There is truth in this. My wife teaches several of them and the kids admitted they get payments and were surprised we didn't. Most of them are decent people but they have sure screwed up our real estate and farm values locally. Then again, there are also loads at night when the trucks pull in and the the loads all off loaded and all wrappers and paper work burned up......not saying they steal loads but it sure isnt normal truck load behaviors.....
They dont hesitate to buy up an 80 acre farm and within 2 years have 20 houses built on it.
Just saw a farm sw of Sedalia they have 2 acre lots split up for 45k an acre so more Eastern blockers can build on them.....and they dont build little 3 bedroom 2 bath houses. I guess with our govt helping, trucking still pays enough.....

When I drove OTR, the first thing I was told by a long time trucker was that everybody in the industry lies. Company owner, dispatch, customer, other drivers, mechanics and even LEO's so the game is stacked against you from the get go. Found out that it was true for the most part, but did meet some great people along the way but just wasn't worth it in the long run. I still appreciate those who are still in the business but can't see how they can make ends meet today.

TreedaBlackdog the D.O.T. checks. They do audits at companies to check compliance and inspections usually at scales but also side of the road. At scales log checks are usually done on independents or small company trucks. They run the D.O.T. number to decide who to check.

The main CSX Railroad line between Cincinnati and I guess Atlanta runs right by my door and I can tell a big difference in freight being hauled the last few years. Used to be several trains a day. Now none some days.

Depends on where you are. Here log truck drivers used to be the bottom of the barrel for paying jobs. Anymore nobody can get anybody to work, they are starting pay at 600 a day for log and dump truck drivers, and that is anyone who has a CDL and can pass a pee test. And if you have a rep as a good driver... well I know an old guy who retired a couple years ago and finally went back to work because his boss kept calling him because he couldn't get anybody to work. Not sure what he is getting paid, but I know he had a guy offer him $1000/day last month to come drive for him, and another guy needed a some logs hauled and couldn't get anybody to drive his truck and told him to name his price for a couple weeks work, said he would pay whatever he named. And this is driving someone else's truck, with them paying all fuel and maintenance. No idea what owner operators are getting locally.

Deliveries are still being made.SOMEONE is doing it.Sounds like you cant compete.Gonna have to tighten the belt and accept some lower wages instead of the big bucks your used to.Thats what everyone says the Union folk are supposed to do.Prove your own worth or be out of a job.

There's an old saying in trucking

1 man's linehaul is another man's backhaul


Now mainly because of the huge influx of migrants ; legal or otherwise, there is someone who will take a load for backhaul rates.
The consumer, which in reality is everyone, drives the rates by insisting on lower prices for all commodities.

We as a society have become spoiled, we want to order from Amazon and have it next day for free,
It don't get to you by itself......... ........and the local mom and pops suffer too.


We get what we deserve

upstateNY I am doing okay in a niche market just like the log truck info. FWIW hauling logs is VERY dangerous.

If I am wrong that the economy is tanking again I will be happy about it.

You are right about the economy. I read trucking was slowing down months ago. It's definitely a leading indicator.

I’m staying busy 2 runs a night 576 miles 6 nights a week I can’t complain about my job it’s got my kids raised and thru college and our house and land paid for now working on putting 2 grand girls thru college I see the drivers on the road nowadays they don’t care about themselves or others don’t dress like professionals and most are afraid of water but that’s another thing

I hired a guy during covid to haul livestock and hay went independent and bought 4 tractors and trailers on credit did very well when trucking was slow because of shutdowns and shortage of drivers. Now he is going belly up all the companies are up and running and he is got the worst thing in the world for operating, living or saving DEBT.

Powell announced yesterday that they will be lowering interest rates in September so I guess it's a given that the economy is starting to show strain. That said, I worry that once the interest rates are lowered inflation will rear right back up.

That's exactly what will happen. Direct coronation.

That's what I thought. $130 hauling stuff into an aluminum plant and home every night seems like a stretch.

I honestly have no idea but he is halling out our skim trash. It gets heated up metal recovered and brought back on a different truck molten.

He only come here now and them normally running other routes.

Hauling logs isn’t any more dangerous than any other freight, unless you are overloaded or your truck ain’t up to snuff. My Father and I hauled millions of BF of logs and thousands of tons of pulpwood over my logging career never had a problem. IP’s paper mill in Ticonderoga, NY receives 100 loads per day of pulpwood and chips, grossing upwards to 120,000 lbs per load, and its very rare to hear of a logging truck accident here, same with Finch paper in Glens Falls, NY.
But you are not wrong about the economy, I agree many areas of the country and industries have been in recession for a while.

Bobcat in Gwinner N.D. is on its 3rd two week layoff for the summer. And looking like more to come. I remember the build being over 160 machines a day. Now it's down to 70. The works think there has to be people layed off for long term.

Squash, I will defer to you as I never hauled logs. Seen some mighty poor logging roads though. Seen a guy get killed in Ft Smith AR some years back on HWY71. Has some bridges in town. No where to go. Hit his brakes, hit a car, pulp logs went through the cab. Seen that happen to a steel hauler in Chicago once to. Load of I beams went through the cab.

Saw that once with a coal bucket. Coming down a slight slope, red light and curve. Lost his brakes, didn't make the light or curve. Went right of the bridge, cab dropped and hit the bank the bucket of coal followed. Poor guy got pancaked.

Oh, and he clipped the back corner of Dad's 76 F100 as he left the road. Fortunately, it was a parking lot and dad was not in it.