The Canadian economy. What are job prospects? What does the future hold?

The unfortunate reality is that trucking companies right now seem to be filing for bankruptcy at a very high and alarming rate. The bankruptcies are not a result of American-imposed tariffs, they are a result of the past 24 months of a very slow economy. Perhaps it is a sign of poor TRUCKING management. One of the companies that I was reading about was started 18 years ago in 2007.  If a company lasts 18 years, is it a sign of poor management? Yes, it could be, or perhaps it is other factors such as the economy, poor freight rates, high insurance

We now have tariffs pending on the steel and aluminum that we are exporting to the USA. I am writing this article during the 30-day reprieve from tariffs on Canadian exports. By the time you read this, you will know whether those tariffs have been put into effect and, likely, what the Canadian government has done in response to those same tariffs.

Tariffs are certainly going to hurt the Canadian economy and will be devastating to the Canadian trucking world as we know it. The first to feel it will be the steel haulers.  So, what is a trucker to do to protect themselves? First, there will always be trucks on the road. And for the foreseeable future, these trucks will be driven by humans. So, to protect your job, here are my suggestions as to what you need to do.

First and foremost, drive safely. Most of our industry pays drivers by some different form of incentive.  Incentive pay means that you are compensated per mile, or by the run, or you can be paid by the weight and by   percentage.  All these payment structures encourage drivers not to waste time. Some safety people believe that incentive pay structures hurt safety. When drivers don’t feel that they are being compensated for an activity, they try to either reduce or cut out that activity. An example of an activity could be vehicle inspections. The point I’m trying to make is, don’t cut SAFETY items out.

During this time, when there may be layoffs coming, I want you to be the driver that everyone wants to keep. You are safe, polite, conscientious and a diligent driver. Be the driver who always does the vehicle inspection. Be the operator that leaves enough space to stop even when an emergency is in front of you. Always be in control. Don’t allow anyone to push you to make up for lost time. Work like you are being paid by the hour.

I believe that we are approaching unusual and turbulent times. For you, the driver, I want you to keep your abstract clean and build an awesome reputation. This will make it harder for any company to choose to lay you off. Be the AWESOME truck driver that you know you are and prove it to everyone.

Best of luck everyone and be safe.

Chris Harris
CEO & Top Dawg
Safety Dawg Inc.
905-973-7056
chris@safetydawg.com
@safety_dawg (twitter)