There are a few problems with your assumption. While UPS may be somewhat efficient (we could debate their efficiency), not all drivers want to work as hard as some of the UPS drivers. I have seen some of those guys work. They always seem to be under the gun.

Another problem is that most businesses cannot afford to pay the rates it would require to model themselves after UPS. There are also not enough drivers to implement that sort of system. In addition, something such as UPS is not workable in most otr applications. UPS is not set up to efficiently do what the LTL and truckload segments do. They are primarily set up to handle parcels, not pallets and other types of heavier freight. And I am not convinced that UPS could get a load across the country any more efficiently or quickly than most other trucking companies.

 

Before I got into this industry 7 years ago, I was recruiting Engineers (Software, Mechanical, and Electrical) and IT Professionals for a major tech firm in the U.S. On any given day, I had in the neighborhood of 800 open requisitions that needed filled immediately and I was a successful recruiter. We would lose them as fast as I would hire them.

High turnover is everywhere and the term turnover is misleading, as well. Turnover includes terminationss as well as the standard churn. If you removed terminations from company turnover rates, you would be surprised at how low actual turnover is. In other words, why should Joe Loser who was fired from his job for drinking beer in his truck or having an accident or delivering late, be counted into turnover rate? The answer is, he shouldn't be counted...but he is. And there's a lot of Joe Loser's out there in any industry. But only in trucking is turnover looked at so closely.

 

Good point, TF...I know my company terminates lots of drivers for various reasons, mostly safety violations....

Seems to be very common among new drivers.... :shock:

 

I wish there was a way to break down the type of turnover in the industry. That would be something the ATA could tackle. It would give a much more accurate picture of the turnover rate.

 

[quote="Twilight Flyer"][quote]
I worked at a paper mill the turnover rate around 1 percent. 300 people and janitor was the lowest paid @ 27 Per hour and full benefits and pension.

The better the pay the lower the turnover rate.

In Trucking the higher the turnover rate the higher the pay.

 

If the pay was so great at the paper mill then why did you leave?

 

I have 0 years. Im happy to say that.

0 years OTR
NO DRIVING SCHOOL


I got a local job making around 40k-45k a year.

But thats right on here you guys say that cant be done. :roll:

 

I was hiring engineers at rates of $80K per year (right out of college) to upwards of $200K per year (usually a project manager), depending on the contract we were trying to fill. And they still left for competitors as fast as competitors lost their people to us. It was brutally cut-throat and we broke some laws to hire the people we needed.

But the point I am making is that it isn't all about money all the time. Every occupation is different with a different set of demons to overcome. Trucking is no different in that aspect than any other job.

 

Yes, it can be done. The whole "Have to pay your dues and go OTR for a year" is a myth.

Zero "OTR" experience
No truck driving school
Your not the only one

 

the place was 95 years old, they closed up in 2005. Got severed and pension