I used to have my Class A when I lived in CA. Mostly I just did quick runs from Sun Micro in Fremont to the Oakland Airport. I also did a lot of hossling since I loved overtime and it was easy money.
From what I've heard from friends who still drive, the problem has nothing to do with a lack of drivers. There is always a demand for more drivers, and there has always been a big turn over, but there are also plenty of drivers out there.
My understanding is that CA has put so many restrictions on the trucks that nobody wants to deal with going to the Ports there. The inspection fees and cost of diesel make it very hard to make a profit. Why go there if you can't make money? None of my friends are vaccinated, and there are places that will not let them enter if you do not have proof of vaccine. I was told that the Ports require the drivers to be vaccinated.
Another issue with only allowing trucks into the port that are 2012 or newer, is that nobody wants to invest in a new truck, when CA is saying that they are going to ban all diesel powered trucks sometime in the 2030's.
I believe this is 100% created by our government, and as long as they are in charge, it will only get worse.
Everywhere I have ever been near a port, and small companies hire local drivers or owner ops to run to the port to grab the loads and bring them to a dropyard or a local warehouse, the trucks are usually older trucks that are too old or too many miles on them to risk sending them out on the road long haul. (Road service cost is thru the roof). So a driver goes and buys an older truck, and runs it back and forth from the port and goes home at night, or at least every other night if he delivers within a short range. Low initial investment allows him the luxury of being home at night.
Now for the other reason... DEF and the systems that have been shoved down truck owners throats. It is amazing to me as to the cost of getting anything worked on as far as the emission systems, and the parts that my trucks have needed have been hard to find. A simple DEF level indicator put my Kenworth out of commission for over 10 days, and it is a simple install. Too many of them are going bad and the industry can't get more to replace the faulty ones. A computer detects the level to make sure the idiot behind the wheel remembered to fill the DEF tank, and if the level indicator isn't working, the computer tells the truck to only run in limp mode, which is about 5 miles per hour. When mine went out, I bought several bottles of DEF and filled the tank, but alas, that didn't help. So rather than dealing with the huge expense and massive downtime the newer trucks are dealing with, owner ops are buying older trucks and spending money to redo them. When you take away the ability to use older model trucks, you loose a lot of trucks that normally would support a port. Most can't afford to make
$HUGE$ payments on their trucks, while they sit in line for a port to load them every day! A truck is only making money when the wheels are rolling, and the costs associated with trucks goes on even if you aren't moving at all. Payments, insurance, IFTA, Tags, etc!
Most owner ops know that it isn't cost effective to put a new truck hauling containers from the port to a dropyard, which is the first step of getting the cluster at the ports unloaded.
David from jax
