Quote:
Originally Posted by maus
Transporting items is a race to the bottom, the margin made on delivery is very small and ruthlessly competitive and it's been this way a long time. Trucking companies undercut each other to get the work for a big company and this is what results.
Smaller trucking companies prefer to have owner operators as employees, meaning they basically shifted their costs to the driver to avoid losing money and liabilities. Unfortunately, some of the truck drivers who sign up for these lease programs as subcontrators often do not understand that as an independent contractor they must put aside large amounts of money they earned for taxes, social security, insurance, truck repairs, fuel and so on. And after one costly accident or setback, it doesn't take long for the driver to figure out he is stuck in this truck lease contract.
Ultimately for the average truck driver, he would be better off as a company driver and not "owning" his leased rig as a subcontractor. No matter what the laws are in this regard, big companies find work arounds.
|
Having been in the trucking business before and after the Container hauling business went to $hit it wasn't "big companies" that drove it into the ground and then far below, it was O/O that started it and then the "family owned" companies jumped on the bandwagon low bidding each other. I am not overstating it at all when I say it
wasn't U.S. born and raised Owner/Operators that got the race to the bottom started and then accelerated it downward at full throttle until it's where it is today.
I worked for a middle eastern guy and his brothers who were part of the race to the bottom, they didn't maintain their trucks worth a damn, bid contracts that payed enough for THEM to drive but they chose to hire people and play "big trucking boss", not pay to fix things properly (I had a shifter come off in my hand one day while driving and they told me to "just stick it back in the floor and don't pull on it") and I had to race everyone to the bank to cash my check so it wouldn't bounce. I found out when you see a guy in a dress shirt,slacks and loafers get out of a filthy truck you KNOW who you're dealing with and to avoid.
There were many,many guys just like the ones I worked for who were playing the same game. I chose to leave and find better employment which I did...
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
