The Overall Profitability of The Freight Economy

Let’s start with the broadest answer to what affects the freight economy. How profitable is it to hire freight trucks over parcel van drivers, trains, planes, drones and so forth? There is an obvious degree of supply and demand involved, but on the whole, will it cost companies less to send things by freight truck than by other transit methods?

Typically, the best prices are paid when demand is higher. New factories, new buildings, urban regeneration, and surges in consumer spending will all benefit the freight truck industry. The USA has an $800 billion dollar freight truck industry because the US economy often has the sorts of peaks and lulls that benefit freight trucks. The USA also has something else that makes trucking a big plus. They have lots of flat land.

An advanced road and motorway system like that of the UK is a big benefit to trucking, but the most desirable element within any country is lots of flat land and straight roads. These offer a very big benefit for any sort of trucking and haulage company.

The Local Terrain and Weather Conditions

Trucking is a big part of the US economy because there is a lot of flat land in the USA. It is far easier to lay and maintain roads than it is to lay train track across vast plains of flat land. As a result, trucking is easily a big part of US commerce. On the other hand, in places like Russia or Canada, things like trains and smaller vehicles are used because road and weather conditions do not suit a strong reliance on trucking. On a similar note, places like China and India rely more on trains because of their uneven terrain and because there are far fewer areas with long stretches of road that would suit a strong reliance on freight trucking.

But wait, doesn’t China have the second-largest freight trucking industry in the world? Yes, it does, and yet it is only half that of what the USA has. In fact, with the modernisation of Chinese train systems and docking systems, trucks are being relied upon less and less in China.

The Supply of Freight Haulage Truck Services

This article touched upon demand for freight trucking, such as when the economy is going through a peak time, or when there are buildings being erected or areas being regenerated. However, supply also has a very strong influence on the profitability of trucking companies. The more trucking companies there are, the less profit freight companies have to make. Yet, there is a weird micro-economy that exists in the haulage industry.

When the economy is booming, haulage companies spring up like weeds in a garden and lots of people make lots of money. The barriers to entry are pretty low because all you need is a commercial trucking license, insurance and a truck, and you can start your own trucking/haulage company.

Yet, when things cool off, the industry seems to shed its poorer performers like the snake moults its outer skin. Running a freight trucking company is very expensive, and most smaller to medium-sized companies cannot last very long during a recession. Where supply is obviously a big issue for freight trucking companies, it is a seemingly short-term (in the moment) concern that probably won’t bother long-established haulage firms very much.

The Economic Demand of Each Country

The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of a country will have a big impact on how well a freight trucking company does. The two biggest trucking economies in the world, the USA and China are great places for haulage companies for very different reasons. In the USA, there is the infrastructure and plenty of profit to be made. In China, the pay rates are terrible, but the amount of work available is so high that some companies never experience a lull in trade.

Trucking Demand Cycles

Let’s pretend there is a country that only deals with farmed food. They don’t run it through their factories. They don’t even prepare it, they just farm it and ship it out. In that case, the trucking demand cycle sees most of the year where trucks were not needed, with short bursts of high demand as fields are planted and harvested.

Now consider a country that only produces oil. The oil wells have to keep producing oil even if nobody wants to buy it. They can’t just switch off the oil wells. As a result, this country would see a permanent and constant demand for trucking services.

Driver and Truck Capacity

This is another factor in the area of supply. Let’s say that the UK imposed a new law where lorry drivers needed to take a new and more difficult driving test. At that moment, the demand for trucking would far outweigh the supply. On a similar note, if there were a shortage of drivers due to union rules making driver pensions too expensive, then this would create a short supply that would affect the freight trucking economy.

A similar thing happens if there is a shortness of trucks, wagons or suitable equipment. These sorts of things sometimes happen when there are strikes, pandemics, fuel restrictions, or when a large project is being undertaken. For example, trucks were in very short supply after the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attacks on the USA because so many were dealing with cleanup and rebuilding. The number of available trucks went down temporarily as they were tied up with these issues, and this affected the freight haulage industry economy for a short while.

Durable and Non-Durable Goods

If an area has lots of non-durable goods it needs moving, then trucking companies can charge more, especially since they are taking bigger risks because there are plenty of things that can interrupt a delivery. Disruption in non-durable transit for things like fuel and clothing is not so bad, but perishable things like food can result in a complete write-off for the trucking company, which will have to make a claim with its insurance company to recoup its losses.

On the other hand, things like furniture, large appliances and cars are durable goods. If an area is awash with those and it needs them shipping, then trucking companies can charge less but have the added benefit of more optimised loading. Half-empty trucks are far rarer with durable goods, so there is plenty of money to be saved.

Consumer Spending

It is no surprise that the USA has the biggest trucking industry on the planet and that 70% of the GDP of the USA comes from consumer spending. We all know that when people are spending, then warehouses are being filled with goods and trucking companies are in high demand. Interest rates have an effect on how people are spending, but the market itself is the biggest determiner. Consumers may want something, they may have the money for it, but if the market says they can’t have it, then it isn’t going to get shipped.

Industrial Production and Inventories

This is related to the previous point. The funding may be there to create a certain product, but if something is holding up production (such as a missing component), then production slows down and far less gets shipped.

How much stock companies decide to hold, how they intend to release it, and how they manage it, will all affect the freight truck economy. There has always been companies that are so big that if they decide to stockpile or sell off it will directly affect the freight truck economy. However, the planet is now owned by Amazon and its product supplier China. If Amazon decides something is going to be popular, industrial production ramps up, inventories fill, and trucking companies see a lot of business.

Fuel Prices

Yes, we have to mention it, fuel prices do affect the haulage industry as a whole. Still, where fuel prices can push freight truck companies out of business, it is only a short-term problem. The cost of fuel price rises is always passed onto the consumer. The thing about fuel prices is that it is a national problem. When haulage company X has to raise its prices because of fuel costs, then haulage company Y and Z have to raise their prices by the same amount too. The merchants then raise their prices, and the consumer ends up being the only one out of pocket.

Events and Incidents

Fuel strikes, eco-policies affecting trucks, pandemics and global component shortages. Everything from earthquakes to nationwide lockdowns, there are plenty of events and incidents that affect the freight trucking economy. Yet, even though some incidents can have effects that last for years, under most circumstances, these events/incidents only have a temporary effect on the freight/haulage industry. Either things go back to how they were, or the industry adapts as a whole.

How Many Other Factors Exist?

There are too many to count, namely because they vary by company and by country. The factors change over time, they shift, and you have to remember that the haulage/shipping industry is also shifting and evolving over time too. Factors come and go, from technologically advanced trucks that use less fuel, to education systems making it more likely that people will take up a career in trucking. There are many factors that affect the freight trucking economy. The ones listed in this article should give you a fair idea of some factors that can have the biggest impact.

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Is being a delivery driver, lorry driver, courier a career-ending profession? Is it the sort of job where professional drivers have trouble moving out of the driving industry?

It is common knowledge that many delivery drivers and especially lorry drivers will work their job up until retirement. Yet, is this because such driving jobs are highly secure and often well paid? Or is it because drivers have a hard time finding other jobs? Here are a few things that ex-drivers do for a living.

This article assumes that each driver doesn’t simply move to another driving job. For example, many professional drivers move from deliveries and lorries into ambulance driving, taxi driving, and security van driving. These varieties of careers are not mentioned in this article. This article focuses on what drivers can do after they end their careers as drivers.

Working as Bouncers and Security Guards

It sounds a little cliche and perhaps prejudiced to say that lorry and delivery drivers become bouncers and security guards. It seems to perpetuate this myth that drivers are butch, hard-drinking, hard smoking, tattooed bruisers, but that is not why many drivers become security guards or bouncers.

If a driver has few qualifications, then jobs like security are ideal because they do not demand many qualifications. Security guards have to be trustworthy and sensible, which is also a job requirement for being a driver.

Also, drivers and security personnel need a certain type of mindset. They need to be comfortable being vigilant for hours and hours on end, which is what drivers do all the time. They have to concentrate for hours on the road, just like security people and bouncers have to concentrate for hours as they look for problems. Many of the elements that make for good drivers will also make for good security personnel.

Car, Van and Truck Sales

This is where two stereotypes clash. We think of car salespersons as slick, with tailor-made suits, shiny shoes and a power tie. We don’t think of drivers selling cars and vans. Be they lorry or courier drivers, the image doesn’t match up, but in fact, some drivers are very good salespeople.

It is easier to believe a long-time professional driver when they say this van will give you 180K miles before any serious components need replacing. Like with all jobs, there is a large degree of personality involved in the decision. Some people are not born salespeople, but older and seasoned drivers do make good and reliable vehicle salespeople. Again, this is another situation where qualifications are not a barrier to entry, so they are suitable for ex-drivers.

Amazon Warehouse Workers

This is probably a sign of the times, but many drivers decide to work for Amazon as a driver. The jobs are sometimes seasonal and often turn into full-time jobs for people who are good at driving. However, over a few months or years, the drivers get friendly with admin staff and warehouse workers. They discover that warehouse jobs are better paid, have better hours, and have more perks. They apply for jobs in the warehouses, and they get the jobs because of their previous history with Amazon.

There are many functions within the warehouses where drivers are preferred. Most operating jobs are done very well by drivers. There are lollops that drivers are often comfortable operating. This is another job where qualifications are not needed, and there is enough job variety to keep drivers interested and invested.

Similar things happen with major grocery stores. Now that groceries are delivered to people with vans, there are plenty of drivers who have migrated over to working in this capacity. They too are often seduced by the perks, holidays, and easier life that comes with being a warehouse worker.

Some Drivers Retire

There are some drivers who don’t bother with their career after they finish driving. Some simply retire. If they have been doing the job long enough, then they have enough money saved, have enough investments, and have a big enough retirement fund to allow them to retire. They may take up part-time jobs while retired, but they are often far removed from driving jobs.

Transport Management and Logistics

Some drivers stay within the company they work for and move into the transport management and/or logistics department. As they work, drivers often gain a very good and deep understanding of how the system works. Companies often prefer to hire from within, especially when the drivers show knowledge and expertise on how the systems work.

On a similar note, some drivers move away from driving and become loaders and unloaders. This sometimes happens anyway when a driver loses their license and the company decides to keep them on. In other cases, drivers simply stop driving and become loaders/unloaders because they have lots of experience in that area and there is something about the job they like.

Mechanic or Vehicle Inspector

There are fewer and fewer drivers becoming mechanics these days, probably because the way vehicles are built and fixed has changed so much. These days, parts are custom built for each vehicle, and much of what is done is computerised.

Some drivers stay within a company and become vehicle inspectors or vehicle maintenance people. Just like the unloader/loader and logistics jobs, a driver often moves over to vehicle inspecting because there are available jobs within the company they work for. Many drivers of larger vehicles have to do their own checks before taking vehicles out, so the transition from driver to inspector/maintenance person is pretty smooth.

Machine Operator and Crane Operator

There are many varieties of machine operating that work in a similar way to a car. Some have described operating a crane like trying to drive two cars at once. Since the most skilled drivers are often very coordinated, they can take to crane training very well. Similarly, with the right type of coordination and spatial awareness, some drivers take to becoming machine operators very well. Not only are they good at the job, but they often find it far easier than other people do.

Do Drivers Go On To Higher Education?

In the 90s and 00s, drivers would have kept their jobs as long as they could, often moving up to bigger and better wages. These days, younger and middle-aged people are able to get driving jobs. They can start small with food deliveries and move all the way up to heavy goods driving. Young people can become bus drivers and work their way up to very good wages in whichever direction they wish.

These days, if drivers are able to pass the various types of license required for the many types of driving, they are also able to pass exams on online courses and get real qualifications. Again, the move from driver to higher education and new careers is due to there being more younger and middle-aged drivers.

Getting into the driving profession is not as difficult as it used to be. Getting experience is far easier, so people can move up and carve out a good driving and trucking career. Thanks to the wide variety of distance learning online courses available, people are also able to get a higher education, take exams, and expand their careers in almost any direction they wish.

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If you encounter these sorts of people, then do whatever it takes to draw out the proceedings as long as possible. In many cases, they will become bored of waiting and move on to their next victim. The sad fact is you cannot avoid these people if you are a courier driver, but you may take a few steps to make it more difficult for them to file a winning lawsuit.

You Didn’t Deliver

This is one of the biggest and most common claims that drivers experience. We all know the scams. How people can claim they didn’t receive something and they get a refund on the item they stole.

As you are probably aware, you can avoid getting sued for this by getting the right insurance. At that point, the insurance company takes over and they know how to win. Also, modern insurance companies and even delivery companies are now asking for things like photos of delivery.

This means that if you do accidentally deliver to the wrong place, then you are covered to some degree from being sued. You can only be sued if they can prove you stole or were intentionally negligent in your duty.

You Destroyed My Goods

There are several ways to avoid this. You need insurance for the things you deliver, and you need goods-in-transit insurance. There are tracking protocols that show how many hands the package went through, which may help you avoid blame. Also, some drivers have body cams on them similar to the things the police wear.

Despite what you are told by consumers, there are no laws stopping you from recording your entire day unless you intentionally snoop into somebody’s house. Quite often, the case is dropped immediately once you prove that the package was intact when you made your delivery.

You Kicked My Dog

This sort of thing comes up all too often. There are some malicious couriers and delivery drivers out there who will kick anything from a dog to a cute bunny. For the most part, however, you have somebody with fuzzy footage from a doorbell camera where your feet cannot be seen clearly.

This is another occasion where the body cam comes in handy. It may seem silly having to record everything you do, but it will get you out of all sorts of scrapes. Some people are just jerks, and the only way to stop them from profiting from their lawsuits is to have video alibis.

Your Driving Endangered My Life

This is a tricky one because liability is often difficult to determine. Does your van insurance company pay? Your courier insurance? Do you pay? Does the company that hired you pay? The sorts of people who pull the "Endangered life" scam are not sophisticated.

With something like a dashcam, you can see them pull out in front of you or swerve their bike into your path. When there is no damage to themselves or their vehicle, they make claims about you endangering their life or causing them distress. In most cases, a dashcam will keep you out of the courts.

Your Delivery Was Late

Yes, you can be sued for things being late, but there is a low percentage of successful lawsuits considering the number that are filed. The weird thing is that people file these types of suits for all sorts of nutty reasons. Like the work-from-home accountant who claims she lost a million-pound account because her home computer was delivered a day late and she couldn’t do her work.

Successful occasions often include damages for time-sensitive goods, especially when severe negligence or some sort of deception is involved. For example, if you fail to deliver a human organ in time because you claimed you had an ambulance when you didn’t.

The old "Delivery is late" lawsuit can be avoided in several ways. Firstly, the company you are working for (or their insurance) should assume responsibility for your delivery being made and you should ensure they will before you take their job. Secondly, you can create delivery contracts that limit your liability if a delivery is not made on time. Thirdly, there are numerous courier and goods-in-transit insurance policies that cover you against delivering something late. Fourthly, don’t take jobs you are not sure you can make.

Lastly, seek legal advice before you respond to the lawsuit because many filing are unwinnable, and quite often the person filing the suit knows this. There are bendable rules about reasonable delivery margins, and stricter rules where you can avoid a lawsuit if you can prove you did all you could to get the delivery there on time.

Your Road Rage Caused Me Emotional Distress

If you anger somebody on the roads, they may try to sue you. The reasons for the lawsuit are as colourful as they are stupid, but a common one is that your road rage caused them emotional distress. The lawsuits have to be cleverly worded to ensure they do not slip into your vehicle insurance territory. In these cases, in-cab cameras are pretty handy. They show what you were doing during the time of the incident. Keep them as hidden as possible.

They are also good for dealing with the police. As you know, police play games, like playing vehicle bingo where they have to ticket a vehicle of every color. If you have an in-cab camera and you keep it secret, then it is handy evidence when you can state that you were a victim in the scenario and that you didn’t do anything wrong.

You Sexually Harassed Me

An easy lawsuit is to claim you discriminated against somebody or insulted somebody because of their race, gender or sexual preference. Another common complaint is that of sexual harassment. These are all hot issues and scammers know that businesses will do anything to distance themselves from these accusations before the usual Twitter witch hunt begins. Your biggest defense against this is two-fold. The first is the body cam that you can use to prove you delivered the package and left.</p>
<p>The second is your GPS vehicle tracking. Your tracking software will show how long you were parked and how long you spent delivering the parcel. This is very important because the less time you spend at the delivery address, the stronger your case is. This is especially true if the claimant has created a long story about how you entered their house, made a cup of tea, slowly went through the underwear drawer and then offered to pay them for sex.

In some cases, people will try to bait delivery drivers into sexual misconduct, based on things they saw in adult movies, and your best defense is to make your delivery and get out as quickly as possible with excuses about already being late for your next few deliveries.

You Failed to Follow Instructions

This is perhaps one of the most annoying lawsuits because those making the claim are often resolute in their anger and how &quot;Correct&quot; they are. It usually goes something like this: they give special instructions in the delivery note section, and they give you some complicated instruction that you cannot or do not follow, and then they sue you because their item was damaged or stolen.</p>
<p>The sad part is that people will sue over even the smallest issue, even if the issue was brought on by them. Such as if they tell you to put the item under the welcome mat, and the next person to the door steps on it. Other common problems involve how far you are allowed to deliver. For example, you may be willing to climb the 28 steps to deliver to the flat, but your insurance may not allow you to enter the building and climb the stairs.

In many cases, these cases are won simply because you making the delivery doesn’t mean you have to follow their instructions. In some cases, if you made a reasonable effort to follow their instructions, then they have no case against you.

Most cases are won by the courier simply because there is no legal obligation for drivers to follow complicated instructions. On the other hand, if the delivery recipient can prove you were negligent or showed poor conduct with regards to the instructions, then you may lose the case. In most cases, make a good attempt to follow the instructions so long as your insurance allows for it. Also, offer things like letting the recipient choose the delivery time and arrange re-delivery if required as these will often put responsibility for receiving the delivery back into the hands of the customer/recipient.

Some of these examples may seem far-fetched but remember, you are dealing with human nature. Be prepared for anything!

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Being a delivery driver has several perks and benefits, from the feelings of freedom, privacy and self-determinism, to perks like great pay, flexible shifts, and the ability to work extra hours for more money. Yet, this is a job that comes with several health problems. They are not specifically risks because you can avoid most of them with a balanced lifestyle and a careful work ethic. Nevertheless, here are a few of the most common health problems that long-time delivery drivers experience.

Obesity and Being Out of Shape

The notion of the bullishly strong delivery driver is fine for younger or newer drivers, but the fact is that delivery driving takes its toll on the human body. Not only are you stationary for most of the day, but the nature of your job encourages you to eat snacks and junk food. Many drivers also take stimulants such as energy drinks, which are loaded with calories. This is not to say that drivers are any more unhealthy than a programmer or online writer, but delivery drivers have fewer opportunities for healthy activity.</p>

Chronic Tiredness And Its Side Effects

Being tired is a common complaint for most delivery drivers. This is because you have to be aware and alert at all times when you are driving, and it can quickly sap your energy. After a while, a driver becomes accustomed and adapted to always being tired, which is bad enough on its own, but this condition comes with several side effects. These include a low mood, a negative outlook, being quick to anger, general fatigue, a lack of concentration, increased stress levels and a lowered immune system. These lead to a host of problems that include a higher susceptibility to illness, insomnia, and even mental breakdowns in some very serious cases of stress.

Back Injuries and Wrist Injuries

Though these may happen due to sudden braking, crashes, etc., they are more common during the delivery phase themselves. Back and wrist injuries happen when the load is being moved. Perhaps the other person drops their end and it sprains the driver’s wrist or causes a back injury. Other times, these injuries occur slowly over time as the driver handles loads that are a little too heavy or awkward to carry.

Repetitive Strain Injuries

These sorts of injuries are far less common these days thanks to things like better-designed chairs and power steering yet, back and wrist injuries are still a common occurrence. On the one hand, being sat in the same position for months after months and years after years is going to have a negative effect on the back if the driver doesn’t have a regular exercise regimen. As for wrist and hand injuries, there are several possible causes such as being sat too close to the wheel, being overly aggressive when steering, and so forth.

Depression and Low Mood Afflictions

Writers and delivery drivers suffer from very similar mental ailments because both jobs are often very solitary jobs. There is also a certain degree of repetitiveness about some delivery jobs that cause low moods and depression. However, the most common cause is that drivers are alone for large portions of the week, and it takes a toll on their mental health.

Hypertension

This is also known as high blood pressure, and it has several causes. Poor diet and a lack of exercise are common causes, but so are things like smoking, sugary drinks, and energy drinks will also cause high blood pressure. Plus, if a driver is of a volatile temperament, then incidents of road rage will also increase stress levels and blood pressure levels.

Dehydration and Kidney Stones

One of the most common reasons for dehydration in drivers is due to them purposefully not drinking fluid in order to avoid bathroom breaks. This is done for several reasons. Drivers may not want to stop, or they may drive fairly random routes where they are unsure if there is a place to stop. Drivers of larger vehicles like lorries may have a hard time getting to a stopping point in time, and no driver likes the feeling of needing to urinate and having to hold it (especially during traffic jams). As a result, many drivers will purposefully avoid drinking fluids unless completely necessary, which leads to dehydration. A common side effect of dehydration is the formation of kidney stones, along with higher chances of headaches and migraines.

Poor Circulation

This is another side effect of sitting in the same position for hours and hours. If you do not undertake a fairly good exercise regimen outside of work, then problems like poor circulation can creep up on drivers who have been doing the job for years. What is worse is that poor air quality can make the problem worse, and poor circulation will also increase a driver’s risks of deep vein thrombosis whenever the driver takes their next plane trip.

What About Other Common Health Concerns?

If you go online, you will see a lot of talk and statistics about delivery drivers having lung cancer, heart problems, diabetes and so forth. However, these are not directly linked to being a delivery driver. These are often the result of the lifestyle choices made by delivery drivers. Things like smoking, eating junk food, and such, are the biggest causes of health problems with the heart, diabetes, lungs, etc. These are lifestyle choices that are perhaps prompted by overwork and depression, but again, these are not directly linked to being a delivery driver. There are plenty of drivers who are not depressed, not overworked, don’t smoke, and lead a healthy and balanced diet. The eight health issues mentioned in this article are directly linked to being a delivery driver. Any further issues are the result of a driver’s life choices, genetics, or bad luck.

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