If you’ve been on a busy freeway anytime in the last few years, you might think that driving a semi-truck would be a pretty good living. After all, the lanes are crowded by semis—seemingly at all hours.
According to the United States Census, “trucks transported 71.6% or $10.4 trillion of the $14.5 trillion of the value of all goods shipped in the United States in 2017, the latest year for which statistics are available.”
It should be a lucrative career. However, truck drivers are becoming more difficult to find. Per a 2021 article in The Guardian, “Annual turnover at big trucking employers averaged 94% between 1995 and 2017.”
A viral TikTok may help illustrate why so many truckers are leaving the field. The video was posted on Friday to truckershaderoom (@truckershaderoom), a TikTok account run by the TruckSmarter app. So far, the video has accrued over 4 million views and counting.
In the video, the anonymous poster shows a trucking job offered on a booking app. At first glance, it appears to be a well-paying gig for $3,200. However, the poster quickly alleges that it isn’t in an expletive-laden rant breaking down the operational costs.
“Y’all, look at this ol’ dumba** sh*t right here, picking up over there in Florida going way over there to motherf*cking Phoenix, Arizona,” he tells his viewers while filming the offer. “30,000 pounds, 2,100 miles for motherf*cking $3,200.”
“You mean to tell me you want me to go way to motherf*cking Phoenix, Arizona for motherf*cking $1.49 a mile? These people tripping for real, man,” he says.
He then breaks down the costs before profit, showing that the job has an operational cost of $1,008.93 and fuel costs of $1,349.30.
“That’s all the money gone right there,” he claims. “You’re going to have to probably lay ’round there and come out your pocket with some tolls too. They ain’t put that on there, so subtract it from that. You gotta subtract your food, and it weighs 30,000 pounds, so I’m figuring you’re gonna spend about $1,600 on fuel on this load. That’s crazy.”
He then calls the company that supposedly placed the offer. After finally reaching the purported representative, he asks if the offer is still available and if the company can offer more money. The representative tells him she is allowed to go up to $3,400, well below his asking price of $7,000 to $8,000.
“You tripping for real. You can’t go higher than that?” he asks the representative.
“All right, enjoy your day,” he tells her. “Somebody’s gonna take that ol’ dumba** load.”
Speaking to The Guardian, trucker Tim Clemons stated, “This used to be a great job. I provide a valuable service to this country. It would be nice if we weren’t looked down upon like trash.”
He claims that working conditions have deteriorated since the industry was deregulated in the Reagan era. Per the article, “It’s more difficult to find parking and access to bathrooms. Dispatchers and brokers are pushing harder to deliver loads in a certain amount of time or else drivers face fines or deductions. Drivers earn less.”
“The industry has recycled this narrative about every three months for over 20 years. There is no truck driver shortage,” Desiree Wood, the president of Real Women in Trucking, told the publication. “It is indeed a pay shortage and work conditions issue.”
@truckershaderoom keep truckin🚛 #trucadao #choraboy #gasprices #keeptrucking #trucking #trucks #fuel #18wheeler #truckingindustry ♬ original sound – truckershaderoom
Several viewers expressed their disbelief at the small payoff for the gig.
Lalita La Bandita (@lala.santiesteban) wrote, “I wouldn’t carry an envelope to Phoenix driving a Tesla for $3200!”
Another viewer commented, “I’m not even a driver and that price is outrageous.”
“They trippin…they need to do it themselves at this point,” another wrote.
A further commented, “No way the profit 800 that’s INSANEEE why don’t they pay for operation and fuel???”
According to The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, truckers make a “national average of $50,340, [yearly] according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the truckershaderoom account via email for further comment.
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*First Published: May 2, 2024, 2:00 am CDT
Beau Paul
Beau Paul is a freelance writer from Austin, Texas. Beau also wrote narrative and dialog for the gaming industry for several years before becoming an entertainment journalist.
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