In 1935 Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1935. With it the ICC restricted new entry into the trucking business and approved specific routes. It also req

In 1935 Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1935. With it the ICC restricted new entry into the trucking business and approved specific routes. It also required motor carriers to file tariffs with the ICC 30 days in advance, and allowed protest from other common carriers of proposed tariffs, and required that carriers’ rates be reasonable “as to both minimum and maximum.” The underlying rationale of the 1935 Act was that the motor carrier sector was economically unstable and that cut-throat competition might destroy the fledgling industry. Driving a truck paid well and the carriers got fat. After a series of deregulation acts beginning in the 70’s there was a race to the bottom on prices. Many carriers went out of business. Driver pay dropped (all though you could still make a good living doing certain types of OTR. Swings in the economy are felt in transportation. Until the trucks drive themselves there will forever be too many/few drivers. It’s the nature of a deregulated industry that moves with the economy. Every swing in a labor market is not a social crisis. Although we can all probably foresee some real social crises’ related to driver labor in the future and not of the “too little” kind.