Any Truckers on DU? I have a question.......This last week my family and

[theophilus]

I went from Hot Springs, AR, to Memphis Tennessee. We came back on 40. We were astounded by the number of eighteen wheelers. It seems that the numbers of big trucks on the highways have gone up considerably over the last ten years. We passed a huge "log jam" going the other way due to construction and it looked like the big rigs were about forty percent of the traffic. Maybe a little more. Is this a trend and, if so, why? Is there less freight being hauled by train? We feel like the smart thing would be to haul the freight on the train and then have short haul truckers distribute it in the cities. Anyway, I'd love to hear from some truckers on this and on how the truck driving job rates.

Any non-truckers are encouraged to comment on their observations, too. Aren't all these trucks rough on the old highway infrastructure?

:hi:

[cantstandbush]

1. Precisely one of the reasons I have been pleading for attention to rail

systems in this country. Not only railroad systems but big city transit systems could be linked with rapid rail systems throughout the country. This of the good paying jobs it might develop if everything supporting those systems were "made in America?" This of the help to the environment, the lowering of costs of some consumer goods as gasoline is used less and less and then think about the safety and infrastrucure situations that would be improved.

[theophilus]

2. This is what I'm thinking. Are any leaders talking about such things?

The politicos of both parties seem to just drift along with meaningless issues as the blood and treasure is drained from the middle and lower classes. It is a "ho hum" attitude that will result in tragedy, imo.

[histohoney]

6. Would LOVE to

see more rail use. I've traveled a good deal in my day and I am always so amazed at how easy it is to travel by rail in other countries. I have traveled with chickens in an open car all the way to a Lufthansa rail car in Germany (Oh...nice).
I love looking around at the landscape passing by and sometimes meeting new people.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. I'm not a trucker, but I played a dispatcher in my last job...

:)

Yes, lots more trucks on the road. Trains still haul freight, but it can't be time sensitive. You can put a guy in a truck and get your load to the other coast in 4 days. Put your stuff on a train, and you may not see it for 2-3 weeks. Doesn't work for perishables. Rail infrastructure is declining slowly, and the money needed to keep it going is not there.

Trucking was much more economical until the last few years. You have to get permits for each city/county you drive in, you also pay a mileage tax in each state, and most of those fees go to pay for road repair, trucks are very hard on the roads.

[theophilus]

8. Is part of the reason states are charging more fees and licenses

due to loss of federal support? Is this indirectly attributable to our crazy, wasteful war in Iraq and the tax breaks for the wealthiest? I'll bet it is part of the problem. What are we going to do when the bridges start falling in and there is no rail back up? :mad:

[bbinacan]

4. I'm not a trucker but

I took a class on economic geography (back in the 80s) and it was/is cheaper to transport via long haul truck routes.

[HereSince1628]

15. And when you look at the map, there are fewer interstate hwy's

as you go west out of the old "foundry states" that were the dots that needed connection by the national defense highway system.

So if you are driving from Cincinnati (for example) to ANY city in Texas, New Mexico, Nevada or southern California you are probably going to route through Arkansas.

I went to grad school in Texas, and taught in NW of Little Rock while keeping connected with family relations in Illinois. Across a couple decades I never saw truck traffic "light" between Little Rock and West Memphis. Only in a few springs and summers was there no reconstruction/resurfacing going on.

[DrRang]

17. Same here, almost

I used to fly Southwest from Albuquerque to LIttle Rock and then take a shuttle bus into Memphis. (Southwest can't fly into Memphis.) Big truck traffic LR to Memphis has been horrendous for at least 20 years.

[lapfog_1]

5. I'm a small trucking company owner...

right now is the height of "the season" where produce is being delivered, especially vegetables, from west coast to points east.

Trains are not a good solution (or they would be used, as shipping by train is cheaper than truck)... because of the time critical
factor in the transport. People want fresh produce. So my truck waits at the pickup spot for pallets of (last trip - lettuce), it then leaves and drives straight through to the grocery store distribution warehouse in (last trip - New York). It takes about 3 days from picking in the field and washing and packaging until it hits the distribution warehouse, another day (at most) to reach the stores.
All refrigerated and point to point shipping. 40,000 pounds at a time. Total cost is about $5600 in the shipping, including fuel.
The truck and drivers are lucky to make $2500 on this trip, and once you pay highway taxes (IFTA), insurance, normal repairs, weigh station costs, etc, etc. the truck owner is lucky to make $400 or $500. Coming back from the east coast, the fares are much lower, sometimes only covering fuel costs. I would love to have my drivers drive the truck to a rail head and drive onto a flat car and come back empty... but that's not how it's setup (container shipping is a much different business than refer loads).

anyway, right now is the very height of the trucking season, so that's why so many trucks on the highway.

[theophilus]

7. Thanks for responding with that interesting info. eom

[skids]

11. You looked at these yet?

JFYI and wondering...

http://chechfi.ca/

[sandnsea]

9. Nah, that's trucker heaven

I can't remember why, but that highway is notoriously used by truckers. Especially between Memphis and Little Rock. It's been jammed every time I've ever been on it.

[conflictgirl]

10. Yep, I remember it being that way even 10 years ago

I used to travel that route fairly frequently (not as a trucker) and remember that there was always very heavy 18-wheeler traffic on it.

[theophilus]

13. Thanks for that info. I have only been that way a couple times and

not for a long time.

[NMDemDist2]

12. has I-10 reopened through LA/MS yet? that might be why there

is especially heavy traffic on I-40 :shrug:

[Jazzgirl]

14. Trains are shipping more freight than they can handle.

I know. I work for a major railroad. All the majors are locked up tight they're shipping so much stuff. It is incredible. I've been working for the railroad for 32 years and I've never seen this much traffic ever. Yes if you've got real time-sensitive stuff trucking is still best but rail is so much cheaper its hard to beat. All the intermodal traffic we have is off the hook.

JG

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. Highway 40 was made for trucks.

Or so I've been told.

[Thtwudbeme]

19. designed to move troops

nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Liberaltrucker

but I haven't seen him post for awhile.

[bananas]

20. Have you heard about the new "Texas Superhighway" they are planning?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22Texas+Superhighway%22&btnG=Search

[RebelOne]

21. Well, my ex-husband (now deceased) was a trucker.

And if you were traveling at night, you will find many trucks on the roads as they are trying to bypass the weigh stations.

[ThomWV]

22. Sidenote: Some of the western raillines are making money hand over fist

timber and grain.

[greendog]

23. NAFTA = longer supply lines.

If it comes from Mexico, and is going to Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New England, W. Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, N. Carolina, or Tennessee, it's probably going to go across I-40 in Arkansas.

On edit: I was a trucker for 4 years in the late '90's.