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Troy: Alright hello and welcome truckers. The date is May 6 and you’re listening to the 53rd episode of Big Rig Banter. I’m your co-host Troy Diffenderfer
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host, Lenay Ruhl
Troy: And before we get things started, I just wanted to again take a minute and give a special shout out to all the professional drivers out there, especially during this tough time. You’re the ones keeping America moving during this challenging time.
Lenay: And Pilot Flying J wants to say thank you as well. To show their gratitude for all you do, they want to give you more rewards and more points. It’s called Push4Points and it can get you to four points faster while you’re racking up those hard-earned miles. That’s right. You can reach four points per gallon after only six qualifying fills. Push4Points is available only in the Pilot Flying J app for a limited time only.
Troy: And it’s as easy as one, two three. Here’s how it works: Step 1 – push the activate button on the app at the beginning of each month. Step 2 – fill your tank with at least 75 gallons of diesel. Step 3 – sit back and watch your point balance grow faster than ever before. You’ll increase your earning level after each commercial diesel fill over 75 gallons, from one, to one and a half, to two, to two and a half, and so on. You’ll be earning four points per gallon for the rest of the month after six qualifying fills.
Lenay: And what can you do with all these points? Well, your rig’s not the only thing that needs a fill up, right? When you get hungry or you need a tasty beverage, you can redeem points for in store savings on the essentials as well as merchandise for you and your rig. And when you pull into park for a while, you can redeem points for a reserved parking spot and Wi-Fi credits at participating Pilot and Flying J locations.
Troy: And once again, from Pilot Flying J, thank you for all you do, drivers, and stay safe on the road. See terms and conditions at PilotFlyingJ.com/app.
Lenay: Awesome. So how many weeks are we at, Troy?
Troy: I lost track… I did notice that…
Lenay: (laughing)
Troy: I don’t even care anymore at this point. I did notice the weather’s getting nicer, which is like the only thing that I have to look forward to. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed the sunlight until I like, worked in the basement when it’s still cold. And I don’t know… as long as there’s sunlight I don’t even care if it’s 120 degrees outside now. I just want to be outside in the sun.
Lenay: I know. I feel you. I am really happy that the weather’s getting warmer.
Troy: And I feel like… and this is (bangs on desk) that’s me knocking on wood, but I feel like we’re not at the tail end, or anywhere close to this, but I feel like we’re on the upswing, or at least, nearing where we’re going to start seeing maybe things get back to normal, slowly but surely, but again, who knows.
Lenay: Yeah, for sure. I mean a lot of different parts of the country are starting to open back up, but I mean here… for those of you listening, we’re in Pennsylvania so we’re kind of surrounded by a lot of really big cities so things are moving a little slower here, but I’m definitely trying to stay positive.
Troy: I know I’m just waiting for the day where we can sit across from each other with no face masks or nothing and actually like, look at each other.
Lenay: And drink a beer. And cheers.
Troy: Exactly! I can’t wait for that day. So, hopefully soon. Fingers crossed. And you know, we just gotta be patient.
Lenay: Right. So, I have some new trivia questions for you today, and they have to do with beer
Troy: Nice. One of my expertise actually.
Lenay: Yeah so, well not all of them have to do with beer. And, so, well I have a couple because I feel like my questions are all too easy. You’re just so smart.
Troy: That is true
Lenay: (laughing) This quarantine’s really getting to me.
Troy: Yeah
Lenay: (still laughing) I just complimented you. Alright, are you ready for some trivia before we get into the episode?
Troy: Yeah
Lenay: Ok. So, which two states don’t observe daylight savings time? This isn’t a beer question. I’m starting with the others first.
Troy: Oh, I know one of them is Arizona. 100 percent, Arizona. Right?
Lenay: That’s correct. Do you know the other?
Troy: It’s going to be freakin’ Alaska or Hawaii, and I don’t know which one to pick. I’m gonna go with Hawaii.
Lenay: Yup. Arizona and Hawaii.
Troy: I knew it. See, I’m just getting smarter as the day goes by. I don’t have anything other to do than to just study pointless information that I probably won’t ever need to know except here.
Lenay: Well now I’m worried. I feel like you’re going to get all of these. Ok, now this is a movie category.
Troy: Ok
Lenay: Ok, which Tom Hanks movie won the academy award for best picture in 1994?
Troy: Castaway
Lenay: Forest Gump
Troy: Aww I shoulda known that. It’s one of my favorite movies even though it’s like, seven hours long or something crazy.
Lenay: (laughing) It is not that long!
Troy: It is very long but it’s one of those movies where like, it doesn’t matter if it’s 30 minutes in or 30 minutes left, I’ll still just watch it through wherever when you stumble across it. But I should have known that.
Lenay: Oh, I know. I wasn’t sure like how young you are… like how old were you in 1994? I wasn’t sure if you even saw that movie.
Troy: I was one year old
Lenay: And I know that you… one year old… (laughing) And I know that you watch more scary movies, so I was like, maybe he’s not seen Forest Gump.
Troy: Yeah, I knew he had to have won awards for Castaway too. I mean Forest Gump got a bunch of awards but, let’s continue.
Lenay: Yeah but I feel like Castaway was later in life. Ok, now we’ll get to the beer questions, so, what’s the most popular beer in the United States?
Troy: Man, that’s tough. I’m gonna say… it’s going to be either Miller Lite or Bud light. I’m going to say, Bud light.
Lenay: You’re right
Troy: Nice. Not my preferred drink of choice but to each their own.
Lenay: Well I thought of looking up that question because my brother-in-law has been on a Budweiser kick and he was like, Budweiser, the most popular beer in Canada. And I was like, that is not true! And then I started Googling things like that to ask you.
Troy: Nice
Lenay: So, ok, I’m going to read three facts about beer but one of them is not true, so you have to pick the false one.
Troy: Ok
Lenay: Number one: Hops are in the same family of flowering plants as marijuana.
Number two: The first professional brewers were all women.
And number three: The United States drinks more beer per capita than any other country. Which one is false?
Troy: Ahh that’s a tough one. I know one is definitely true. I want to say, because you said professional, and I know beer back in the day was started by Munks, I’m pretty sure. That might be completely false and I’m just talking out of my butt, but I’m pretty sure that’s true. But you said professional, so two could be false. I’m gonna go with number three.
Lenay: That’s true, it is the false one.
Troy: I knew it, see! Three for four.
Lenay: Ok so I already started to say it so I’m just going to say it. Czech Republic drinks more beer per capita than any other country. Isn’t that crazy? But if you go with like, the most beer, total, then China is number one and the U.S. is number two. Isn’t that weird?
Troy: That is crazy. I’m just proud of myself. I got three out of four.
Lenay: I know. You’re so smart. I gotta get tougher. Do you have a category request for next time?
Troy: I’ll let you be the judge. I mean I’ve nailed questions from like any kind of category already so…
Lenay: I know. If I ever play trivia, I’m calling you.
Troy: Yeah!
Lenay: (laughing) Alright so today we were going to talk a little bit about trends we’re seeing in the trucking industry since the pandemic started. As most of you listening know, Big Rig Banter is powered by AllTruckJobs.com, which is a job board, and so we have a lot of – I don’t know – exclusive information, I guess. We were able to pull some numbers for which jobs were trending and increasing during this time and which jobs dropped during this time, and some other cool stats. So, we’re going to break down, I guess, what do we have, like four trends that we’re seeing right now in the trucking industry.
Troy: Yeah, you know, we talked to different people in the industry about how this virus is impacting them, and we wanted to look specifically at how it’s impacting jobs. So, this is for maybe people that are looking at a new driving career or maybe if you’re looking for your first driving job. Obviously, this virus has impacted everything in every industry, especially the job sector for trucking. We pulled some really unique information and found some really interesting trends that… it’s definitely going to be beneficial for those who are on the job hunt or are just interested in the industry and curious about how this virus is affecting jobs.
Lenay: Yeah, for sure. So, the first thing we noticed is that certain jobs sky rocketed from February to March and then others, we saw a huge decrease in job listings on AllTruckJobs, specifically. So, I mean that’s just our website but it’s pretty safe to say this is probably across the board. So, from February to March we saw reefer trucking jobs increase by 135% so that was like, the big one. Which I mean, in the beginning everyone was rushing to the grocery stores, buying all kinds of food, you know, drivers couldn’t keep the shelves stocked fast enough, so that makes sense. And then we saw flatbed jobs increase by 57% during that time, and dry van by 24%. So, those three, if you were looking for a trucking job right now, those might be some good ones to check out. We saw a drop-in freight such as car haulers, tankers, and intermodal, which makes sense because a lot of states shut down car sales and stuff like that.
Troy: I think the reefer jobs is the most interesting trend. You know, it increased in the beginning and then it kind of leveled out now, but there’s still a ton of jobs. And for those who listened to my interview with Sergio a few episodes ago, his fleet was actually transitioning more towards these reefer positions and trying to reach out to companies who needed help with reefer hauling. It’s because he saw that trend and saw that we need to get these perishable items to stores as fast as we can. I thought that was really interesting, and it was cool to see the numbers backing up and getting those numbers after Sergio already recognized that trend. It showed that these truck drivers are thinking on their feet, and you know, kind of being flexible.
Lenay: Yeah, definitely, just kind of moving to where the jobs are, and you know it’s not easy, as many of you know, to switch from one freight to another just because certain freight does require a different level of skillset. I think that’s interesting too, to see driver’s kind of put themselves out there and try something new.
Troy: For sure, and you know the second trend we’re looking at… we’re seeing the driver shortage magnified by lots of schools needing to shut down, so it’s a really good time to find a CDL school that’s open and get into trucking. Our last episode we talked to Fred Hart who is working for a trucking school, and he was saying how they’re still trying to train drivers and how that need for drivers is still there. Again, it was really cool to talk to someone that’s already identifying these trends, and you know, we’re coming to you today, kind of reiterating them and backing them up. But I think that’s a really important thing to think about. I think you might be hesitant to look for a CDL license right now just because of the climate and how we’re kind of on rocky territory right now, but now’s a better time more than ever to consider getting your CDL.
Lenay: Yeah for sure. And the third trend ties into that. I mean, it’s a really good time to become a truck driver, but for truck drivers who’ve been driving forever, I think everyone is kind of feeling this like moment of… just unchartered territory. There’s a lot of regulations that you’ve been able to push back on throughout the years and whatever, but right now we’re seeing even more things that you have to do, like having to wear a mask probably at most loading docks, a lot of your processes and systems changing So while it’s a great time to look for a trucking job, keep in mind that the trucking industry is not only impacted in terms of being busy from the virus but also the safety standpoint. There are a lot of things changing within the industry to meet the needs of the pandemic, in that sense too. Not to get into anything political, but I’m sure there are drivers who are grateful for the safety measures and I’m sure there are those who are rolling their eyes or are a little bit annoyed about it too, so you know, that’s just the name of the game.
Troy: Yeah for sure. They’re not alone. We were just talking earlier there… I was telling you how my dad, he works in carpentry, and he’s had to wear masks as regulations. Wearing a mask for 8 hours a day or longer definitely can get difficult. You know, some of us will complain just having to wear it to the grocery store or somewhere but wearing it 8 hours at a time I’m sure is rough. But you know, sticking with these regulations is hopefully going to return things back to normal sooner rather than later as well.
Lenay: yeah for sure, and I don’t know about you guys, but my hands are really dry from having to wash them a lot, but it is what it is.
Troy: Yeah, I definitely agree there. And just to wrap things up, you know, the fourth thing we’re seeing, and it’s no secret, the industry’s really unpredictable right now. Obviously that data we pulled, we saw it go up and down. We’ll probably still continue to see a change, and I think the most important thing we can recommend is just being flexible and trying to go with the flow and follow those safety precautions and those health guidelines, because the sooner we can flatten the curve or whatever they say, or anything like that, the sooner we can get back to normal. Because, that’s all we’re looking for now, is a sense of normal, or you know, we might never get back to completely normal but you know we’ll create a new normal for the future.
Lenay: Yeah absolutely and I think the most important thing for anyone looking at the trucking industry is to keep in mind that when things get rough in the economy, trucking does feel it first and that can be really, really scary, but the good thing is that when things trickle back up, trucking also feels that first. I mean look how trucking’s been booming in the past couple of years. So, hopefully things are going to balance out and become a little more predictable, but we can always predict that when things get back to good, trucking’s going to be the best.
Troy: And we’re seeing it now, you know, things are tough right now. We’ve seen how truckers have really still been the backbone of the economy and of getting things on time and making sure the shelves are stocked and things like that, so again we both really appreciate it. I’m sure everyone out there is really appreciating the trucking industry and everything that you guys do. Seriously, it would be much, much more difficult if the trucking industry was struggling even more.
Lenay: Oh, I know, I can’t imagine. I mean I have to admit I’ve been doing quite a bit of online shopping since I’ve been stuck at home, and I needed some more comfy pants, so I was grateful that they’re being delivered (laughing).
Troy: Yeah, so truckers, what are some trends that you noticed since the pandemic started? You know we want to hear what you’re seeing and how it’s been, whether you’re searching for a job or currently have a job or had to transition to a different type of freight or anything like that. We want to know what’s going on. Chat with us on social media! You know we’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. Our handles are pretty easy to find, and we really appreciate interacting. Every time we get a comment or anything we really love reaching out and hearing what you guys have to say.
Lenay: Yup and Troy and I monitor that ourselves, so you are talking to us.
Troy: Yes, you are
Lenay: And as always, just a quick reminder, if you have a free minute, leave us a review. We love to hear from you and let us know how we’re doing. And if you have any trivia questions that you want me to ask Troy, send them our way!
Troy: Yes, I appreciate it. I’m still waiting to be truly stumped. I’ve been dominating this trivia competition so far, but I look forward to the challenge.
Lenay: (laughing) I’m going to find one.
Troy: Well Lenay, it’s sunny right now. I might just go outside and just start running and enjoy the sun as much as I can.
Lenay: Alright you do that. I’m going to stay inside and eat snacks.
Troy: Alright but thank you, and once again I’m your co-host Troy Diffenderfer
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host Lenay Ruhl
Troy: And this has been Big Rig Banter
Music – Thanks for tuning into another edition of Big Rig Banter. For your next job check out AllTruckJobs.com, the premier online source for finding the best driver jobs in the country. Browse hundreds of positions by freight or driver type to get back on the road with confidence. Click subscribe to keep the conversations coming until next time on Big Rig Banter.
