Some Trucker Pay Up 40 Percent

For anyone who thinks that inflation is going away anytime soon, look no further than a recent article from FreightWaves.com by Todd Maiden that describes how Lawrence Freight is now paying their truckers 40% more with driver now making between $88k or more per year.

People are finally starting to wise up to the aging demographic problem as Vox.com recently wrote in this article acknowledging that demographics is a core part of the problem.

All of this comes together so that, around the world, fewer and fewer people want to be truck drivers, or stay at it long enough to replace an aging workforce.

Vox.com

Let’s come full circle and close the loop on what we have been writing about now for some time. Here is an excerpt from ATBS asking Where Did All The Truckers Go?

One of the leading causes of truck drivers getting out of the industry during the pandemic was the pandemic itself. The trucking industry saw a surge in retirements among older drivers who were at-risk of facing serious complications if they happened to contract the virus. Many who were close to retirement didn’t feel as though the health risks were worth continuing to work for a few additional years.

ATBS.com

Recall from our BLS JOLTS: 10.6 Million Open Jobs post that Pew Research indicated that 3.5 million boomers retired in 2020 instead of the normal 1.5 million so in that huge tranche of boomers retiring America lost truckers, snowplowers, police, fire, sanitation, and all sorts of other workers are gone from the labor force. We are highly doubtful that many will return.

Let’s summarize in quick points:

1. Massive amounts of boomers retire creating a labor shortage
2. Businesses still need people so they raise wages to attract and hire people.
3. Those deep pocket corporations that pay the most will attract and hire the most people.
4. Those with shallow pockets will get very little or no labor and clearly not the highest quality people that remain.
5. Go to step 1 and repeat the process because every day 10,000 boomers retire.

Now let’s summarize for our investment strategy:

1. Deep pocket corporations will be able to hire workers and provide goods/services, they will be profitable.
2. Small businesses and non-deep pockets will need to be creative with labor to survive and likely will struggle.
3. Boomers that retire will spend their most of their money on health care and basic living expenses.

You now have a basic blue print about our strategy moving forward.

Stay tuned and stay solvent.