Tractor Shortages

[EddinKY]

It is certainly fueled by the lack of a coherent national industrial strategy. What products are critical to our national survival, and what is our plan to be sure that we have USA capacity? We learned in 2020 that many (most) of our medicines are produced overseas. Have you heard a plan to produce critical meds in the states again?...nope. Our plan is apparently to have trade rules that produce maximum short term profits for big donors and contributors. Most of you don't even know which side lead the change in laws 30 years ago, that pushed our manufacturing overseas and closed our factories.

 

[EddinKY]

Hard for most westerners to grasp the fact that there is no appreciable difference between a Chinese company and the Chinese government.

Most people have no idea. Our state just gave Heier Corp $40 million to expand a factory. Heier is a chinese company...by definition owned by the comunisrt Govt. We say we are against coomi's..but we subsidize them..if it feels good short term, to get some $16/hr jobs. The only thing consistent is our inconsistency.

 

[Hay Dude]

Most people have no idea. Our state just gave Heier Corp $40 million to expand a factory. Heier is a chinese company...by definition owned by the comunisrt Govt. We say we are against coomi's..but we subsidize them..if it feels good short term, to get some $16/hr jobs. The only thing consistent is our inconsistency.

It’s an inherent lack of intelligence in business acumen in our leadership.
We are always reacting instead of acting to changing economic conditions and markets.
We are also educating our children to be stupid.
It’s so sad.

 

[Paystar]

You can't blame the Govt for low pay. Trucking companies are private businesses. That is a natural part of the free enterprise system we all love.

OK, show me ANYWHERE in my post where I said the government had anything to do with trucking rates??

It amazes me how many people make comments without reading the posts.

 

[jyoutz]

Unfortunately, the rules here preclude the opportunity to refute and debunk this statement.

You don’t think that “maximizing shareholder value” has any relationship to offshoring of jobs by US corporations?

 

[Jchonline]

The OP was about tractor shortages…can we please keep it on topic and not get Scottys thread closed.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

You can't blame the Govt for low pay. Trucking companies are private businesses. That is a natural part of the free enterprise system we all love.

Trucking was deregulated in the early 1980's; up to that point it was high wage Teamster driven. (no pun intended)

 

[EddinKY]

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.

Thanks I did read your post. The "nobody wants to pay" is businesses (not the govt) that is how the free enterprise system works. If the pay was high enough (from your customers or contractor) you would overcome all the little regulation challenges and you would have bought a new truck in the 13 years between when the CA law was passed and when it took effect. Do you really think people in California are suffering terribly because they can't buy their favorite brand of toilet paper or salad dressing during this terrible shortage?

 

[MoArk Willy]

Too much dependency on foreign made products.
If we return to making more here, it wouldn’t be as bad.

Unions and greed are the reasons we limit what we make.

 

[Paystar]

Am I missing something in what I wrote? I did not say "nobody wants to pay" being caused by the government. I've dealt with all the rate cutting scabs all my life to know everyone in the trucking industry is their own worst enemy.

Just making separate points. There is no shortage of truckers, just a shortage of owners and drivers willing to stay in the industry.

And none of it affects me anyway. Never been to California, and never hauled cans.

I just thought it was funny they are trying to partly blame it on a "shortage" of drivers. That is the game they use to import new people to the country that they can put in trucks untrained and unqualified and use them like new world slaves.