in a environmental handcart and these f*****S are throwing away a mountain of crap every time they eat!

66

Carryfast:

switchlogic:
Still living in that fantasy land where everything is a big conspiracy I see Carryfast. Do you really not see how ridiculous this all sounds? You couldn’t even get a job doing European work when it was at its height yet you thought you could run and make money as an owner driver doing UK - USA? You really are so hilariously bonkers it’s almost charming. Almost… :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

These are the sort of fantasies I had as a trucking obsessed teen. You seem not to have ever grown out of them

No more fantasy than that which the first M/E and later Russo Asian pioneers applied in getting those routes up and running.It was all very real from my dealings with the relevant North American authorities to negotiating with shippers.With what I’ve said being their answer at the end of the day as to why they wouldn’t/couldn’t offer a workable ro ro rate and certainly no conspiracy. :unamused:

:unamused:

67

I gave up listening to Carryfast. I guy delivered to in London said it cost him less to have a box shipped from China to Tilbury than it cost him to have the same box taken 30 miles by road to his warehouse from the docks. Why would I even entertain the idea of using a owner driver to ship stuff over the water when I can get a box for peanuts…

68

newmercman:
So do you think that things are picking up as well as not enough new drivers entering the industry? Trump planned to bring jobs back to America, so more stuff needs to be hauled to supply the jobs themselves and as more people are in work, they have money to spend on stuff that also needs hauling.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

Not really Mark, if I was on 80,000 quid a year back in the UK I would be rolling in it, I still struggle to stay ahead of household bills etc. We do go back to the UK every 18 months to 2 years and that’s a very expensive trip, 4 adult tickets round trip, 2 weeks car rental, the cottage we rent and the cost of groceries and entertaining ourselves. We can’t really afford to take any other vacation except a long weekend at the ocean. When I lived in the UK we were always off on some trip somewhere, we would take at least 3 holidays away in France or Jersey, I notice all my friends back there still taking those holidays and saying they can’t afford to fly over to visit me, I get really annoyed when a close friend or family member says they can’t afford it but then they are off to the Med, the Canaries three times a year :frowning:
The cost of living here is way over the top.

69

Radar19:
I gave up listening to Carryfast. I guy delivered to in London said it cost him less to have a box shipped from China to Tilbury than it cost him to have the same box taken 30 miles by road to his warehouse from the docks. Why would I even entertain the idea of using a owner driver to ship stuff over the water when I can get a box for peanuts…

There are many hundreds of members on this forum, Carryfast remains the only member I have on my blocked list, he has no idea what he is talking about 99% of the time :laughing:

70

Carryfast:

switchlogic:
Still living in that fantasy land where everything is a big conspiracy I see Carryfast.

No more fantasy than that which the first M/E and later Russo Asian pioneers applied in getting those routes up and running.

Except they succeeded and became legends of the road haulage industry and you failed at that and almost everything else it would seem. :unamused:
You didn’t even make it across the English Channel with a truck, so heaven knows what made you think you’d get across the Atlantic. :laughing:

71

Pat Hasler:

newmercman:
So do you think that things are picking up as well as not enough new drivers entering the industry? Trump planned to bring jobs back to America, so more stuff needs to be hauled to supply the jobs themselves and as more people are in work, they have money to spend on stuff that also needs hauling.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

Not really Mark, if I was on 80,000 quid a year back in the UK I would be rolling in it, I still struggle to stay ahead of household bills etc. We do go back to the UK every 18 months to 2 years and that’s a very expensive trip, 4 adult tickets round trip, 2 weeks car rental, the cottage we rent and the cost of groceries and entertaining ourselves. We can’t really afford to take any other vacation except a long weekend at the ocean. When I lived in the UK we were always off on some trip somewhere, we would take at least 3 holidays away in France or Jersey, I notice all my friends back there still taking those holidays and saying they can’t afford to fly over to visit me, I get really annoyed when a close friend or family member says they can’t afford it but then they are off to the Med, the Canaries three times a year :frowning:
The cost of living here is way over the top.

Same here Pat, I earn more per truck here, but I have less trucks, so I had more money going in the bank when I was in England, I could get more trucks here, where I work have asked me to put more trucks on, but there is a shortage of decent drivers, I had one all lined up recently, but he turned out to be a messer, so I’ve pretty much given up on the idea now. I may even move away from where I am now, sell my other truck to my driver and just stick to one doing something different.

Holidays have been a problem lately due to circumstances, we went back to England for a fortnight twice last year for funerals, so the piggy bank took a proper hiding and didn’t have anything in it for a couple of weeks in the sun. Before I came out here I was like Alan Whicker, long weekends at my Mum and Dad’s place in Spain, a US trip every February (alternating between NYC and Vegas) a week in a friend’s appartment on the west coast of Majorca for my birthday in April and two weeks in the sun in September. Couldn’t afford to do that now, even though I can take time off whenever I want.

Luke, I hate plastic waste with a passion, it’s so irresponsible. Anything I do have to use in the truck, water, milk, oil and screenwash bottles etc gets brought home and goes into the recycling bin.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

72

Radar19:
I gave up listening to Carryfast. I guy delivered to in London said it cost him less to have a box shipped from China to Tilbury than it cost him to have the same box taken 30 miles by road to his warehouse from the docks. Why would I even entertain the idea of using a owner driver to ship stuff over the water when I can get a box for peanuts…

Exactly. Even on the Irish Sea unaccompanied makes up a huge amount of the trailers simply because it’s way way more cost effective on that length of crossing and that’s only 3 and a half hours. Same goes for Scandinavia where vast vast majority of trailers are shipped unaccompanied so why he thinks his way is cost effective is beyond me. In this world if there is money to be made at anything these days you can guarantee someone has tried it.

73

newmercman:
I could get more trucks here, where I work have asked me to put more trucks on, but there is a shortage of decent drivers, I had one all lined up recently, but he turned out to be a messer, so I’ve pretty much given up on the idea now. I may even move away from where I am now, sell my other truck to my driver and just stick to one doing something different.

I’ll come work for you :wink:

74

Luke, I would give you a job in a heartbeat. Even to the point that I would go through the immigration process in order to do so, but I don’t think the work I do would excite you.

If you can remember back to when I was running the US, well it’s nothing like that, almost a trunk run now, it pays well and my driver is home almost every weekend, but it isn’t exciting, unless you count holding on for dear life trying to stay out of the ditch for the 5months of winter as exciting. To be completely honest I would never do it as a job, but business is business so I suffer in silence, I’m sure there will come a point where I say ■■■■ the money and go and do something else, but for now I’m shackled to the job by golden handcuffs.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

75

Radar19:
I gave up listening to Carryfast. I guy delivered to in London said it cost him less to have a box shipped from China to Tilbury than it cost him to have the same box taken 30 miles by road to his warehouse from the docks. Why would I even entertain the idea of using a owner driver to ship stuff over the water when I can get a box for peanuts…

It’s around $ 1,000 minimum to ship a ‘20ft’ box between Liverpool-NY and around three times as much to ship a truck ro ro Liverpool-Halifax.Bearing in mind the difference in payload capacity.As I said not a massive difference to negotiate down sufficiently to make it easily viable.While even at 3x the rate it’s a close run thing.But they can’t/won’t reduce the rate enough because of the reasons at least which I was given even though they could. :unamused:

76

muckles:

Carryfast:

switchlogic:
Still living in that fantasy land where everything is a big conspiracy I see Carryfast.

No more fantasy than that which the first M/E and later Russo Asian pioneers applied in getting those routes up and running.

Except they succeeded and became legends of the road haulage industry and you failed at that and almost everything else it would seem. :unamused:
You didn’t even make it across the English Channel with a truck, so heaven knows what made you think you’d get across the Atlantic. :laughing:

:smiley: :smiley: :laughing: :laughing: I guess the allure of Burger and fries was much more appealing than a Camion stew or a bit of escargot!
The thing is with euro and middle east work even with customs and ferry crossing delays the lorries could still be working and possibly doing multi drops or further collections while driving overland pretty much from the get go. Not instantly sitting idle for a week.

77

muckles:

Carryfast:
No more fantasy than that which the first M/E and later Russo Asian pioneers applied in getting those routes up and running.

Except they succeeded and became legends of the road haulage industry and you failed at that and almost everything else it would seem. :unamused:
You didn’t even make it across the English Channel with a truck, so heaven knows what made you think you’d get across the Atlantic. :laughing:

The difference is I failed at doing something ( a lot ) more ( bureaucratically ) difficult if not effectively impossible but ironically just trying was interesting and I learn’t a lot about the limits of international road transport legislation and politics doing it. :bulb: :wink: As for cossing the Channel it’s no more difficult putting a truck on a trans Atlantic ro ro than a cross channel one.

78

RB84:
The thing is with euro and middle east work even with customs and ferry crossing delays the lorries could still be working and possibly doing multi drops

Blimey UK - Saudi and multi drops in every country to the Turkish border.Look on the bright side at least they all recognised a UK truck MOT certificate and O licence even if the paperwork and sealing of the load would have been as complicated as hell. :open_mouth: :laughing:

79

The thing you seem to be missing Carryfast is volume, a medium size container ship will carry 5,000 TEUs, to get 5,000 accompanied trailers on a boat the first one on deck would be halfway across the Atlantic already, if you’re talking about a Panamax container ship, the amount of TEUs it can carry converted into accompanied trailers, it would be that long it would almost be a bridge across the Atlantic.

Containers stack 11 deep in the holds and 9 deep on deck.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

80

newmercman:
Luke, I would give you a job in a heartbeat. Even to the point that I would go through the immigration process in order to do so, but I don’t think the work I do would excite you.

If you can remember back to when I was running the US, well it’s nothing like that, almost a trunk run now, it pays well and my driver is home almost every weekend, but it isn’t exciting, unless you count holding on for dear life trying to stay out of the ditch for the 5months of winter as exciting. To be completely honest I would never do it as a job, but business is business so I suffer in silence, I’m sure there will come a point where I say [zb] the money and go and do something else, but for now I’m shackled to the job by golden handcuffs.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

Ah that’s a shame, I thought you were still running across Canada and the US. Youre right, regular trunk style work does my noodle in, I couldn’t even hack the Tesco work at Bull! Canada is still an option I’m considering for the short to medium term