America has a massive truck driver shortage.

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

Funny, despite our different viewpoints we all seem to be in total agreement on this matter. Nice to find some common ground for a change.

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

 

[delldude]

Jesus.
Somehow I doubt some of the real problems that have been mentioned here experienced by these NON UNION drivers, don't make a 'blip' on the radar screen of Teamster Union Drivers !!!!!!!!!

Teamster Union Drivers (cue up the background angel music).

I regularly see O/O's, union and non riding the rumble strips to stay awake on I-80 and I-79.

Pushing the envelope to make a buck. That's scary....

They were crowing about this shortage over ten years ago...its on in the Av Mech and Pilot industries too.....

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/05/new...+rss%2Fmoney_latest+(CNNMoney%3A+Latest+News)

On Tuesday, the union announced that members voted more than 90% in favor of going on strike, if a deal is not reached before the current labor contract expires on August 1.

Would the government even let that happen?

One proposal on the negotiating table is to create a two-tier wage system that would take part-time workers who earn $15 an hour and make them full-time at the same wage. Existing full-time drivers now earn an average of $36 an hour, or roughly $75,000 a year.

Gotta love this part. IGM.

 

[T5towbar]

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/05/news/companies/ups-teamsters-negotiations/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_latest+(CNNMoney%3A+Latest+News)

On Tuesday, the union announced that members voted more than 90% in favor of going on strike, if a deal is not reached before the current labor contract expires on August 1.

Would the government even let that happen?

One proposal on the negotiating table is to create a two-tier wage system that would take part-time workers who earn $15 an hour and make them full-time at the same wage. Existing full-time drivers now earn an average of $36 an hour, or roughly $75,000 a year.

Gotta love this part. IGM.

Is this the city delivery drivers or the OTR drivers? I would think that the OTR guys get more since they drive Turnpike Doubles. Even so, it is hard to get into UPS anyway.
Typical IBT. You are right. Even on the loading dock it seems like a two tier system, and they will charge you full rate to get your Union Book.
IGM.

Meanwhile, I was watching baseball on my local cable system, and I saw that a local trucking company was seeking drivers. This company is a fleet, but it seems like a short-haul or LTL operation. (Their trucks have no sleepers - so it must be a 150 to 200 mile radius operation). I've seen them on the road quite a bit in my area. But you know what the kicker was............They will be getting the new Tesla tractors in 2019. WOW...........

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

Is this the city delivery drivers or the OTR drivers? I would think that the OTR guys get more since they drive Turnpike Doubles. Even so, it is hard to get into UPS anyway.

I honestly don't know about city vs OTR. The article only referenced full time vs part time.

One proposal on the negotiating table is to create a two-tier wage system that would take part-time workers who earn $15 an hour and make them full-time at the same wage. Existing full-time drivers now earn an average of $36 an hour, or roughly $75,000 a year.

Meanwhile, I was watching baseball on my local cable system, and I saw that a local trucking company was seeking drivers. This company is a fleet, but it seems like a short-haul or LTL operation. (Their trucks have no sleepers - so it must be a 150 to 200 mile radius operation). I've seen them on the road quite a bit in my area. But you know what the kicker was............They will be getting the new Tesla tractors in 2019. WOW...........

Why is that a kicker? The Telsa tractors were designed for short range hauls. Being electric vehicles they don't have the range for OTR.

https://futurism.com/tesla-semi-priced-150000/

Tesla's electric semi, the future-conscious company's newly unveiled big-rig truck, will have a $150,000 base price. Tesla's lowest-priced model should have a range of 300 miles per charge, with the long-range truck at 500 miles.

Given the data of the long range truck having a range of 500 miles it makes sense this truck would be desirable if they serviced a 200 mile radius. 200 there and 200 back (400 miles) with 100 miles to play with.

Perhaps I misunderstood your statement.

 

[T5towbar]

I didn't know that the Teslas was ready and certified for use for hauling by the DOT. WOW. The models of the trucks look like long distance models with sleepers (unless all that in the back contains the batteries - then it would make sense). I thought they (Tesla) had cash on hand issues.

Thanks for the clarification. 150K is not that much expensive than a fully outfitted Class 8 tractor. (nearly or at 100k, depending on spec)

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

The models of the trucks look like long distance models with sleepers (unless all that in the back contains the batteries - then it would make sense).

Maybe they are making accommodations for all those lot lizards, a VITAL part of the trucking industry.

I thought they (Tesla) had cash on hand issues.

They do.

They bought SolarCity, a solar power company for 2.6 Billion in 2016. That proved to be a costly mistake. SolarCity was subsidized by the state of New York for 750 million dollars. Remind you of anything (cough cough Solyndra). Subsidized sectors of business seem to be Elon Musk's specialty.

You will find every one of Elon Musk ventures are government subsidized. In fact he has another government subsidized failure in the works.

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/14/6199...d-high-speed-train-to-chicago-s-o-hare-airpor

The Boring Company (worst name ever) is separate from Tesla but uses Tesla Model X as a framework for the "skates".