THE “GOLDEN AGE” TRUCKING MYTH: WHY RE-REGULATING BACKWARD WILL NOT FIX A MODERN INDUSTRY

4 days ago
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For decades, a narrative has circulated claiming that trucking was “great” between 1948 and 1980, that deregulation destroyed the industry, and that returning to a pre-1980 regulatory framework—repackaged with modern technology—will restore prosperity, professionalism, and fairness.

That narrative collapses when examined against history, economics, wages, and working conditions.

This article documents why.

1. PRE-1980 TRUCKING WAS NOT FREE — IT WAS CARTELIZED

From 1935 until 1980, interstate trucking operated under federal economic regulation administered by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Entry into the market required government approval. Routes were controlled. Rates were regulated.

In 1948, Congress passed the Reed–Bulwinkle Act, granting trucking companies limited antitrust immunity to collectively set rates through rate bureaus, so long as those rates were approved by the ICC.

This was not a free market. It was a government-sanctioned cartel system.

Competition was restricted by design. New entrants were blocked. Small carriers and owner-operators faced structural barriers unless they were already established. Prices were artificially elevated. Innovation was suppressed.

The system did not end because it worked well. It ended because it was inefficient, exclusionary, and economically unsustainable.

2. DRIVER WAGES THEN AND NOW: ADJUSTED FOR REALITY

Claims that regulation made drivers wealthy do not survive inflation adjustment.

Historical wage data shows:

• In 1965, the average truck driver earned approximately $6,500–$7,500 per year.

Adjusted for inflation, this equals roughly $65,000–$75,000 today.

• In 1978, near the end of the regulated era, average long-haul driver pay ranged from $19,000–$22,000 per year.

Adjusted for inflation, this equals approximately $90,000–$105,000 today.

These figures are comparable to modern trucking wages for experienced company drivers, specialized drivers, and efficient owner-operators before unpaid time and inefficiencies are accounted for.

There was no universal prosperity. There was restricted supply.

3. THE JOB WAS HARDER, LONGER, AND MORE DANGEROUS

Drivers in the regulated era worked under conditions significantly more demanding than today.

PHYSICAL WORK:

• No power steering

• No power brakes

• No air-ride suspension

• Manual transmissions only

• Bench seats

• Poor insulation and climate control

• Frequent roadside mechanical repairs performed by drivers

COMMUNICATION:

• No cell phones

• No GPS

• No real-time weather or traffic

• Dispatch through terminals, CB radio, or payphones

• Days or weeks without contact with family

NAVIGATION:

• Paper maps only

• Handwritten logs

• Missed turns could cost hours or days

SAFETY:

• No ABS

• No stability control

• Higher fatality rates per vehicle-mile traveled

• Limited emergency response capability

HOURS WORKED:

• 70–80+ hour workweeks were common

• Logbooks were routinely falsified

• Rest cycles were inconsistent

Despite these conditions, real wages were comparable to today’s earnings.

The job today is objectively easier, safer, and more efficient.

4. TECHNOLOGY — NOT REGULATION — CREATED PRODUCTIVITY GAINS

Modern trucking benefits from:

• Power steering and braking

• Air-ride suspension

• Automated and automatic transmissions

• Climate-controlled cabs

• Ergonomic seating

• Truck-specific GPS

• Digital logs

• Real-time traffic and weather

• Smartphones

• Video communication with family and dispatch

• Advanced safety systems

Drivers now produce more freight per hour with less physical strain and fewer hours worked.

These gains came from technology and productivity — not rate regulation.

5. REGULATION DID NOT SOLVE FRAUD, PARKING, OR MENTAL HEALTH

FRAUD:

Fraud was illegal under regulation. Fraud is illegal today.

The issue has always been enforcement and transparency, not the absence of laws.

PARKING:

Truck parking shortages are land-use and infrastructure funding problems.

Rate regulation does not create parking spaces.

Federal studies under Jason’s Law confirmed the problem but did not produce capacity.

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY:

Federal English-language requirements already exist.

Non-enforcement is an agency failure, not deregulation.

MENTAL HEALTH:

Driver mental health is driven by unpaid detention, schedule unpredictability, economic coercion, retaliation, and parking scarcity.

Centralized price-setting does not address these causes.

6. CENTRALIZED PRICING IS POWER CONCENTRATION, NOT PROTECTION

Claims that trucking “cannot be left to carriers bidding freight” rest on a dangerous premise: that carriers are incapable of valuing their own labor.

Removing pricing autonomy raises unavoidable questions:

• Who sets the price?

• Who controls access?

• Who owns the algorithm?

• Who enforces compliance?

Centralized pricing systems do not remove power.

They concentrate it.

Historically, such systems benefit gatekeepers and incumbents — not drivers or small carriers.

7. DEREGULATION DID NOT REMOVE ACCOUNTABILITY — ENFORCEMENT FAILED

Deregulation did not eliminate:

• Safety regulations

• Fraud statutes