In a sad turn of events this year, trucking as an industry has faced, and continues to face, a brutal recession affecting the livelihood, careers, and bottom lines of truck drivers and trucking enterprises. Companies of all sizes are feeling the belt-tightening as less money comes in.
As a result, trucking companies need to reduce their workforces through layoffs, meaning lifelong truckers face unemployment with no hope of finding a new company to drive for; all of them face the same challenges. As Albuquerque and Texas trucking accident lawyers, we are studying this downturn in trucking so that we can represent drivers, contractors, employees, and owners through these tough times and offer resources to help. As it stands, the bad news continues to roll in.
According to the government’s monthly job report, approximately 4,200 payrolls have been slashed by trucking companies by the beginning of October 2019. Compared to August, these numbers may seem uplifting; in August 2019, 5,100 payrolls were cut. That’s nearly 10,000 payrolls within a 3 month period. There was a slight uptick in jobs added to the trucking industry over the summer, yet that couldn’t save thousands of jobs.
Speaking of being unable to save thousands of jobs, it is reported that over 600 trucking companies filed for bankruptcy within the first six months of 2019. Some trucking giants may be able to survive the recession and float by, but they aren’t immune like their smaller spot market brothers. One company is letting 10% of its workforce go as it is no longer profitable to keep that division running. More companies will likely make the same heart-wrenching decisions soon, affecting more workers and shaking the industry further.
As we head towards the end of 2019, things do not look promising for those in the trucking industry. If new, inexperienced drivers are hired at lower rates to replace trained veterans of the roads, we will likely see more collisions. If you’ve been affected by the recession and feel you are unfairly terminated, contact us today to go over the details of your job to see how we can help.