UPS’ CEO announced that drivers will be making $170,000 a year in pay and benefits by the end of a five-year employment contract. This is just the beginning for jobs in the physical economy.
A few years ago, there was a great deal of discussion about the elimination of the physical worker — i.e. jobs in the physical goods economy.
Think truck drivers, farmers, pilots, plumbers, oil rig, dock, warehouse and construction workers, etc. These are all jobs that require physical — and mental — skills to do successfully.
Many of the ideas regarding digitizing the economy were promoted by venture capitalists and tech media writers who have spent their entire careers working in the digital world and never the physical one.
The reality is that digitizing content, insurance, payments, or finance is relatively easy — while digitizing the “real” world is incredibly difficult.
If you aren’t convinced, go research the autonomous trucking startups that raised billions in capital from 2015-2020. FreightWaves covered many of these companies and their progress — or lack thereof.
Most of those businesses are now defunct, even when funded by the largest companies (Google, Uber, etc.), the most successful VCs, and some of the smartest minds in the digital economy.
The reality is that the physical world is incredibly hard to digitize and therefore automate. The real world is messy. Quantum physics and chaos theory reign.
Things happen that can’t be anticipated in a lab or a computer program.
The massive pay concessions we’ve seen labor win over the past year are primarily a function of demographics. The United States simply doesn’t have enough young people to do the physical jobs that our modern economy requires. Manufacturing is coming back to North America — and in the long-term, that is very good for our country.
Physical labor is going to be a major constraint, but this likely means that those jobs may pay much higher salaries than digital ones in the long-run.
This is not a short-term thing. It is a long-term trend. Get used to it. It’s beautiful.
Death Alley Digger
Good. Now maybe some money will actually “trickle down.”
Stephen
The funny thing is, these people don’t realize as their wages go up, the cost of everything goes up to pay for those higher wages. For most it equals back out, but for the people on the poverty line, it’s a negative, because they are not getting higher wages.
Ted Wright
Get ready for $30 Big Macs. If you can’t see it you’re stupid
Midwest Teamster
Could not have said it any better, Craig.
I’ll just add one thing that I think most people overlook. Biden kept all of the Trump China tariffs in place. A huge number of smaller businesses held out for a couple of years and expected for those tariffs to end. As time has gone on only very large businesses can hang onto the China trade. Please note I am not trying to promote some candidate here.
People keep wondering why, besides all of the money pledged to new industry construction, all of this manufacturing can be increasing at the same time hotels are being handed back to banks, the commercial real estate market is in crisis, etc. It’s not magic, business owners have done the math. Case on point, today a Luxembourg-based batty manufacturer announced that they are re-domiciling to the US.
Yes, it is glorious, and a long time in coming.
J T
If We do the math on this $ 170,000
40 hrs a week , 52 weeks a yr , driver would have to get a pay rate of $ 80 +/hr, pay is now $20 /$30 /hr.
Something isn’t adding up,
Kevin D Sample
I have been a professional truck driver for over 25 yrs ,yes the industry has changed,automatic trans,computer,s camera,s monitors your driving,warning loud sounds pre predicting potential danger,s lane changes,following distances the tractor computer takes over the driver control of driving.The problem is it’s not accurate and drivers are loosening there jobs behind it.My pay is called activity base,miles,stops,hrs accounted for from log n to out but not paid hourly.All this adds up to a fluctuating pay check each weeks pay are different never the same.What working driver (man) can maintain his home,life,family being paid this way?The economy goes up it hardly ever goes down and I’m capped off on pay raise already.Drivers job is very physical,mind,body,mental the computer pros that help decide our pay can’t comprehend this vital part of driving so you contemplate finding another job that pays hourly cause at some point the fluctuation pay is gone cause you to move are risk loosening what you working for,home and your family.I just don’t understand why I need at my age 58 to job hop.sorry so long ,this is my reality n trucking.
Karanvir Singh
Sandeep ji, you are absolutely right. Freight waves works with bigger companies and always takes their side. They are just like American Trucking Association, they only want to and they do represent the largest companies in the industry that sponser them and use their products.
Karlenn sandeep
“This is not a short-term thing. It is a long-term trend. Get used to it. It’s beautiful.”
Economy is nose diving into a recession dude.
I can barely keep up the pay to my driver as it is, every week I am losing more and more.
Wages need to stop going up and price of living needs to start going down. This is insane.