Tractor Shortages

[Steppenwolfe]

I just watch a video where the host said there were no shortages.

He obviously is full of it.

He must be a hoarder!!!

 

[can do]

We are all looking at tougher times ahead. I think the economy has been changed forever and is only going to get worse.
Just look at all the things these new governments and the people that voted for them are trying to do.

No more combustion engines, no more fuels, no more cattle or real meat, more taxes, higher food costs. Heck they are so awesome they are even going to change the climate cycle by charging you more tax! LOL

One that really makes me laugh is every time I hear on the news about the supply change shortages being partly caused by the shortage of truckers.
There is no shortage of truckers, just a shortage becuase of truckers that have got out of the industry (like I have after being a driver and an owner for 37 years) because nobody wants to pay, over regulation to the point you are treated like a criminal, and all the "new" drivers they are importing that are making a trip down the highway a suicide mission now.

Hey Paystar ! Only those who have done it & had the discipline to do it for that long know ! I myself did it 44 years & did achieve my goals , & You couldn't pay me enough to get out on the road again! It's great to be retired. & I dare not speak my mind on any open forum. So I'm just going to enjoy the remainder of the short side of life as much as I can & exercise my rights & thank God for what I have . Merry Christmas to You & your family & the TBN family.

 

[DonaldP]

I just ran into some shortages getting parts for our old John Deere, and like a lot of us, it got me to wondering where this is going to lead.
Right now the shortages are novel, but becoming more of a problem every day. That makes now a good time to discuss things.

Some might say politics was a cause, but I think that was minor. Historically, the world has always had diverse politics and decent trade going along at the same time in spite of each other.

In my mind the big trigger for the shortages was the worldwide pandemic. It took a pandemic to show us just how fragile world's modern manufacturing and distribution system really is.

Right now I'm wondering if this really is just a problem just for a few years and then back to normal..... or will the shortages create a whole different world? And what would a different world trade look like for tractor owners?
rScotty

I agree ... It is Fragile, and its very productive... JIT (just in Time delivery and manufacturing) has decreased cost... mostly due to warehousing and Interest on Inventory costs being lowered. But we have to ask ourselves if that initial savings was actually passed onto the consumer or held close to the vest of company owners like GM, Ford, GE, and the hundreds of thousands of other suppliers and manufacturers out there... it may have hit in their share price, the Stock market seems like its purchased a ride into space with Shatner and the rest of the folks out there chasing non-reality and "making it so".

It just seems to me that the consumer was bound to take the hit on both side of the equation... we didn't see a savings on the cost of vehicles when all the manufactures no longer had to buy 230,000 Transmissions at a pop... and store them all inside, out of the weather, until they were ready to be installed. nope.

And we won't see a savings on this side either, when that same system takes it on the ear due to supply issues, and ends up causing shortages that can only be remedied by the basic principal of "Supply and Demand". Yes... demand and little supply creates massive price hikes. Look at lumber last year.

So it us all the way. we are the end that takes the hit for everything.

I'm not saying we need to regulate business. Maybe what we need to do is to regulate is our desire for more. But, how do we do that when a windfall due to a sellers market could make anything that we want more viable?

It's difficult to be a consumer today, in this world. Its like playing chess blind folded, and they change the rules after each move and fail to tell anyone.

 

[DonaldP]

Hey Paystar ! Only those who have done it & had the discipline to do it for that long know ! I myself did it 44 years & did achieve my goals , & You couldn't pay me enough to get out on the road again! It's great to be retired. & I dare not speak my mind on any open forum. So I'm just going to enjoy the remainder of the short side of life as much as I can & exercise my rights & thank God for what I have . Merry Christmas to You & your family & the TBN family.

There is rarely a month that goes by that there isn't an accident that I know comes from an inexperienced truck or bus driver (unlike you!) on the road. yet the average American driver still acts and reacts as though the truck drivers out there know what's going on. The truth is, most of them may think their 200 hours of on the road experience will get or keep them out of trouble in an emergency that they probably have no idea will happen to them in the next 15 seconds, and they have no idea how to prevent something they cant even imagine.

Some of them are as scared as 17 year old's at the wheel on their initial driving test, and those are the safe ones that respect the fact that anything can happen at any time.

Then you have the 200 hour "experienced" folks that know everything about everything and everyone... including the drugged up driver that can turn into you head on in a flash... and the mom on her way home that looses control in the rain because she's worked a double shift and she's got to get the kids off to school as soon as she gets there...

Life is incredible in many ways, and we may not be able to appreciate the magic of waking up to a another beautiful day at 65 years old because of some newbie thinking he or she knows it all after 200 hours. Believe me, I would be much happier to be on the road with you than anyone else out there. Thank you too for your service to our country !! It matters.

 

[can do]

There is rarely a month that goes by that there isn't an accident that I know comes from an inexperienced truck or bus driver (unlike you!) on the road. yet the average American driver still acts and reacts as though the truck drivers out there know what's going on. The truth is, most of them may think their 200 hours of on the road experience will get or keep them out of trouble in an emergency that they probably have no idea will happen to them in the next 15 seconds, and they have no idea how to prevent something they cant even imagine.

Some of them are as scared as 17 year old's at the wheel on their initial driving test, and those are the safe ones that respect the fact that anything can happen at any time.

Then you have the 200 hour "experienced" folks that know everything about everything and everyone... including the drugged up driver that can turn into you head on in a flash... and the mom on her way home that looses control in the rain because she's worked a double shift and she's got to get the kids off to school as soon as she gets there...

Life is incredible in many ways, and we may not be able to appreciate the magic of waking up to a another beautiful day at 65 years old because of some newbie thinking he or she knows it all after 200 hours. Believe me, I would be much happier to be on the road with you than anyone else out there. Thank you too for your service to our country !! It matters.

Thanks !

 

[Hay Dude]

Hey Paystar ! Only those who have done it & had the discipline to do it for that long know ! I myself did it 44 years & did achieve my goals , & You couldn't pay me enough to get out on the road again! It's great to be retired. & I dare not speak my mind on any open forum. So I'm just going to enjoy the remainder of the short side of life as much as I can & exercise my rights & thank God for what I have . Merry Christmas to You & your family & the TBN family.

It’s getting worse & worse to be a independent trucker. The rules and regulations being imposed on the drivers and the trucks they drive are making the independent trucking business go extinct. The amount of testing we have to go through is crazy and the trucker has to pay for his/her testing.
In my area, truckers are each assigned a number and the number goes into pools of 500. There is a random drawing each quarter of I believe 75 of that 500. If your number comes up, you must report to give a urine sample within a short period of time. Each time your number comes up, it costs you $120. It also costs $150/year just to belong to your pool.
Insurance is going up, fuel, lubricants, repairs, are all up significantly.

 

[finn1]

It’s getting worse & worse to be a independent trucker. The rules and regulations being imposed on the drivers and the trucks they drive are making the independent trucking business go extinct. The amount of testing we have to go through is crazy and the trucker has to pay for his/her testing.
In my area, truckers are each assigned a number and the number goes into pools of 500. There is a random drawing each quarter of I believe 75 of that 500. If your number comes up, you must report to give a urine sample within a short period of time. Each time your number comes up, it costs you $120. It also costs $150/year just to belong to your pool.
Insurance is going up, fuel, lubricants, repairs, are all up significantly.

I would rather have you be required to be drug free than to have my granddaughter killed by a drugged up trucker whil she’s driving back to college.

Remember the pill popping truck drivers on the roads and the accidents and deaths they caused that ultimately led to CDL licensing requirements and the regulations truckers operate under today? Basically, the industry failed to regulate itself, so we ended up where we are today because the citizens wanted something done.

By the way, I have had a Class A CDL for probably twenty or more years.

 

[ovrszd]

I would rather have you be required to be drug free than to have my granddaughter killed by a drugged up trucker whil she’s driving back to college.

Remember the pill popping truck drivers on the roads and the accidents and deaths they caused that ultimately led to CDL licensing requirements and the regulations truckers operate under today? Basically, the industry failed to regulate itself, so we ended up where we are today because the citizens wanted something done.

By the way, I have had a Class A CDL for probably twenty or more years.

I think we ended up here because the auto drivers were intimidated by the trucks. So they lobbied legislation to regulate the trucks

Is it true that a CDL driver can lose his license if caught using his phone without hands free technology while driving?

If the answer is yes, my point is proven.

By far the most dangerous thing on the hiways today is auto drivers.

 

[Hay Dude]

I would rather have you be required to be drug free than to have my granddaughter killed by a drugged up trucker whil she’s driving back to college.

Remember the pill popping truck drivers on the roads and the accidents and deaths they caused that ultimately led to CDL licensing requirements and the regulations truckers operate under today? Basically, the industry failed to regulate itself, so we ended up where we are today because the citizens wanted something done.

By the way, I have had a Class A CDL for probably twenty or more years.

And you don’t think I would agree with that? Of course I would! We ended up where we are today because of LAWYERS.

Im not complaining about the tests, although you tried your best to make me look that way for some destructive reason, I’m complaining that I have to shell out another $500/yr for testing. How about the state govt take some of their billions of revenue and pay for it?
How many tests, licenses, permits, DEF, fees do we have to pay for in addition to the trucks, trailers, tires, repairs we already pay for?
In 10 years, we will all probably have to buy electric trucks, too.

 

[4570Man]

And you don’t think I would agree with that? Of course I would! We ended up where we are today because of LAWYERS.

Im complaining that I have to shell out another $500/yr for testing. How about the state govt take some of their billions of revenue and pay for it?
How many tests, licenses, permits, DEF, fees do we have to pay for in addition to the trucks, trailers, tires, repairs we already pay for?
In 10 years, we will all probably have to buy electric trucks, too.

What do you have to pay $500 a year to test?