if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.
The fact is the whole economy has been based on keeping wage levels as low as possible in the interests of ‘competitiveness’ and ‘profitability’ since the end of the 1970’s.Which is why it’s in the state it’s in now. 
there all buyin new motors now as the truck makers are likley too hike the prices next year when euro 6 comes in
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.
Do you really believe that all company owners go round to the main dealer and slap down cash for all the new lorries you see on the road?
The truck is on the drip the same as the driver.Hopefully it earns enough each week to pay the dealer,the fuel company,the driver and have enough left over for the tyres and breakdowns.
Gridley51:
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.Do you really believe that all company owners go round to the main dealer and slap down cash for all the new lorries you see on the road?
The truck is on the drip the same as the driver.Hopefully it earns enough each week to pay the dealer,the fuel company,the driver and have enough left over for the tyres and breakdowns.
What Gridley said.
Gridley51:
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.Do you really believe that all company owners go round to the main dealer and slap down cash for all the new lorries you see on the road?
The truck is on the drip the same as the driver.Hopefully it earns enough each week to pay the dealer,the fuel company,the driver and have enough left over for the tyres and breakdowns.
no i dont think they pay cash for there trucks but i know if ime finding it hard to make ends meet at home i dont go out and buy a new car on the knock i make do with what ive got,but if ime making good money i feel confident to stretch myself and buy somthing new,also no one is in buisness just to pay your wages there in it to make a profit or whats the point■■?
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.
Course it is…
If hauliers weren’t making a load of dosh why would they bother? Sadly, many drivers believe all the ■■■■ and are happy to work for poor money as a result. 
Unfortunately the days of running lorries for 15 years is fast disappearing, they get progressively more expensive to keep going after about 5 years, or 2 for certain makes, coupled with increasingly complex systems designed to force you into the main dealers clutches.
Daresay there as many operators out there would rather keep the good old lorries going just as those of us with proper older cars do, unfortunately they are being legislated off the road and the modern licence holder wouldn’t be seen dead in a 15 year old FL10 or Scani 113, even if £40k+ wages softened the shame of it.
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.
there’s a lot of new / expensive cars in the supermarket car parks, they could mostly afford to pay a bit more for the shopping, but why would they?
used to luv my old scanny 113 topline she was a top motor and would have her back anyday
i would imagine keeping older trucks is a false economy new trucks come with warrenty also newer trucks attract drivers (sad but true ) as for what an operator makes well as long as imm happy with my wages they can earn as much as they like i no if i where in business taking risks i would expect to be earning a decent amount
stevieboy308:
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.there’s a lot of new / expensive cars in the supermarket car parks, they could mostly afford to pay a bit more for the shopping, but why would they?
so you agree with the bosses then,they could pay you more more but why should they because your happy earning what you get??
…Then there’s the school of thought that says "I’d love to drive a new bit of kit at work. So much in fact that I’m happy to stay on burger-flipping wages as a result!
Time’s are hard for me. Not the accountants. Not the bankers. Not the haulage firm. Not senior drivers who’ve still managed to preserve their old T&Cs until retirement."
strongbowpeter:
stevieboy308:
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.there’s a lot of new / expensive cars in the supermarket car parks, they could mostly afford to pay a bit more for the shopping, but why would they?
so you agree with the bosses then,they could pay you more more but why should they because your happy earning what you get??
so you pay more for your shopping than the cashier asks for then?
it’s how supply and demand works fella
the people whose goods are in the back of the truck you’re driving, could pay more, but why would they?
ok so we will try a little quiz for the guys that think most companies are earning vast amounts of profit from their trucks, can you tell me how much each truck is earning per week before any deductions, you give me the figures and I will work out the profit so you can see how much they really make, this could be interesting 
strongbowpeter:
if times are so hard in haulage why are there so many new trucks on the road?or is it all bullpoo to pay the drivers less,afterall if you can afford 70k on new tractor unit you can afford to pay its driver a little bit more.
Because its cheaper to pay a finance company,than pay a for a fitter to repair the vehicle.Also the new vehicles are under warranty,and you should get less downtime with a new vehicle.
Go and do your managers CPC and learn about all the different costs involved in running a LGV vehicle !!!
wildfire:
ok so we will try a little quiz for the guys that think most companies are earning vast amounts of profit from their trucks, can you tell me how much each truck is earning per week before any deductions, you give me the figures and I will work out the profit so you can see how much they really make, this could be interesting
Simple…
I can’t, and don’t need to. Who in their right mind would continue to run a business that isn’t making any money? If you try that, you don’t survive very long at all. In fact unless you’re a banker, it’s pretty difficult to run any business for long that isn’t making a profit, unless you’re prepared to sub the business from other sources. Some hauliers pay good money and survive because the drivers are loyal and so are their customers. So it can be done. No one has said they make vast amounts of profit. Merely that they make a lot more than they’d have you believe. If you’re daft enough to fall for it.
Can I ask you how many haulage company owners do you know that live in a 2 up 2 down and run a ten year old Ford Fiesta? 
Most big companies will try the hardship crap every chance they get, Swifts tried it in the 80’s with the ten quid a week pay cut across the board sugestion, we all stood up and pointed out that to a driver who was about then on about 120 - 150 quid a week 10 quid was a lot, but to a director on about 49k a year it was naff all. Then they sugested the 10% cut, we had a meeting in which they threatened redundancies but we voted the idea out and not one person was made redundant, we all got the next pay rise and the company grew hugely.
My company pleads hardship but after everyone saying they will move to another company we got a rise in pay rates.
The large companies lease new trucks for highly discounted rates, mine actually owns the main dealership in the mid west.
I find the company I work for to actually be totally honest with pay rates etc, they keep us well informed, which is rare these days.
It’s not the hauliers fault he’s making money and can afford new cars etc.
The fact he’s still in business proves that he’s got drivers wiling to work for what he’s paying.
It’s likely he always will have drivers to work for what he’s paying aswell.
Lets take as a shining example the mighty Stobart empire.
Now if you watch the T.V. (on various programmes not just C5) you’ll have seen Tinklers horses and helicopter Willam Stobarts pimped £90k Range Rover and his Lambourghini.
Now nobody at Stobart seems bothered about that
Start a thread on here about Stobart wages half wil tell you it’s great money half will tell you it’s not worth getting out of bed for.
Clearly The unions and drivers at Stobart think that they are earning good money or they wouldn’t be there.
Drivers are fellow drivers worst eneimes.
You’ll bang on here about low wages and hauliers buying new trucks
But nothing will get done in 20 years time we’ll still be having the same discussion.
I would suggest thet wagon drivers are the one group of people who could actually bring the country to it’s knees
There are very few things that don’t make at least part of their journey by road.
If every wagon driver came out there would be hell on and the goverment couldn’t cover everything with Army and RAF drivers.
But they won’t look at the threads on here about strikes at Doncaster Tesco ect
Their are plenty of hauliers and drivers willing to scoop up the work.
So be grateful the boss is buying new wagons you might struggle to feed the wife and kids but at least your king of the road for a few days
Pat Hasler:
Most big companies will try the hardship crap every chance they get, Swifts tried it in the 80’s with the ten quid a week pay cut across the board sugestion, we all stood up and pointed out that to a driver who was about then on about 120 - 150 quid a week 10 quid was a lot, but to a director on about 49k a year it was naff all. Then they sugested the 10% cut, we had a meeting in which they threatened redundancies but we voted the idea out and not one person was made redundant, we all got the next pay rise and the company grew hugely.
So what happened to Swifts then?