Truck driving can be a rewarding job for many
By Jeff Green
BELOIT -- For most, driving is a just a means of getting from point A to point B. But for the nation's 3.4 million truck drivers, it's a defining part of their day.
Some truckers can go as many as three million miles in a life's worth of work. Beloit resident and truck driver Dave Burwell broke it down this way. "If the average person drove 20,000 miles a year, it would take 50 years to reach a million. These guys are out there for 12-15 years and they'll get their million miles. That is something that people don't recognize. I have a lot of respect for those guys."
It's a rewarding job for many but it's not without its challenges. Three lifetimes' worth of driving without causing an accident is tough on its own. But from the rising costs of gasoline -- both to the pocket and the environment -- to traffic congestion, the ever growing and changing trucking industry presents new difficulties for both drivers and contractors.
Owner operators -- self-employed truckers who contract their services with other companies -- often have it the roughest, having to cover, among other things, fuel, insurance, inspection fees and repairs.
Burning it up
The cost of a gallon of diesel averaged a little over $3.28 in the Midwest last week, $.27 higher than a gallon of regular gasoline, according to the Department of Energy. This is up $.88 from a year ago, when the prices of diesel and regular remained at around the same level.
Davie, 40, said that Blackhawk is one of the better companies to contract with because they make the costs manageable. He grosses $150,000 a year before business expenses, taxes and cost of living. The average wage for commercial truck drivers in the U.S. is a little over $36,000, according to the Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics.
But Davie was modest, stressing that the truckers aren't the only ones dealing with the gas prices.
"The cost of fuel should be each and every tax paying citizen's topic of discussion," he said. "It doesn't just affect the trucking industry, it affects the entire economy."
Jim Teed, a driver for National Freight Industries (NFI) can remember when diesel cost less than regular. After all, it is considerably cheaper to refine. But at least he doesn't have to cover the cost of filling his tank each morning, which runs anywhere from $300 to $450.
Being an owner operator is not a job Burwell or Teed expressed desires for, because of the expenses, difficulty and often-low pay.
"They are at the mercy of people who are only going to pay them so much to haul their product," Burwell said. "I wouldn't do that. There are lot of truck driving jobs that are a lot worse and you have to put up with a lot more problems than my company."
Mike Crumb, Teed's supervisor at NFI, said that even regular drivers should be concerned about gas prices though. Even if the cost isn't coming straight out of their pocket, it's coming out of their employer's, which can turn around and affect the drivers if they have to operate in the hole. Crumb, 45, said that could either mean a decrease in pay or having to lay off workers.
"Fuel is the single biggest variable we have," Crumb said. "We feel it in our corporate wallet every day."
But fuel has more of an impact than cost alone. Davie cited global warming as something that must be dealt with. The Natural Resources Defense Council Web site states that commercial truckers use about 12 percent of oil consumed in the U.S., around 2.4 million barrels a day, emitting over 234 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
"The ever increasing challenges brought forth to this industry right now is the new emission laws, reducing idling time of trucks and the increasing cost of new technology going into the road tractors in an effort to reduce emissions and global warming," Davie said.
Moving along but slowly
"Roads have become a lot more crowded than 20 years ago," Teed said. "Then you might only see three vehicles at night. Now there's always traffic."
The Department of Transportation projects that by 2020, traffic congestion affecting intercity truck traffic will grow by 75 percent from 2000, creating a nightmare especially on Interstate 90. Crumb, who was an owner operator before working for NFI, attributes part of the problem to NAFTA, which has caused drivers to travel more miles. They are making far more trips to Mexico, where parts can be made at for cheaper labor.
"I can't see where that makes sense," he said. "NAFTA changed the way we do business in this country."
With that not likely to change anytime soon, drivers have to increasingly keep their eyes on the road. Teed said he doesn't need to tune into his radio or keep himself entertained mostly because he has to manage his 80,000 lb. vehicle while also watching out for the driving of others. In the past month, he said he's seen at least six vehicles without taillights while driving at night.
Limited free time
"Being gone from home a lot does drastically cut into my free time," Davie said. "But there will be time for that after my children graduate from college and start their own careers."
Burwell said that he once expressed interest in a resident position with his church but he couldn't take it because the meeting times conflicted with his work. He usually puts in 60 hours a week and spends his off-work time with his family.
"It is frustrating in terms of doing other things, like hobbies," Burwell said. "You get home, you have a few hours at home, mow the lawn, take a shower, have dinner and then you gotta get to bed."
But they didn't say that prevents them from being content about going to work each day. Crumb passed up a career in law, after receiving a degree in pre-law and political science from the University of Indiana, because he preferred to be out on the road.
"I cannot say there was a single day I was feeling bad getting up and looking in the mirror," he said. "We're here to do something, to see the fruits of our labor."
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Meet owner operator George Davie, who contracts with Blackhawk Transport in Beloit. Truckers like Davie, who hauls product for Cannonball:HNP across the Midwest and into Canada each week, have good reason to be concerned about fuel costs. For the past year, diesel has been more expensive than regular gasoline, a reverse trend from what it used to be. This is said to be because it faces higher state taxes that go towards road and highway repairs.
Before truck drivers hit the road each day, they have to fill out a plethora of paperwork and have their vehicle inspected, mostly to ensure highway safety. Crumb said that the regulations in place today make for a safer traffic scene than in years past but the increasing size of our population presents a major challenge for truckers.
Drivers don't always have much time for outside-of-work interests, presenting a personal challenge as they are encouraged to work longer due to their growing demand. Davie typically works 55 hours a week and is entirely away from home for three quarters of it, from Sunday morning to Friday morning. He finds the work frustrating sometimes but he hopes to pursue his passion of drag racing when his children are off their own feet.