Trucking cost pressures are hitting truckers hard again. The last time the industry saw this was in mid-2008 when diesel prices began to soar. During that time, I lost a lot of my market share to the smaller truckers who surrendered his or her authority and leased to a larger firm, or those who sold their equipment and got out of the business altogether.

Here we are again, and as of March 2018 the trucking industry’s fuel costs jumped 20.6% compared to the same month a year ago. At the same time, wages increased 2.4% and overhead costs grew 3%. But, the good news is that e-commerce purveyors and manufacturers are chasing tight supply and paying more. The wholesale transaction price index for the trucking industry has been accelerating steadily over the past 17 months. In April, prices increased 5.8% above a year earlier, the highest price hike since 2011. One trucking industry forecast is calling for a 5.8% average annual price hike in 2018 and 2.8% in 2019.

With a current shortage of 90,000+ truckers, it’s looking like a great time to get into the trucking business. Somebody is going to have to fill that void, and my money is on millennials getting into business for the first time with nice new equipment, and the ability to negotiate a very nice living while being home a couple times a week. Maybe it’s your time to finally see the beautiful country that we live in!