The Chicago Tribune Reports on Trucks and Truckers Taking a Hit in December

The Chicago Tribune, in this story, found an individual that fit the story they were about to write.

"I'm 42 years old," he says. "And what am I going to do? Give it up? No, you gotta go out and pay the bills. You gotta keep plugging at it. I don't foresee me ever retiring. My dad worked 'til the day he died and I foresee that being me."

At 42 years of age, this trucker has, according to The Trib,

"....decided to sell his 2-year-old $140,000 truck because the $2,000 monthly payments are killing him. To attract potential buyers (he) has had to steadily lower the asking price."

Most successful owner operators I know do not saddle themselves with such liabilities. To be profitable, one must keep overhead as low as possible. A truck 1/5 of that price, several years older would have done the job just as well. Mine does.

The Tribune further states,

"But going home with a profitable load is usually more difficult. Competition going north is so stiff that (he) sometimes barely breaks even or waits for days for better-paying loads. Time spent waiting is money lost because independents are not paid for sitting idle.

"Hopefully I will catch up one day here down the road," he says wistfully, early on a southern run as he steers through a clogged stretch of Interstate Highway 90 near Chicago."

The story leaves a blank in his trip southbound. It clearly states he unloaded in Walton, Ky.; and was soon in North Carolina, in a convoy of other trucks. Did he reload? More empty miles mean less revenue.

Apparently the adage, "Work smarter, not harder", was not practiced by this trucker? It is a well-known fact in trucking, and particularly to owner operators, Florida is not a place to get outbound freight. Most of it is agricultural in nature, and is highly competed for among truckers. Minnesota to Florida is not a good freight lane.

The added payments on a new Peterbilt, long nose truck, and a Great Dane refrigerated trailer is the perfect blueprint for failure, unless you already have contracts in place for freight and a savvy for business. And trucking is a business, not a hobby.

And according to this statement in The Tribune, he apparently did not have that savvy.

"Because he cannot afford health care, he relies on state-sponsored coverage for himself and his family. They are qualified to receive food stamps, but pride stops them from doing so. In his best year he earned $40,000, but last year he made only $9,000."

Maybe in Minnesota, but an individual capable of assets totaling perhaps $160,000 might have trouble elsewhere gaining assistance from state agencies.

"Much has gone wrong for him in the last few years, and he partly blames it on freight rates that have barely gone up while fuel and other costs have soared and eaten away at his profits.

He also has made some financial missteps, among them expecting tax write-offs for his rig to help his bottom line. Instead, he owes $15,000 in state and federal taxes."

In the original piece The Tribune published it showed a picture of this driver in the "chrome shop" in Wildwood, Fl ... Was his visit there wishful, or was he spending money he did not have? The Trib report leaves that open to wonder by those of us in the industry. Source -12

On May 15, 2006 a Waymore Transportation truck, with the license number, (4832W, Wisconsin), was placed out of service in Florida because the driver was in "possession, or use, of drugs". In accordance with part 392.4(A), Federal regulations.

This could have been simply a prescription bottle, without the proper label on it; I have no way of knowing.

In October 2006, a vehicle was inspected in California, bearing the same license number; it was operating under a newly issued operating authority, issued to this driver.

Is it not required the issuing agency do some sort of background check on the applicant? I do not know, but it begs to be answered.

This information is available at SafeStat online by entering two distinct DOT numbers, 621780 and 1522828 Source -9

The report does not state this driver was operating the vehicle, nor will I.

I bring all of this to light, not to target the driver in this story, rather to question the reporting of The Tribune. Facts need to be complete, rather than trying to make the article a "feel good" guilt trip kind of report. It appears The Tribune was attempting to fit an individual to the story they already had planned to publish.

The Tribune has, as did the Dallas Morning News and The New York Times, tainted all of the trucking industry by these reports. The fact that one individual has issues, personal, business, or otherwise is not indicative of the industry. And I resent being included in these horrific, worst of, situations. Neither I, nor hundreds of thousands of other drivers and owner operators fit in this category

.

Those that do will fail ... fail soon ... and fail miserably. And it will always be someone else's fault

.

The Tribune further reports,

"When did the dream of being a trucker turn sour?

It began after the government deregulated the industry in 1980, says Mike Belzer, a one-time Chicago trucker and now a Wayne State University professor and trucking industry expert. Ever since, he says, it has been a "race to the bottom."

Before 1980, nearly 9 out of 10 over-the-road drivers were union members, he says. Today, out of 10 carry a union card. That shift ushered in lower pay, fewer benefits and tougher working conditions."

Mr. Belzer, author of "Sweatshop On Wheels", is a well know supporter of unionized trucking, and in his book he did indeed focus on issues that should be addressed in trucking. But he also was known to sensationalize.

"Before 1980, nearly 9 out of 10 over-the-road drivers were union members,"

I would challenge his assertions, I have been driving since 1969, and I surely did not see such working situations in my travels.

"Out of an estimated 3.3 million truckers, about 1.3 million haul freight. Of these, about 350,000 are independent drivers. Most own their trucks but lease them to companies. Or, in this driver's case, they work for whoever has goods for them to carry.

Some Teamsters members earn as much as $70,000 yearly, and industry experts say the salaries of drivers for large, non-union fleets are close. Overall, the average pay is about $35,000 a year.

The average independent driver earns about $40,000 a year, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a Missouri-based group that represents about 140,000 drivers.

"But to make that $40,000, you've got to work about 120 hours" a week, says John Siebert, an official with the group."

These statements by Mr. Siebert are simply untrue.

I produce revenue in excess of those figures, and I seldom ever work in excess of 50 hours a week. There are exceptions to my hours, but they are rare. And done because I chose to, not because I was required to

.

The Tribune acknowledges the fact this driver was involved in operating his own authority at the time of their ride along. It seems a bit unusual that OOIDA was the agency that brought The Tribune and this driver together.

If OOIDA knows it to be the case that some owner operators have to work 120 hours a week, perhaps they should do something to correct it, instead of reporting from afar.

The Tribuen ends with this tidbit,

"(He) doesn't have time to kill. He rolls on to a warehouse west of Ft. Lauderdale, almost in the Everglades. He parks at the entrance to the warehouse, and just before 10 p.m. falls asleep in seconds.

By 5 a.m. he is already anxiously waiting for the warehouse to open. He has taken only one shower in four days and there's no place to wash up or go to the bathroom."

That is utter nonsense; personal hygiene is the same as personal responsibility. Either you participate, or you do not. Trucking can, at times, be a taxing endeavor, but I know of no situation where I have been unable to practice hygiene in a four day span. And this driver bypassed many truck stops along the way where showers were available.

The Capital Times, Madison, WI.

They begin the piece with comments about "independent drivers" (owner operators), and end it with comments about drivers. Source -10

"Dave Zweifel: Helping truckers would help us all

By Dave Zweifel, Dec. 15, 2006

A report in the Chicago Tribune last Sunday was a sobering look at the state of America's trucking industry.

It told of the pressures on drivers today because trucking is becoming more cutthroat under never-ending pressures to get goods delivered on time at the lowest possible cost.

Many independent drivers today don't get paid by the hour, but by the load, virtually forcing them to keep driving no matter how tired. Even so, many of the independents, those who drive their own trucks, earn as little as $8 an hour and have no insurance or pension plans."

Independent truckers seldom get an hourly wage. If they care to factor in an "hourly wage", then it needs to be negotiated in the freight rates they contract for.

"Worse, though, it has brought about more inexperienced drivers who because of lower pay have to push themselves to earn more. We've witnessed the results of some of that right on our own Beltline in recent years as speeding trucks have plowed into stalled traffic.

Rather than extending driving hours and finding other ways to push the burdens of the trucking industry onto the drivers, the federal government needs to be examining ways to help truckers earn decent livings without having to cut corners. The safety of our highways hangs in the balance."

It is like comparing apples to oranges.

Free enterprise dictates a contract, in which both parties, (one providing a product, the other providing a service), agree to a rate. If either party agrees to a rate that is either too low, or too high, then the suffering begins, either for the shipper, or the trucker.

Conclusion:

I purposely did not mention the drivers name on the DOT inspection reports, I do not know, in fact, this person was operating the vehicle at either time, but I do know it was the same vehicle.

Various other news agencies may see the reports from The Dallas Morning News, The Chicago Tribune and The New York Times as being the authoritative source for issues that plague the industry. And when these organizations publish such reports, it is picked up by news agencies around the world and reported as fact.

While there may be some facts involved, there is also a lot of conjecture. I, as an owner operator and many others, are happy, profitable, operate safely and do practice personal hygiene.

The Dallas Morning News articles dwell on local issues, but I will be suspect when I pass through Dallas. Should I make any miscalculation, have an encounter with an automobile, my fault or not, I will be labeled with the rock haulers of the area. Of which, I am not.

Thanks to The New York Times. I will be suspect by the motoring public each time they see an accident involving a tractor trailer. Though my operation is as legal as possible, and I am not driving while tired.

The Tribune has assured as I drive down the highway, the motoring public may comment amongst themselves, "Wonder when he last had a bath." ...

Monty Rhoades is a free lance writer for Truck.Net

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-061210truckers-story,1,3396591.story?coll=chi-news-hed

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0612100364dec10,1,4940415.story?page=1

http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/mcspa.asp

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/zweifel/index.php?ntid=111266