Trucking 1st to feel recession and 1st to come out of it

"Trucking is the first to feel a recession, but often the first to come out of it, if that is any kind of silver lining in the cloud," said Louis Campion, senior vice president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association in an article in the Frederick News Post.

Trucking takes brunt of bad economic times

Originally published June 26, 2009

By Ed Waters Jr.
Frederick News-Post Staff

Though it is dwindling, trucking employs about 150,000 people in Maryland and pays $6 billion in wages. That is 6 percent of the state's work force.

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Even if the economy turns around, it will be at least a decade before the American trucking industry is back to normal, according to Louis Campion, senior vice president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association.

Campion said 480 trucking companies -- each with at least five trucks -- had become bankrupt. That followed more than 3,000 trucking firms that went bankrupt in 2008.

Howard Levine, owner of Ramar Moving in Frederick , said the trucking industry is taking a major hit with the economy.

"People don't realize that everything they get, from clothes to food to furniture, is brought by truck," Levine said.

"Ninety-two percent of Maryland companies depend exclusively on trucking for their goods," Campion said.

Besides rising fuel prices and other operating costs, Levine said customers have dropped off. And there is a significant rise in what he calls rogue movers who prey on customers looking to save money.

"They will tell you they can do the move for half what I would charge," Levine said. "The customer finds out later that they have to pay more or the mover won't unload or the movers damage goods during the move."

Levine is on the board of directors of both the Maryland Motor Truck Association and Maryland Movers Conference. He's been honored for his service to the industry and especially for consumer education on using a reputable moving firm.

The average cost of fuel on June 15 was $2.57 per gallon. This year's low was $2.04 in May, Campion said.

"That's more than a 50-cent-per-gallon increase in less than three months. While the current price is nowhere near where it was last June (more than $4.60 a gallon), it is climbing and companies are still waiting for the economy to turn," he said.

Though it is dwindling, trucking employs about 150,000 people in Maryland and pays $6 billion in wages. That is 6 percent of the state's work force.

Housing is a major factor for trucking, Levine said. When homes are built there are not only jobs in construction or direct-related work, but for trucking in bringing parts and materials, moving people in or out and supplying stores to serve the new homeowners.

"It is not just hitting trucking, but all types of shipping," said Clayton Boyce, vice president of public affairs and secretary of the American Trucking Associations.

This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Rain Retards Frederick Construction Truck Jobs

There hasn't been much good news to blog about in the CDL Truck Driving World of Frederick Maryland. It's June now and there should be construction jobs opening up.

The faltering economy is virtually ended residential construction. The Government's Stimulus Package of 'shovel ready' infrastructure construction jobs hasn't yet trickled down to fuel job growth... not yet.

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I've been getting emails and blog comments to the effect of 'I'm not getting the hours I need to pay my bills'... I'll keep you updated when that situation changes.

Here's the current listings of Frederick Maryland CDL Truck Driver job openings I'm aware of:

Transport Driver
The Pepsi Bottling Group
Williamsport, MD
The Pepsi Bottling Group

Concrete Mixer Driver

MFI Concrete is currently seeking experienced person to operate one of our front discharge mixers. Qualified applicant will possess a valid CDL license, clean driving record, off-road experience, & minimum 3 years mixer experience. Competitive pay. Medical & dental offered. If interested contact Mike at 410-365-0724

(note: I drove a mixer in the 90's, it's not a bad job... the truck is usually raggedy and wont get out of it's own way but you don't want to be a speed demon when you've got a 20 ton liquid load that is also spinning and it's center of gravity is NOT on the frame rails, it's right behind your head!)

Crane Truck Driver

Modern Foundations, located in Woodbine, is a leader in the Residential Construction Industry. We are currently seeking an individual to operate our panel crane truck. Qualified applicant will possess a valid CDL license, clean driving record, off-road experience, and be self motivated. Previous crane experience a plus. We reward your commitment with an attractive salary, as well as a benefits package. If interested, contact Ray at 410-795-8877.

P&D Driver-Part-Time
FedEx National LTL
Hagerstown, MD
FedEx National LTL

CDL Drivers Wanted!

Www.sleephappens.com

Mattress Warehouse

Truck Driver Living in or near
Drivers Job Source
Frederick, MD
Drivers Job Source

DriverCrane Truck
Frederick, MD
jobfetch.com

This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Employer Drug Testing Sucks

Hair Drug Screen not Urine Drug Screen

Employers Use the wrong drug test, A Hair Drug Test is considered highly accurate at showing any prescription drugs, drugs of abuse or even nicotine from smoking used in the recent past.

Anything that can be abused... will be abused.

Some people attempt to circumvent the hair drug test through shaving their heads. In the absence of the required amount of hair on the scalp, any body hair can be used as an acceptable substitute. For pre-employment hair testing the inability to obtain a sample may be grounds for not hiring the individual. 

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There is a growing trend in major companies and law enforcement agencies to utilize hair analysis drug test in account of its efficiency and reputation as the gold standard when considering test accuracy. This technology makes use of radioimmunoassay technology with subsequent confirmation by mass spectrometry. Hair Testing labs are regulated by CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988) or SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) and not the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Pepsi in Frederick Seeking Local Tractor Trailer Driver

Pepsi in Frederick is looking for a Tractor Trailer Driver

(I'd take this one if I wasn't doing the Internet Advertising thing...)

JOB DETAILS:

Drives a tractor/trailer truck to make long-distance pick-ups and deliveries of predominantly finished product or materials/supplies. Checks and/or assists in the loading/unloading of the trailer. Obtains proper authorization for all deliveries/pick-ups. Responsible for checking vehicle for proper and safe operating condition before and after each trip. Must maintain a DOT driver's log and adhere to all DOT regulations. May occasionally be required to stay over night. 

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Position requires working tractor/trailer components, including bending and cranking landing gear as well as climbing in and out of cabs and sitting for extended periods of time. Also requires lifting cases weighing 20-45 pounds if they fall in trailer.

Apply Here

This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Tractor Trailer OR Local Driver jobs?

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Which will you be better off with? Over The Road Tractor Trailer OR Local Driver Jobs?

I've been a Commercial Driver over 26 years and I have to answer that question with a resounding LOCAL DRIVER JOBS pay the best!

Over the road means pay by the mile for the most part. You can make over $200 a day by the mile but often you give all that 'great sounding income' back when you sit at a loading dock not getting paid. Sometimes a shipper will pay you a flat fee for unloading but I've never seen that fee be anything near minimum wage, not in all the 26 years I've been doing this for a living have I seen unloading pay be more than $20 if your lucky.

What if you have to sit there, waiting... for 5 or 6 hours?

6 hours at $20 total unloading pay?

Local Drivers get paid by the mile, if the Commercial CDL truck you got hired to drive operates within less than a 100 mile radius of the trucks home terminal, you are exempt from most of the Federal Truck Regulations. Federal FCC regs say the shipping company or trucking company does not have to pay time and a half, often they'll pay $.38 a mile and that can be as much as $200 to $250 a day but you give much of that daily take back when you sit at a loading dock not making a dime.

Local drivers also get the benefit of not being subject to the strict hours of service regulations, in other words you can work overtime and not go to jail for being over 60 hours.



The 'enforcement' of the hours of service is where you get the wiggle room to make extra overtime- If you get in an accident, and your over your hours, both you and the company will get in trouble. If someone dies in an accident and it's found that you were over hours, you'll get arrested or go to jail. The difference between going over hours in a local truck and going over hours in a FCC regulated Tractor Trailer is in the daily reporting requirements.

Local Straight Truck - if you go over 10 hours a day no one is going to know about it. DOT does not require that you keep a log of your hours.

Over The Road (FCC regulated Tractor Trailer)- if you go over 10 hours a day you have to log it. There is no way to hide it if you get pulled over... and DOT can pull you over when ever they feel like it. There is no *probable cause* requirement to get pulled over. DOT can pull you over at random and they do.

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The Frederick News Post sometimes has CDL job openings listed in it's help wanted section and sometimes they have 'slim pickins'. It's not the FNP's fault, and it's not really the economy. The reason the paper doesn't have all the jobs is because the paper's readers often can not pass a drug test.

There are many Frederick Maryland Job Openings that are NOT listed in the local paper. Those jobs are listed online... think about this from an employers point of view: People answering an ad that they found online - at least that tells you something about the person's level of education. There is a significant chance the respondent is college educated, has a credit score over zero, and likely owns a car... a car with tags on it that actually are registered to the real owner.

Here are today's jobs listed in a newspaper:

DRIVER
LOW BOY DRIVER

Contractor in Gaithersburg, MD has one opening for a professional Low Boy Driver. Only Drivers with 3 yrs min. experience loading and hauling heavy equipment and clean license will be considered. Health & life Insurance, paid holidays, vacations, profit sharing, and monthly bonuses. Year round work.

Call 301-840-0325

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CDL Drivers Wanted!
Www.sleephappens.com
Mattress Warehouse

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LANDSCAPE
MANAGER
Min. 5 yrs exp. in Grounds Maintenance. w/at least 3 as Supervisor. Must have strong hort. knowledge plus cust. serv. skills. Knowledge in hardscapes a strong plus. Must be bilingual. Requires clean/ valid MD drivers lic. Fax resume to 301-368-3637


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CDL jobs in Frederick Maryland


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Truck Driver jobs in Frederick Maryland







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This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

The Truth About Trucking- Pros and Cons

Every profession has it's pros and cons. Trucking
is no different. The trouble is, the "cons" can
cost you a LOT of time and money.

On the other hand, the "pros" can accelerate how
far you go in your chosen profession.

On that note, I just reviewed a copy of Allen Smith's
Truth About Trucking program.

There's some great information on there.

Allen covers the following and more...

* Learn How You can Get a Better Education By
PAYING LESS MONEY.

* A State by State Listing of The Best Truck Driving
Schools

* The Big Leasing SCAM - How the Trucking Companies
manage to make Thousands while the driver loses
their shirt (and pants).

* Important steps to setting up profitability as an
owner/operator from buying your rig to fuel taxes,
and everything in between.

* Which trucking companies pay the most for pro-
fessional truck drivers.

* The BEST and CHEAPEST route for CDL training!

* And Much, Much More...

His program used to be in just a plain old digital
ebook. But there was such a strong interest to have
it in audio format that he actually brought in an
audio production company and got it released ...
in fact, it's now a 2 CD set.

Great decision as I don't know many who want to be
sitting at their computers to read a digital book.

Now truckers, trucking students and anyone just
looking into the industry can put the audio into
their CD players and review all this.

And I certainly recommend doing so.

The downside is that through nearly 30 years of being
heavily involved in the trucking, Allen Smith has
obviously been impacted by the pitfalls of the
profession ... so his audios do have a bit of a
pessimist undertone.

But, as you'll discover, he's as genuinely interested
in providing guidance and direction as he is
experienced to talk about this.

He's a very sincere and VERY experienced individual.

I recommend taking a peek at what he and his wife
Donna have assembled over at:

http://truthabouttrucking.com/?e=localgoogleguru

At their page, you can also grab a fr*ee copy of
3 brief reports:
* "Guide to Pros and Cons to Trucking"
* "Truck Driving Careers: Choose the Right Truck Driving School or Trucking Company"
* "Truck Driving Schools and Student Responsibility"

Again, go check out their website for more information ...

The Truth about CDL Driving Jobs

David Bruce
Frederick Maryland





This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.

Frederick Frigid Weather Trucking

All I can say is make sure you plug that tractor in to keep it warm enough to start in the morning!

Snow Removal Season?

Heating Oil Delivery?

Propane Delivery?

When I drove a truck I always made more money in the winter than I ever did for the rest of the year. I have HazMat and I delivered heating oil for the old Steuart Petroleum during the 80's and 90's.
Normally this time of year can be a tough time to get a truck driving job. With the housing industry tanking and taking credit and the stock market with it the rest of the year may be "slim pickings" as well.

I saw on a Cable Business show that there were clear indicators that the economy should turn around by July 09 (well, I found the argument lucid, good enough for me to post here)

On the bright side fuel costs are way down, that translates into lower overhead for truck owners and increased shipping (driving demand for what we do for a living back up). More than once I've worked on a truck far into the night and had to wake up at 00:dark thirty because if I'd not worked on the truck there would have been nothing for me to drive the next day.

============================

I found these two Frederick Maryland Openings for truck drivers in the paper. I posted them here to illustrate that if you are an experienced dump truck driver, you can still find work opportunities pushing snow even though the season for hauling dirt and stone is several months off.


Driver - Dump Truck Driver needed for Global Equipment, clean record,
good attitude & references a must. Start immediately. 301-261-4885

Driver
Ross Contracting is seeking CDL B drivers for seasonal snow removal positions. All applicants must have clean driving records and be able to pass a pre-placement drug screen. 301-831-5500
Excellent Opportunity
to Earn Extra Money








This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.