Keep on (top of) trucking industry
Much to the amusement of my passengers, one of the six pre-set buttons on my satellite radio tuner is dedicated to the Sirius Road Dog Trucking Network.
I’ve never driven a tractor rig, but the industry which touches perhaps more of our daily life than any other save television has too many intriguing business story angles to count. The satellite network, with its roster of experts, is one way to glean info straight from the cab of one of the 3 million trucks or 3.4 million drivers on the road.
In fact, the American Trucking Associations trade and lobbying group says that one in every 15 American workers is employed by the industry. The group also says that in 2006, trucks in the United States hauled 69 percent of freight, with rail carriers coming in second at 13.3 percent of tonnage.
With retailers and service industries in high gear in this final quarter of 2009, it’s a good time to look at who’s ferrying all that cargo. You can tackle such a pervasive industry so many ways – it practically shrieks for multimedia packages – but a few approaches that spring to mind include:
Manufacturing and dealers: How are major truck makers like Mack, Kenworth, Navistar and Daimler’s Freightliner faring in the downturn? Here’s a link to a site that lists the major North American truck makers. What about their workers and suppliers? How is the used truck and trailer market? Repairs?
Particularly interesting angles would be innovations in emissions control, fuel economy and driver comfort. Specialty rigs like refrigerated and frozen-food trucks feature cool technology. (Pun not intended.)
Operators: Some 700,000 carriers nationwide range from giant publicly traded firms like J.B. Hunt to individuals who scrimp each month to make the payment on a single tractor. With manufacturers shuttering plants left and right, fewer parts deliveries are under way each day; how’s that affecting revenue, rates and competition? How do rising oil prices threaten operators?
Regulation: This could be a full-time beat, with hours-of-service rules a labyrinth on their own. (Those are the complicated formulas that determine the ratio of rest breaks to hours behind the wheel, and are a major bone of contention among drivers.) Text messaging and cell phone use on the job also are on regulators radar screen, and local communities’ anti-pollution laws that forbid idling – meaning drivers can’t run heat and A/C – are also minefields. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is the place to start.
Work-life issues: Driving an average 500 miles a day is a tough way to earn the truckers’ average annual wage of around $38,000 a year, according to 2008 Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. From injuries due to heavy lifting to diabetes and obesity from too much sitting, driving takes a physical toll. Sleeping in cabs, eating at truck stops or cooking in a crockpot aboard the truck, being away from loved ones – it’s a tough gig.
On the upside, many enjoy the nomadic lifestyle, the opportunity to team-drive with a spouse or friend, the chance to see the U.S.A. The Midnight Trucking radio network site is helpful and the rest of the Internet is rife with trucking-related message boards, publications and state or regional groups; seek out some knights and ladies of the road for colorful human interest stories.
