How does your salary stack up?

Welcome to the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? newsletter presented by Parade. In this issue, benchmark your salary, spot rates stay sky-high, best memes in freight and more.

Then and now

$3.75 — Although dry van rates may be down 8 cents from their peak of a few weeks ago, we’re still looking at rates that are $1 higher than they were at this time last year. The bad news for your freight spend is that the Cass expenditure index “is now expected to increase approximately 25% this year assuming normal seasonality.” Is anyone here willing to place their bets on normal seasonality after these past two years?

Blame Canada? — While it remains to be seen in the data how exactly the Freedom Convoy 2022 protest and cross-border vaccine mandate will impact rates, the load boards are already showing an indication of which way this is going. As Nate Tabak reported, “Truck drivers in Canada are slow-rolling in convoys across the country to protest the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the U.S. border, with plans to converge at the capital, Ottawa, on Saturday.” While an estimated 90% of Canadian truckers are vaccinated, a 10% reduction in capacity could have dire consequences for both cross-border freight and the surrounding regions. Learn more on yesterday’s WTT.

The best memes in logistics?

Don’t look up — If you haven’t looked up from the endless stacks of files on your desk or the latest Wordle puzzle, you may have missed some of the best memes in the game. FreightCaviar’s Paul-Bernard Jaroslawski has been crushing it lately while putting a humorous spin on the demented world of supply chain. I got a chance to catch up with him on his podcast recently. Meet the memelord!

With the assist — Hey, a tweet from Flexport’s Ryan Petersen never hurts either.

Benchmarking your salary during the Great Resignation

Get paid — Be it for better opportunity, remote work or simply adapting to pandemic restrictions, it’s no secret that Americans are peacing out on their previous jobs in droves. If your LinkedIn timeline is anything like mine, half your notifications are people in your network reshuffling to new roles. Is now the right time for you to test the market? Here’s a helpful thread from Reddit’s supply chain subreddit that you can benchmark your own pay against.

Destination compensation — Back in 2005 my first supply chain job at FedEx Trade Networks paid $29k. You could say I wasn’t making the fat stacks. That’s why I was excited to see in this thread how far compensation has advanced, especially for those in their 20s (our next generation of leaders and talent pool.) Here are a few highlights.

Director of demand planning in the Midwest making $150k base salary, 20% annual bonus, three weeks PTO.
Senior logistics analyst in Minnesota, 26 years old making $84k base salary with performance based bonus/15 days PTO per year/hybrid work model/great health and dental and retirement.
Demand planner in the Midwest making $90k base salary with bonus and hybrid work.
E-commerce supply chain manager in Washington state making $110k base plus 35k bonus over two years and stock.
Senior supply chain planner in Minnesota, 29-year-old making $125k base salary with a 10% annual bonus and 10% stock options.

Make a move? — Are your salary, position and goals keeping pace with what’s open on the market? In November a record 4.5 million people quit their jobs. Will you add to the statistics in 2022? Continue on your career journey by checking out supply chain job openings here.

Inside delivery

Zzz — Early Friday morning a Postal Service driver asleep at the wheel crashed into the Direct Med Clinic at the Blanco Junction Shopping Center in Castle Hills, Texas. KSAT reports, “It is unclear if the driver was coming off a shift, or just starting his route.” Let’s hope it was the former. As Hannah Testani joked, “This is the POD!” Fortunately, aside from the driver’s pride, nobody was injured in the incident.

WTT this week

Wednesday — Do truckers really prefer cocaine? Andrew King, research analyst at OOIDA, shares his report. Sanchoy Das, professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, takes an academic look at the supply chain crisis. Trucker Kellylynn McLaughlin on the importance of driver ambassadors. Omar Singh, founder and president at Surge Transportation, debates the merits of noncompetes vs nonsolicits.

Space Taco Friday! — NASA lands on the show to talk about deep space logistics and agriculture that’s out of this atmosphere. How did they grow those peppers in space to make tacos and how did they taste? Jason Gillespie, senior director of continuous improvement and innovation at DHL Supply Chain, on how the company is advancing autonomous vehicle technology. Aaron Graft, CEO, Triumph Bancorp Inc., and Mike Mangino, CTO, TriumphPay, on what it’s like building the payments network for the trucking industry.

Catch new shows live at noon ET Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWavesTV, FreightWaves LinkedIn and Facebook or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player.

Now on demand

Canadian truckers battle back against mandates