Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/675322
VOICES 4 | Overdrive | May 2016 Reader Thomas Lawson had this to say about National Transportation Institute Principal Gordon Klemp's analysis of driver wage growth – or lack thereof – since 1980: "And this is a surprise to whom?" Klemp's analysis showed that if mean driver pay in 1980 had risen in tandem with the common Consum- er Price Index's infl ation measure, drivers today would make more than $110,000 a year. Such isn't out of bounds for a particularly success- ful owner-operator, but that's far above the current truckload average pay, half that at about $55,000 in Klemp's analysis. Own- er-operator average net income topped $60,000 for 2015, based on averages of clients of fi nancial services provider ATBS. The long fall in pay is no secret, chronicled in a va- riety of ways, including in Overdrive's "Driver shortage alarm" February cover sto- ry. On Overdrive's Facebook page, Paul Bazydlo uttered a helpful LOL, along with his insight into the long- term fall in the value of a driver's work in the context of the last decade's worth of proclamations of a "driver shortage." "It has been and will be a wage shortage, not a driv- er shortage. It's not rocket science! Refresh my mem- ory, but what happened in trucking around 1980?" Answer: Reagan-era deregulation off ered some- thing of a tradeoff to the independents of the day. It brought greater freedom to gain operating authority and compete as a motor carrier. But it also resulted in what many called a "race to the bottom" on rates and, ultimately, driver pay. In Overdrive's recent re- porting on driver shortage claims and long-term wage trends, small fl eet owner Cline Everhart shared an anecdote that illustrates the issue. As prices for everything else continue to rise, he described a recent series of brokered loads as moving for "10-years-ago rates." Gary Carlisle, truck owner and manager of the Midland, Texas-based Agri-Empresa oil services fl eet, takes it back even further. "There are a lot of loads moving for 1980 freight rates" at this mo- ment, "much like what was happening in late 2008, early 2009. I am talking freight less than $1.25 a mile. Fuel may have gone down, but every other cost we have is still up and in some instances getting higher." Tough times, he adds, could be on the way. Some operators wel- comed recognition of the problem with pay. Noted one under the story about Klemp's analysis: "I'm glad Pay trend documentation strikes chord with readers Overdrive's February cover story investigated the recent history of trucking economists' documentation of a "driver shortage" and corresponding issues, finding lit- tle evidence of a long-term shortage where you'd expect to see it — better-than-average driver pay. Search "driv- er shortage alarm" at OverdriveOnline.com to read it if you missed it. Scan the QR for a related podcast in the Audio Mailbag series from Overdrive Radio: "From the driver wage shortage."