To start Owner Operating or not????

mz. moonhead, crst advertises that they pay 2 a mile, the reality will be different. figure in the empty miles and that 2 a mile drops.

but all their loads dont pay 2 a mile TO THE TRUCK!!!! not all of landstar pay 2 to the truck and neither do we get 2 a mile for everything at mercer.

you have been blown smoke to begin with , be careful.

 

I love reading all the pessimism about this industry and the examples of why it is so hard. It is clear that many people have no clue about business, this industry or the economy. And these are the people that no matter how much money they have should stay a company driver.

THIS IS A BUSINESS FIRST. And if you run it like a business you will understand more than what a simple spreadsheet tells you about what your cost are for running the truck. You will understand the finances of some the major players in this industry. If a Mercer is moving away from one segment and investing in another you have to ask why? Maybe they are leaving a hole that you can capitalize on or seeing an expansion that you could also benefit from.

As a business person you have to look to the future so that you can act BEFORE all the bears turn to bulls. In the last three years smart money bought bonds as the market started to tank. Then the dumb money ran to bonds. The smart money sold bonds at a HUGE profit and bought the stocks that the dumb money was selling at a loss. Then the reverse happened.

Stop listening to the talking heads on TV (who need viewers to sell ads), politicians (who need fear to get you to vote for them), the CB radio and guys at the Petro counter (who have too much time alone and have all kinds of crazy thoughts).

Listen to investor calls with the major public carriers and brokers. Google what you don't understand and ask questions why they are doing what they are doing. Read financial papers that are geared towards professional investors and money managers. See where companies that are major shippers and receivers are putting their money.

We are at the beginning of one of the biggest changes in this industry since deregulation. Mercer, LS, Swift, Prime, ..... all see it and are making big changes to address this. They are not advertising it to their drivers but are talking about it with investors.

This is a tough, unforgiving industry with more unscrupulous people in it than most industries. A lot has changed and continues to change. If you are going to be an O/O that is focused on fuel prices, cheap rates and regulation then you are going to be left behind. Stay leased onto a mileage company and grind out a living.

But if you want to grow, prosper and take advantage of the changes that are happening then better figure out how to get a trucking MBA so that you can get into the hammer lane.

 

If he can pay the bills driving that company truck, stick to driving the company truck

 

Prior to leasing on did you look at the CRST Malone load boards? I made a spread sheet and over two months I ran mock loads from the board. All in all it wasn't that bad. I averaged over $2 a mile, however some loads only pay $1.40/mile. You need to stay in the freight lanes to make it over $2/mile.

 

How did you get access to the boards so you could do that?

I have looked at boards for Landstar, CH Robinson, CRST, Schneider, Werner, Magnum, ATS and a couple others.

All require some sort of password or account to be able to get critical rates and such information.

 

I have talked to the recruiters there for sometime. Guess they got tired of me calling up every 3days & looking at loads for me. They just gave me the password and it still works. For a little over 2 months. I even get to listen to the O/O monthly calls where they list problems they are having. I heard a lot of negative about them here so I decided to find out for myself. So far things are ok, they even have frieght bringing me home to FL currently at $2.30/ mile to the truck. They also post all the fuel discounts so I really get an accurate picture of what my revenue would be.

 

Check out getloaded.com thery have pretty good rates ive been using them for a while and they treat me good

 

One of the good things about CRST Malone is you can haul all you want from anybody. They of course will want their 25% and they will need to be approved by Malone. If you never want to haul for them you don't have to. It's a good option if you take a load somewhere & Malone does not have a back haul you can use, for example, landstarbrooker.com to get you back in the freight lanes. Certainly not saying Malone is the best, but that is one of the things I like.