2012 - The End of the World? Or just the moving industry?

   Well 2012 is upon us now, sorry for not blogging in so long but I guess for the first time in my life I have been speechless.  Literally. This industry has left me in awe.. How can so many not see the death of an industry right around the corner? In the fourth grade I received a 'I Can't Keep My Mouth Shut' Award. My mother for some reason thought it was a good thing to save - I guess she made the point.    Well, here it is 2012 and never has the moving industry been in so much peril.  Drivers, the backbone of the industry are leaving by the hundreds every month and there isn't anyone to fill those empty positions.  For years guys 'jumped ship' from one company to another for various reasons - more home time, a little better percentage, whatever the reason they may have made a shift but now they aren't jumping ship - they are jumping overboard!  Drivers are (finally) figuring out the grass probably isn't greener on the other side.  There is one simple reason for that - just about EVERYONE has the same shitty rates.  Over the past several years more and more carriers are worried about nothing but tonnage.  Their profits are made by the high amount of tonnage they move.  That's great for them.  Only problem with that is that the drivers make the money for them and they have no care for costs to do the job.  We are doing work today in 2012 that guys wouldn't have touched in 1995 when fuel was less than a dollar a gallon.  What I still can't figure out is - How?? 
      How can we, as businesspeople, continue to do the same work for ridiculously less money?  Everything in the US revolves around the price of oil. EVERYTHING, except of course, the cost of getting your most precious household items moved.  How can that be?  When oil goes up so does the price of everything else.  Not only is fuel more expensive but your oil change, the food you buy, the clothes you wear, the help you hire, the motel you sleep in, everything.  Heck, even tolls have been skyrocketing out of control.  Yet, our rates go down.  The reason the carriers think they're doing so great is they have no overhead and no fluctuating costs.  On paper they are thriving.  Realistically I think they may be in for quite a surprise.
      It is only February and the military has already suspended the 70% rule for SIT.  This is good for the drivers but one has to stop and think why?  Why, in the middle of the winter, did they suspend the rule?  I'm not 100% sure, but my guess would be because they can't get the junk moved.  What?!?  There's a red flag right there - it's wintertime and you can't get tonnage moved? It should be obvious to SOMEONE that in all the days of the moving industry winter is notoriously slow - now you can't get guys to move it. Think about it, it's scary.  The shortage of qualified drivers is unthinkable.  When drivers leave this industry they certainly aren't returning and carrier's need to act now before it's too late.  I've been hearing ridiculous stories of "drivers" coming in to warehouses to pick up junk tonnage that have NO IDEA what they are doing.  Drivers loading 13000 off the dock, taking two days to do it!  Everything was out on the dock the first morning, the driver loaded some of it, then left the rest outside overnight and then the following day loaded the rest finishing at 5:00pm.  Another bozo with any empty trailer came in to RI with 13500 from San Diego and left a 4000 pound overflow!  These are obviously not furniture guys but they are driving trucks that have your name on them Mr Carrier!  Is this really the guys you want representing you?  If you're not careful it will be the ONLY guys you'll have left. Many of my friends are leaving this industry and the ones who aren't are either parked for the winter or refusing to go on the road unless it's clearly a decent linehaul.  I have done maybe 3 trips since October.  That's ridiculous.  But why would I want to go out on the road and spend money to make peanuts??  Another driver I know has a moving trailer parked at home and is running a flatbed! Just so he can make some money - the dispatcher doesn't even know. But can you blame a man for trying to feed his family??  Unfortunately these problems will probably only get worse...
   What happens when, yes I'm saying when, fuel is over $5.00/gallon EVERYWHERE??  They are already predicting gas to be over $4.25/gal by early April so fuel will certainly be $5.00 easy.  Drviers can't afford fuel now.  Drivers can't afford repairs, tires, heck I've met some drivers who couldn't afford to eat!  No BS - a guy was eating crackers and cheese on a Tuesday and his carrier/agent wouldn't send him any money until that Friday..  If it was me, their trailer would have been dropped in the Gulf of Mexico but that's me.  I truly hope that someone in these offices have some sort of plan for when fuel goes thruogh the roof because it IS going to happen and soon.  An Isrealli strike on Iran or an interuption of oil through the Strait of Hormuz will pole vault oil prices over the top and this industry nor this country is ready for this.  If they can't move tonnage now how will it happen when it costs more in fuel than the linehaul?? Any drivers that are still left out here need to take this to the offices where you are at and try to drive these points home.  They just don't get it or they just don't care.  Figure it out and decide if that's who you want to make rich because that's all your doing!  Take a stand household drivers who know what you are doing! WE ARE THE 1% in this industry! Except in this model the 1% is broke....  til next time