Truck drivers can't simply buy self-driving trucks and kick back while the truck does all the work. That would require them to still be paid the same amount, and if trucking companies still had to pay everyone the same amount then why even bother with the self-driving trucks? Or more generally, why would the trucking company even keep the truck driver on as an employee, when it would be cheaper for them to just buy the self-driving truck and use it, instead of leasing it from the truck driver?

Many truck drivers own their own trucks and contract for the carriers so those are the ones that could buy self-driving trucks.

Regarding pricing I'm not so sure. If you run a trucking company and contract out driving to individual drivers that own their own vehicles you are paying for the service to get the cargo to its destination, you aren't paying for a person as much as a service.

I do agree though that in this situation truck owners would make less money but they would also have more opportunity to do something like purchase additional trucks or do other work such as last-mile driving to supplement the loss in long-haul income.

> Many truck drivers own their own trucks and contract for the carriers so those are the ones that could buy self-driving trucks

Except they probably couldn't, because the carriers are going to lease self-driving trucks from specialized agencies that will exist exactly for that purpose, as they won't want the administrative costs of dealing with individual owners (which makes some sense when it's an owner/operator as an alternative to hiring a driver and buying/leasing a truck separately, but none when the truck is self-operating.)

So, since no one is going to be likely to pay them for use of the self-driving truck, there's no anticipated income stream with which to finance the purchase.

Somebody has to make those leasing agencies. That will create some jobs, but it is easy to see how 1 person can easily handle 3 fully automated trucks even without the typical logistics that big companies bring to the table. If this cost reduction causes 3x as much stuff to be shipped it won't be a short term problem, but I find that unlikely.

So the opportunity for the current owner/operators is to pool their resources and become the specialized self-driving truck agency.

Sounds like a union. Do you do them anymore in the US?

It sounds like a business to me. Unions pool labor for negotiating power, they don't pool financial resources to create value.

Labor unions are alive and well in the United States. What's your implication? Don't beat around the bush.

Flatbed and LTL freight prices will fall through the floor. You can't yet automate those kinds of freight because the cargo is so diverse and handling isn't something AI can do yet.