Why oh why are you drivers taking this cheap freight????

I didn't say "quantity"

im referring to not limiting yourself to just 1 area. As I said above, van freight and drivers are abundant. You need to set yourself apart from the others by doing LTL moves or JIT freight. I know of a few guys working 3 days a week doing JIT moves for as much money as OTR drivers. They are just on-call and usually have to run at night. That's what sets them apart, they don't run daylight hours or your basic FAK. Anyone can do that.

As for a flatbed, getting into oversize is the best way to make yourself stand apart from all the other drivers. Many dont want to mess with it or have no idea how it all works.

 

not true are you reading what the rates are for those who have their own authority.I dont have to pay for trailer expenses and the permits,plates,so their complaining about 1.00 mile rate makes my job look pretty good

 

You should have deadheaded to Idaho. You could have found one paying at least $2000 to put in your reefer from there. That is why stuff is so cheap out of there heading west.

 

I looked in Idaho, but nothing worth it, when I get to Medford OR then load there for home, the round will pay $2.35 a mile. Not bad getting out of Denver

 

I'm headed for chicago tomorrow made a few calls today and never was told more than $2.00 a mile one load going to Springfield 230 miles paid $550 the guy said it's paying $2.50 a mile!.....really

I'm sorry but I don't move oversize loads for $2.50 a mile (Landstar)seen a few going east but way to much inbound freight NJ,VA,NY, and eastern PA I here people saying there getting $3/mile flatbed loads out of there well didn't see it today and if there getting it the loads don't go over 500 miles

 

This is spot on. Dry van no doubt is difficult to get rates but it is not impossible to do if you have some sort of game plan. But most dry vanners only want the easy one pick,one drop stuff, with long miles and solar powered hours only. That's what almost all of them want and guess what that market is saturated. The only ways I have seen to make great rates with dry van in spot. Shorthaul 400 miles or less is where the money is at. My length of haul this month is 197 miles. You have to be able to get the pick, run straight thru and deliver ASAP to make this work, hauling 2 to 3 loads a day. But sometimes 1 a day happens,that would by no means make it a bust. There is general freight out there like this it just consumes a lot of time studying but well worth the effort. I bounce back and forth between that and JIT expedited. That is where the really good, easy money above and beyond what flats and steps get at times. But it's not easy loading at 1am and running 500 miles straight thru, or even 150... no-one said it would be easy. Expedite is my true calling but the past couple of months have been doing very well with 90% general freight. You have to be able to move back and forth from one segment to another as one may be busy and the other slow. You also have to have the patience to sit it out at home when everything is slow. But like you say, one has to be specialized or at a minimum nimble enough to find what works with general freight.

 

Yep, things are deff slow this week.

 

Not here. Phones have been blowing up. Even per planning, something we normally avoid because of rates.

 

In general what are the prices for dry van and reefer freight? Is one generally higher than the other?

 

The ones that bought a job and have zero business skills are complaining. Freight and rates are up this month and this year over all.

And you may not have a line item on your settlement that says plates or permits but you are paying a premium for all of those. They are giving $.10/mile benefit, at most. But it is costing you how much? Or do you even know?