The Coast Guard just busted a big shipment of plywood being smuggled in to a port in Texas. It was carefully hidden inside a shipment of cocaine.
The Coast Guard just busted a big shipment of plywood being smuggled in to a port in Texas. It was carefully hidden inside a shipment of cocaine.
One of the big issues right now.. and it effects all types of commodities.
According to the American Trucking Association,
the trucking industry is short more than 60,000
drivers. Factoring in anticipated retirements, a 2018
ATA report estimated 1.1 million new truck drivers
will need be hired in the span of a decade.
According to DAT Freight and Analytics, the
flatbed load-to-truck ratio, representing the number
of loads posted for every truck on DAT Load
Boards, hit 96 in April. The ratio was 48 in January
and 5 in April 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the
shortage. Many drivers who may have quit driving
temporarily or were laid off have not come back,
and some trucking companies went out of business.
Implementation of the Electronic Logging Device
in late 2017 is cited as a factor pushing drivers
out of the business, while driving violations have
idled thousands of drivers, as well. Wood products
shippers are also competing seasonally for trucks
moving produce and chemicals such as fertilizer.
Independent drivers, knowing they have leverage
amid the industry shortage, are demanding higher
rates, reducing travel hours and distances, and
selecting or prioritizing lanes.
Amid the shortage, trucking rate increases are
sharp and widespread. The ATA’s Trucking Activity
Report notes flatbed spot rates in the first quarter
rose 15.6% compared to the like period of 2020,
while van spot rates rose 34.3%. One trader in the
South noted being charged $8 per mile on a recent
160-mile delivery.
Trucking companies have been actively recruiting
more drivers. One Northwest-based company
has recently advertised paying new drivers up to
$85,000 a year, with a signing bonus of $2,500.
Given the escalation in wood product prices, higher
freight rates have not been a deal-breaker. But
procuring trucks for the hauls can be.
Another issue is that many people would rather collect a government check then get a job. I know it's hitting a lot of restaurants, and am pretty sure it's going to add a lot of cost to other industries too.
Looks like the UBI thing is a big ball of suck and fail after all.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
That's part of it for sure. Even with guys that followed the rules during the paper log days, it was pretty easy to pencil whip 10 minutes at the end of the day without a violation. With the ELD's commercial vehicle enforcement, as well as company safety guys. are penalizing guys heavily for just being a few minutes in violation. Guys just get tired of the B.S. and move on.
In my case, 90% of my business qualifies under the under 150 miles from home base exemption, so it's not a hang up for me and my guys. We don't even have to run ELD's in my trucks.
You think it's bad now? In 2022 they are doing away with our ability to teach new drivers in-house unless we have a "school" set up with insurance and certified instructors. A lot of good drivers got their starts under the tutelage of friends, family or good companies willing to train. That will be gone in 2022 and force new drivers to spend $1000's of dollars to get their training from outfits who have no real business teaching drivers. I've trained 12 drivers in 25 years to their A class licenses. All of them passed their driving test on their first try. We have had ZERO wrecks or moving violations in that time. It has come to the point that getting a CDL is more regulated than getting a commercial pilot's license.
The price issue is multi-faceted https://slate.com/business/2021/05/w...DFfuLuHwPvuiaE
As much as I hated to do it, I went to several customers over the last few days and asked for them to cover the costs of their framing, roofing and siding packages. I can no longer continue to absorb these costs if I want to stay in business. On some, the increases have blown through my profit margin.
Some were immediately agreeable and said they expected this, some flat out said no, and some said they'd let me know.
We've recently switched to cost plus contracts, but with our fixed price contracts we didn't have anything in there about material prices because who'd have predicted this? So there's really not much I can do about the people who wouldn't pay. I'll still honor my contract and do as good a job as I'd intended to all along. Karma shall repay me sevenfold, but that's cold comfort when I can stay home and make no money, but I'm actually losing money by working.
Posting this on PF because Guadalupe Lumber, president Kyle Grothues' other job is co-owner of AR-15 maker Sons Of Liberty Gun Works.
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/tro...FtQw1U8frWmBe8
As lumber prices triple, here's what to watch out for in a new home contract
SAN ANTONIO – In the past year, lumber prices have more than tripled. If you’re looking for a new home, the Trouble Shooters show you exactly what to watch for in the contract to make sure you don’t get slammed.
At Guadalupe Lumber, president Kyle Grothues says wholesale prices are through the roof.
"This is absolutely unprecedented,” he says. "Lumber's been going up, up, up, up and up."
He says mills made a bad bet that through the pandemic, the housing market would slow down.
"They got behind the eight-ball last year on production,” Grothues says.
Mills are now playing catch-up as a year of staying home sparks a frenzy of home improvement projects.
"Plywood that was $7, $8 a sheet like a year ago is up to $30, $40. We've never seen it that high,” Grothues says.