Truck Load Rates Halt 8 Week Slide 2.0

The Central Valley of California where this guy is from has become a hotbed of foreign nationals here on work visas or green cards setting up small truck fleets. My truck got side swiped by a guy trying to pass me on the shoulder in the central valley a few months ago, and he was using a paper temporary license that wasn't even his. When I sold my truck a couple weeks ago, the guy who bought it had a heavy Russian accent, and they guy who is buying my MC number also has a heavy Russian or Ukrainian accent.

 

I also have a Russian-Ukranian accent and know tons of people in the so called white Volvo crowd. Yet I don't know people with one year driver's licenses and operating under suspended MC's.
Over the past few years the "white Volvo eastern European crowd" completely reshaped. Companies who stayed in business and did not get shut down, are not interested in doing illegal stuff anymore, everyone has too much to lose. Pretty much everybody just became Americanized and lives normal life.
However that is only because the steady influx of new Eastern European immigrants stopped in mid 2000's.
The crazy stuff is now being done by other Ethnic groups. Eventually they will accumulate some wealth and stop doing stupid stuff also, but who knows how long will it take

 

No disrespect intended Dune, just pointing out that certain parts of the US seem to have a lot of people on visas setting up shop as trucking carriers. I think the Russian/Ukrainian companies just have a stigma attached to them from decades ago when the Russian mafia was involved in trucking and many other types of businesses in the US. As far as I know today, they're just known for driving white Volvo trucks, and hiring drivers on 1099's instead of W-2's. The Middle Eastern crowd does seem to bend the rules an awful lot though. You might remember a few years ago when several truck driving schools got busted in the Central Valley of CA for issuing CDL's for a few thousand dollars with no schooling at all. A few DMV employees got prison time as well for taking bribes to issue the licenses. Overnight around 1,300 CDL's were voided. All of those schools were Middle Eastern and Indian owned. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Middle Eastern drivers at trucks stops and receivers and don't have a clue how to back up a truck. Makes you wonder how they passed the driving test or if they did at all.

 

There were a lot of Russians schools like that in NY and FL. Everything got busted.
You are right, a lot of shady stuff has been done by Eastern Europeans in 90's and 2000's. But things have really changed, especially in the last few years.
You don't see Italian Mafia running around on the streets with guns anymore, I guess it's kinda similar to that. People figured out the way to make money in a legal way and everything has calmed down.

 

Great analogy. That’s how it always is. Even some of the Megas of Today, with all their Safety Mantra, got Rich with roots of running Illegal, skirting the Law. Some got in trouble, and were gobbled up by others that didn’t. Now these Opportunitists are fighting to keep others out. Good article. I’ve been wondering about the actual numbers on new O/Os On that I’ll add this ad on Detroit’s Craigslist. Think I’ll get 10 of them.

 

Wow! That's a little too much for that van, if you ask me.

 

Mama Mia! Dry van has been so slow lately, that it finally starting to feel that buble is going to burst. Do they really think someone is going to buy that?

 

Wakefern is terrible like that at the guard shack. 1 dude doing everything slower than molasses Lol. Most of the grocery warehouses i go they have a lot of product on account so you don't need a lumper. Makes life so much easier.

 

After Thanksgiving I'm gonna hit up all the local warehouses with some business cards and see about setting up a meeting with shipping. Would like to have a dedicated for 1 truck at least. The 2 main shippers we use won't talk to you with only a handful of trucks. Spot is still good just would feel better having something steady

I like @Ruthless idea with a cover letter with the business card. Professional looking.

 

lol i forgot about that- needa start giving those out again.
Gotta lease another truck on first so I can have enough capacity when things get busier first tho.