Hopper, Dump O/O's & Drivers

That seems to be the norm rite now. Ive got alot of friends in the ulysses area that have pulled hoppers for 20 some years, there folding up shop and closing the doors. They have around 10 trucks and have always hauled dedicated stuff for grant county feeders. The brokers can get it trucked in so cheap that the feedyard isnt buying grain directly from the coops and having them haul it anymore. So the last year they have hauled broker grain for riada,debruce,cargill,hansen mueller,lansing, and have back hauled alot of rock out of holy colorado, and fall river area. They cant even break even because of the rate cutting outwest. Thats hard to swallow when thats all they know and thats been the family buisness. They are going to just be drivers for a local milk haulling out fit out there. I feel for them and it makes you think where that nonsense will ever stop, you have to blame the brokers because the cheeper they can get it moved, the more profit. I hope they get what they pay for because loyalty and dedication and customer service comes with a price, and when hulio gets a penny more over here they will drop them like hot potatoes. My dad gets them calls all the time thursday or friday hey can you cover ten loads someone dropped the ball and they say well bump the rate a penny, dad says better add a nickel to the penny lol. Times are tuff and everyone neads to stick together. crop jocky

 

Here's the funny thing about hauling grain for brokers...they're making their money on the cheap freight - and nothing else. Most of them never take possession of the grain they're peddling.

All of the brokers crop jockey mentioned do one thing all day long: They check bids that feedlots, flour mills, ethanol plants, etc. are bidding for the week, and then look for grain in a geographical area that they can get it trucked for at a rate that's under their margin for the trade. They're buying the stuff on borrowed money, and then pitting trucker against trucker to get it hauled as cheap as possible. The lower the freight, the more they make on it. They're not all that concerned about service, because grain going to those kinds of end users isn't critically time sensitive. Usually they've got a couple of weeks to a month to get the contract filled, so if a carrier is dropping the ball, it's no biggie to get on the horn and con somebody else into it. The sharper guys will make trades that they know are going in a direction that a trucker can get a backhaul out of...they're not interested in paying you to bounce back! If you have the nerves, AND the capital, the name of the game is to learn how to market grain, and buy and sell grain yourself, and keep the whole margin for yourself.

In a way, you really can't blame the brokers at all - they're simply seeking the cheapest trucker that will haul his grain. If you want somebody to blame, blame the fool who's willing to haul for no profit because "I've got bills to pay and a truck payment to make." Those are the operators who keep rates in the toilet; and for every one of them that goes broke, there's one ready to jump in and take his place. It's a never ending cycle. My advice to those operators is to understand they're not good businessmen, and to please get a job driving for someone, because you're ruining the industry for those of us who know what we're doing, and are trying to provide good service for a reasonable profit.

All of these reasons are why we got away from trying to haul grain only - it's not steady, there's too much competition, and brokers don't recognize good service - because they don't require it but a few times a year. We moved to feed ingredients, where the lines may definitely be long, but the loads are time sensitive, and you're rewarded for the effort you put into getting a load delivered on time, even when it looks impossible to do so. Best of all, the shoddy operators fall to the wayside after their sub par business practices start to shine through.

Sorry for the long post, but it's a big problem with these cheap truckers, and it takes a big rant to vent about them!

 

Well said highside, I'd thank that post 3 times if I could.

 

I thought long and hard on the why of the current conditions. My conclusion is that so many of the factory / blue collar jobs have been out sourced overseas that the persons who would do that work have no other choice but trucking. We are competing against desperate persons who have few other choices for work. Lacking education, relationship skills, . . . their choices for employment is very slim. So they buy or get in a truck and are willing to work just to have a job and a mobile apartment to live in.

 

Yep,wheathauler,i have RW. looking for me a 36 inch sleeper as we speak

Sorry to hear that Pawnd,but from the looks of some of your pics you posted a while back on here of your archetictual(i don't know if that is even a word)work,it looked to me like ''you got skills'' in that line of work,anyways,hope you get your asking price for your truck,good luck to ya and keep in touch,ok

RW,i like wheathaulers idea of the 36 inch sleeper better than yours

Ditto,great post highside.

 

Most Loads I am getting FSC. Thus far we have just been hammering the loads to show that we mean business and that they can count on the loads being on time if not early. The other party in this was looking for a load for me out of Memphis when the broker was astonished that I had already delivered.
The broker actually calle me and said he appreciated the job I had done.

I have gotten used to the reefer to the point that I miss it when its not running LOL

 

Rice planting going strong here. We're way ahead of the last 2 years. Mudding the rice out last fall has caused a lot of extra field work this spring but it's going pretty good. I'm running the fuel truck and running bulk bags of seed on the lowboy. Each bag costs $7-9K which is pretty amazing to me. Each bag is 45 bu..

 

dairyman;
I just sold a '88 Peterbilt that had a 36" sleeper to a guy, who was going to make it into a tanker hauler for oil business. I think he was going to take the sleeper off. I can give you contact information, if you want, he is int he South Central Kansas area.
coadman