Lease-Operator during recession

We've never left it. Diplomatic jibber-jabber has just given the illusion things were/are better.

 

L/O, your bills remain the same every week or month no matter the freight situation. All companies don't care about you after you have paid them their cut for the lease. Slow freight = lower checks. Schneider gives you a better chance as you choose your own loads. At Prime you rely on a dispatcher and trip planner for your success & failure. Try to go with a company where you are paid a % and not per mile, you will make more.

 

You see a recession coming and you what to buy a truck,,,,well I would wait until it comes then buy one at a lower price. The next one will last for decades and add on to the one we are still in.

 

I bought my truck in 2008. Company I had been driving for pulled mostly pneumatic tanks and end dumps, with a handfull of flats and vans (but not many). I had been on tanks, but the truck I bought had a wet kit. So, I had them put the PTO I needed on the 8-bolt side, bought another PTO for the 6-bolt side to run the wet kit, and had the pump, hoses, and everything else packed into the side box (for future use, if needed). That turned out to be a good call, because 5 months later the economy tanked and so did business on the tank side...so I put the wet kit back on (so I was set up for both tanks AND dumps) and started pulling dumps hauling coal to the power plants through the winter. Next few years, I worked pretty steady...if it was busy on dumps and slow on tanks, I pulled an end dump...and when business flipped around so it was slow on dumps and busy on tanks, I'd drop the end dump, hook to a tank, and keep right on making money. After a year doing that, the company started setting some of their trucks like mine to save shop time converting trucks back and forth every week or two as one side picked up or the other dipped.

Versatility is key. You can't get locked into JUST one thing or else you'll have to ride out the slow periods. I don't care WHAT kind of wagon I'm pulling, show me the money. Where I'm at now, I'm primarily pulling a flat, but will drop that in exchange for a hopper, van, end dump, or any other kind of wagon. If the load pays enough to justify me running the truck, I'll pull whatever wagon is required.

 

I was well into my second lease purchase in 08. People were going out of business because fuel was so expensive. It was never a problem for me because I had a fuel surcharge that was calculated weekly, based in the national average price of fuel. My 12.7 Detroit was averaging 7.1 - 7.3 mpg.
The traders are planning on.raising the fuel price next year. Saw it on FBN.