Paving job.

Spook

Well-known Member
Looking at paving the parking lot at my wife's shop. The numbers were a bit higher than I thought but not too bad. What did surprise me was that the owner of the company told me that he was having trouble hiring and keeping workers. He has been paying $20 per hour, other companies have hired his guys away by offering $25, plus hiring bonuses of $2,000!! The need is for guys with a CDL, with air brakes. I'd heard of shortages of some trades, especially electricians and plumbers, but not drivers.
 
we just had a company expand and they're having trouble hiring because no one can pass a drug screening
 
(quoted from post at 16:55:35 10/01/15) we just had a company expand and they're having trouble hiring because no one can pass a drug screening

I'm retired, and I'm not sure I know anybody without drugs in their system!! :shock:
 
Just read today that the trucking industry is nearly 50,000 drivers short with a huge percentage of the
ones they have being over 45 years old. And that is just over the road truck load carriers. They
estimated 120,000 more drivers will be needed by 2020 than will be available. This is the reason for the
push for larger and heavier trucks so the same number of drivers will do more work.
 

Yep, and and a lot of us got out when they de-regulated and will not get back in a truck for what most pay these days.

I have talked with drivers that deliver to us and the pay/benefit structure is not much better than we had in 1980.
 
Paving has or the raw material has actually dropped here the last month. Price of oil going down affected the asphalt. Had go so high that most folks were going with concrete on drive ways for the last year or so. Get a good base before you pave.
 
Awww, poor trucking companies can't find
any good help.......maybe they shouldn't
have screwed so many of us around for the
last 20yrs or so. I still have my truck,
can't seem to bring myself to letting it
go.....doubtful it'll ever haul a load
again either.
 
Our government at work for your tax dollars! I know two guys that did the same. One of them used to drive satillites to canaveral for years. Another had his own dump truck company. He has one left and does little odd jobs now.
 
People can complain about pay all they want.
That will work itself out due to supply and demand.

The big thing now is all the regulations and added bull you have to put up with.
You drive a company truck that you have no control over the maintenance; get stopped for a tail light out; and while the company may pay the ticket; the points go against your drivers license.
Even the physical demands are getting worse. Heck they are talking about sending all of us for sleep study test now.
 
Yeah. A friend of mine drives a ready mix truck. He was recently loaded and headed to a job site when the brakes failed as he was approaching a stop sign on a gravel road. That will wake you up.

When he hit the brakes, he heard a "bang". The diaphragm blew out on one of the rear wheels. He clamped the air line with a pair of vice grips so he at least had partial brakes. Then after he was unloaded, he had to fix it himself before he could go on the road again.

You have to wonder what kind of maintenance records the company has on its trucks.
 
Here in The northwest Iowa farming community it's getting hard to find drivers for any kind of truck. So many applicants don't have a clean enough record to get past the insurance company. The feed truck company my son is part owner of leases feed trailers out to owner operators only and his company brokers the loads. He and his company partner are not hiring a driver to drive a company truck. If they can even find a qualified driver they don't want to hassle the red tape and undependability involved with hiring drivers. Their company more or less guarantees the feed mills a certain amount of tons will be hauled for that mill per week. An owner operator pulling one of their trailers is more likely to show up every day because he has to face the banker who loaned him the money to buy his truck. You owner operators know how much it costs per year to run that truck and you know what it feels like to talk to the banker. Nuff said.
 
With all of the new regulations since 2010 and a DOT cop around every corner, it is a wonder that ,ore drivers haven't quit. I am so happy to be retired from it that I could sit here and pee my pants just thinking about it.

One thing to correct - the poster that said that a taillight goes against your driver's license was only partially correct. There are no violation points as we know them for a moving violation. Rather, every contact with law enforcement goes on the driver's as well as the carrier's record. Upon reaching a predetermined amount of occurrences, an intervention takes place for the carrier. The driver simply becomes eventually unemployable. So, the poor driver is caught in the middle of the tug-of-war. If the driver refuses to take a truck out with any violations on it (like a marker light out or something similarly minor), the carrier will try to coerce him to go anyways. If he refuses, he gets "blacklisted" as a trouble maker or whistle blower. If he does go out, he potentially adds to the list of things that will eventually make him unemployable. It becomes a no-win situation for all involved. Even good drivers with spotless records could eventually be nitpicked into looking like they are high risk. This will eventually lead to drivers quitting to find other ways to make a living. The regulators are making it nearly impossible for the drivers as well as the carriers. Granted, there are bad drivers out there, and plenty of them. There are also carriers that should have been put out of business long ago.

Once again, there are no words to express how happy I am that I will not have to get behind the wheel of a big truck again - EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I saw an ad for over the road drivers the other day, offering TOP PAY, GOOD HOME TIME, .36 per mile. I made a little over a dollar a mile last year and slept in my bed every night,and I drive a company truck. A driver job has to pay around 45,000.00 a year to start around here.
 
My brother had CDL for his tandem grain trucks. After he was retired, other farmers wanted to hire him because they could not get help with a CDL. He could be busy every day if he wanted to. He was driving for his tenant, but told them he had to take time off to help our nephew who is recovering from major cancer surgery. He'll be busy there until he comes to AZ for the winter.
 
So you have to have a CDL to drive grain trucks? In Indiana if it has farm plates and hauling a crop...no fertilizer or stone.. you do not need one.And also you only have to plate the rig for its empty weight.
 
This is only true if you own the truck, own the load, and are listed as an owner of the farm that owns the truck. If a driver does not meet one of these, a CDL is required. If you read the CDL manual in black and white, all for hire driving requires a CDL, even if driving a car for pay.
 
Aside from the commercial heavy/highway contractors, much of that industry has been a gypsy business for as long as I can recall, and I have a friend who owns a large paving company, many of the smaller outfits have high turn over rates, for whatever reason.
 
Actually I think a shortage is good for the country. It means that we may be finally getting back to a economy where the average guy can make a living.
 
The trucking industry has been short of drivers for years. This is nothing new. One of the big problems is finding long term drivers who are willing to go OTR. Seems our schools systems have not only taught our children that they are entitled to everything but that every job should pay 60K or better a year, they should never have to get dirty or break a sweat.

SIL drives OTR hauling Hazmat. His company fixes everything right now! He isn't allowed to even change a light bulb. He has to call whatever in then either take it in someplace or they will send out someone on site. So all companies are not running junk and short changing repairs.

As far as pay goes I have to question a buck a mile. At 70 MPH that's 70 bucks and hour. Not trying to be mean here but NASA taught a chimp to fly a rocket ship for a couple of lemon drops!

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 11:08:28 10/02/15) The trucking industry has been short of drivers for years. This is nothing new. One of the big problems is finding long term drivers who are willing to go OTR. Seems our schools systems have not only taught our children that they are entitled to everything but that every job should pay 60K or better a year, they should never have to get dirty or break a sweat.

SIL drives OTR hauling Hazmat. His company fixes everything right now! He isn't allowed to even change a light bulb. He has to call whatever in then either take it in someplace or they will send out someone on site. So all companies are not running junk and short changing repairs.

As far as pay goes I have to question a buck a mile. At 70 MPH that's 70 bucks and hour. Not trying to be mean here but NASA taught a chimp to fly a rocket ship for a couple of lemon drops!

Rick

That chimp didn't get to go home either.... 8)
 

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