Andra Rush quietly shutters Rush Trucking amid pandemic woes

**Lowell** · February-23-21, 09:36 AM

This is a newsworthy setback for a few reasons. For those not familiar, Andra Rush is boot-strapper entrepreneur with a compelling backstory who gained fame for becoming one of Michigan's largest minority business owners both as a woman and a Native American. Added to that there is a pandemic story where disruptions in trucking logistics compounded with difficulties of new driver training have spelled the end of Rush Trucking. Thankfully she still has significant stakes in other businesses.

"Rush, a Native American descended from the Mohawk tribe, founded Rush Trucking in 1984, famously borrowing $5,000 from her parents, investing $3,000 of her own savings and using personal credit cards to launch the firm with one van and two pickups. For years, she ran the fledgling company while working as a full-time nurse."

"Social distancing and limited hours also continue to inconvenience newly trained truck drivers seeking to obtain a license," the report said. "As a result, it is estimated that in 2020, the U.S. will produce 40 percent fewer new truckers than normal."

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/news/a...icle2-headline

**Jimaz** · February-23-21, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

..."Social distancing and limited hours also continue to inconvenience newly trained truck drivers seeking to obtain a license," the report said. "As a result, it is estimated that in 2020, the U.S. will produce 40 percent fewer new truckers than normal."...

IIRC, there was a fairly serious shortage of truck drivers before the pandemic began.

I must be misunderstanding something though. Isn't truck driving a notoriously lonely occupation? Why would social distancing adversely affect that industry? I guess truck stops would pose a problem but I would think truck stops would be reconfigured to be Covid-safe. Aren't truck drivers considered essential workers?

**K-slice** · February-23-21, 11:51 AM

That's gotta be a big hit for Wayne. I used to have Wayne as part of my sales territory when I was doing B2B sales and I was always surprised by how desolate their downtown I remember Rush having multiple buildings and quite a few employees in an office park right between the split MI Ave.

I never got any business from them but from what I remember they were really the only company worth prospecting in the area.

**Richard** · February-23-21, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

IIRC, there was a fairly serious shortage of truck drivers before the pandemic began.

I must be misunderstanding something though. Isn't truck driving a notoriously lonely occupation? Why would social distancing adversely affect that industry? I guess truck stops would pose a problem but I would think truck stops would be reconfigured to be Covid-safe. Aren't truck drivers considered essential workers?

OTR freight jumped considerably during the pandemic and faster because of Less traffic,plus weight restrictions removed and the scales shut down on the interstate highways system.

Lots of TP had to be delivered,I had relatives that were OTR [[over the road) truckers in the 70s,the handwriting was in the wall back then as to the future.

Maybe that is why Swift has so many problems,if you breath you can drive,but they seem to not be able to.

Its like anything else,large corporations swallow the little ones,they can take the loss temporarily in order to drive others out.

Wal-mart has the largest logistics company in the world,throw in Amazon and a couple of others and the independents are finished.

If you are single it is a good way to save up money doing that for a few years,but there are also married couples doing it also.

But as an independent you really have to hustle because the catch is if you have a load from Michigan to California but not one coming back,you are coming back empty while spending $1000 in fuel if not more.

But with smaller trucking fleets it is like restruants,a constant revolving door of opening and closing,buy outs then shut downs it even seems like the larger ones are in a constant state of being bought and sold.

In Detroit this kinda puts the bridge owners in a control situation.

That would be the comparison of the pandemic related,with their hub in Detroit a heavy lockdown State verses their hub in Virginia that services the south that did not lock down so long or tight.

I think it is more Internet based ordering,before the trucks fed the large stores and retailers,it stands to reason ordering from the likes of Amazon removes a lot of bulk carriers from the road.