This is Julian with Trucker Job USA. And today we’re going to discuss how the pandemic COVID-19 has affected the trucking industry.
Food Industry vs Dollar Businesses
The biggest thing that I personally have seen is the food industry, restaurant deliveries. Restaurant deliveries, I’ve talked to drivers and drivers are saying, “Hey, they laid off 80% of the staff.” And I’m like, that is insane, the amount of people that are being laid off. And the other thing that I’ve seen that has had a huge uptick is dollar business. Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, any business that is in the dollar business freight has been through the roof, because typically when people are out of work, they are going to try to save money. I mean, that’s just what people are going to do. They’re going to try to save money, which is a smart thing to do. So the volume for these businesses has skyrocketed through the roof.
Driver Demand Is Skyrocketing
And in turn, driver demand has really skyrocketed also for needing drivers for those types of positions. So if I’m somebody that’s out unemployed, then I’m going to look at jobs in the dollar industry, Walmart, Target. Those companies right there, they really are thriving during this pandemic. But companies that are delivering to restaurants, like chains like Outback or Chili’s, these companies are laying people off left and right. And it’s really unfortunate, because I’m talking to drivers who have 15, 20 years experience, and they’re just getting caught up in the mix. So those are the biggest differences. Also, the DMV has been impacted. We’re talking about DMVs that are or MBA if you’re in the DMV area, but the DMVs are closed down. A lot of them were closed down and some of them have very limited hours.
Getting a New or License Renewal is Hard
So what’s going on is that drivers are unable to renew their licenses. Drivers are unable to test for a new CDL Class A license. So this is causing a bubble in the industry where you have drivers with their permit that can’t even qualify for their CDL Class A license because the DMVs are closed. They’re closed because of the pandemic. So now this bubble is just swelling now with drivers who were saying, “Hey, I want to drive. I need to get to work.” Or they’re graduating from school and they can not actually go test for their license. And some drivers can not actually renew their licenses. So I’m seeing some states, some counties are actually extending the renewal time duration for people with driver’s license, because they’re just saying, “Hey, we understand there’s no way.” And truck drivers are essential to America.
Other Companies to Start Driving For
So everything comes in on the truck. And Amazon is another company, of course, I forgot to mention them. They are another company that is thriving through this economy quite well. So loads are picking up for them. There are companies that are hiring on their behalf that is picking up. And of course, they’re hiring as well. So Amazon, dollar businesses, Walmart, Target, these companies are thriving. So if I’m a driver and I’m out of work and I’m looking at everything like, hey, I need to get back to work, I’m definitely going to look for those types of companies, because these companies are on a hiring spree. They need people badly.
Driving for Companies that Deliver to Restaurants Is Risky
So I guess when you really look at the whole scenario, what has happened is that America has shut down essentially. So the essential businesses like grocery stores, dollar stores, Walmart’s, and Amazon that are perfect for this type of environment, because you’re getting everything delivered to your home, these businesses are thriving while other businesses are starving, so to say like you got restaurants. And think about this, even if you are a driver that’s gunning to drive for a company that delivers to restaurants, even when the restaurants are open, they’re going to limit the number of people that are able to come inside of these restaurants. They might say, “Hey, we’re at 25 or 30% capacity.” Whatever the regulations are in that city. So it’s not like this freight is just going to uptake and everybody’s going to have a job again. It’s going to be a buildup period.
Final Advice for All the Truckers Out There
So unless the drivers can weather the storm financially, which I don’t see how anybody can go too long, six months to a year without any type of income coming in. It’s definitely going to look tough. So if you’re a no-touch guy, you don’t want to touch any freight, that’s Walmart, that’s Target, that’s Amazon. If you’re somebody, hey, who doesn’t mind touching freight, then as Dollar General, Dollar Tree, what’s the other one? I forget it. Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar. Those are the companies that you will go after. You will go after those types of loads. And those loads are very strong right now.
So again, this is Julian with a Trucker Job USA. So I hope everybody’s safe out there.
