With trucking centered TV shows like “Ice Road Truckers” doing well on other standard cable channels, A&E decided they better step up their game for a piece of the transportation industry sector. They’ve come up with “Shipping Wars” a show that documents independent owner/operators as they bid for unusual freight at the lowest price, and use their experience to get ahead. It’s sort of like rookies vs. leathernecks.
A&E is gambling on the show becoming an unlikely hit due to the tension between the contestants, the weird people who contract them to bring them their weird stuff (kitschy plaster fast food decor was the freight in the debut – you know…EVERYONE wants some of that), and the opportunity to see the difficulties in making an honest living as a trucker.
The competition begins with uShip, the world’s largest online auction house for independent truckers. Every day, thousands of shipments are put up for auction. The battle is fierce as the movers have only minutes to bid, and the lowest bidder gets the load.
From oversized loads and bulky packages to the truly bizarre, these shippers will haul anything if the price is right…and sometimes even if it’s totally wrong.
This video is a rundown of the basic idea behind the show. Would you watch someone on TV that works in the same industry you do? Would you root for them, or against them?
Source
A&E