Can a one man operation really compete with the bigs

This is how i roll, White Polo Shirt with my Company name and Logo! Black Sun Glasses, Clean Hair Cut! Ralph Lauren Cologne! Walmart cheap Jeans but nice looking! I pull Containers and home everyday but when i have a load like Saddlecreek in Lakeland Florida where theres Owner Operators from all states, i get treated like a normal person and the Drivers that look trashy are yelled! Folks, not trying to be funny! Dress for success!

 

What negotiating power can a one truck operator really have? In terms of dealing with brokers and contracts
The way I see it, the more trucks and trailers you have the more negotiating power
With all the expense/ headache that comes with your own authority, is it worth it?

Two terms, first term contract freight......... Contract freight is what the mega carriers are primarily hauling, and yes, you probably can't compete with them for a contract, as you only have one truck, and one trailer........

Second term, spot freight........ spot freight is exactly that..... it's something, a load, that a broker or carrier posted, or sometimes the shipper themselves posted, it's usually as a one time deal, or somewhat sporadic as they don't have a regular shipping schedule for it...although you will find in some places where the freight volume is so high the shipper just can't seem to ever get enough trucks from the carrier where it will be posted often.........

Anyway, spot freight is where you can compete.... but you'll need negotiation skills and some experience with the area where it is and where it's going.....

When I get to a new area that I'm not really familiar with I'm never in a hurry to grab a load and go. I like to sit and watch and call and negotiate. If it's a Monday I know I'm probably not going to find what I'm looking for, as everybody and his brother also emptied out on Mon and they're all ringing the brokers phones off their hooks.... so, I'll sit and watch. I'm looking at freight volumes coming out of the area, I'm looking for where the loads are headed, I'm looking at weights, I'm looking at lots of things, how many trucks are sitting at the truck stop with me, who are the big shippers in the area?? I know that sometime around Tuesday things are going to start being to my liking, I've got an idea of what the loads are, and where they're going, and I know what the rates offered the day before were.....I'll post my truck and see how much my phone rings.... I'll call, and call, and call, about various postings.... now, depending on what I've figured out I'll start making my move.... You have to have a strategy, and strategy requires info.... There's a lot of strategy involved in negotiation, and I just don't share my negotiation strategies, sorry....

But yes, you can compete with one truck and your own authority.... in fact you're going to be better off this way, as you're not allowing anyone to skim their percentage off the top....

I cringe when Landstar contractors tell me that 67% of the gross is ok with them..... "You really don't mind giving Landstar 33%??? Really??

 

It's not the percentage that counts, it is the rate that percentage is figured on. BTW, that 67% is to the tractor, only, not including the trailer.
As I stated, before, as a Motor Carrier you are competing against LS, not me. If you try comparing the rate you get, as a Motor Carrier, to me, you have lost.

 

Also remember that a carrier with a lot of trucks are a lot of times desperate to move their truck to keep their driver happy.
In this situation, I think of 2 different things happening:
1) The carrier has to keep their driver busy and happy or they might quit - so they willingly book lower than average rates to keep the truck going
2) The drivers get paid by mileage - so when a driver is getting 300 miles a day, they are not going to be happy - so the carrier is again pressured to book loads at least 400-450+ miles long to keep their driver happy.
So with that logic, it seems like market is saturated with trucks looking for 450-1000 mile loads, and quickly.

To further expand on this, it seems that the loads less than 400 miles are the ones that are left - and they generally pay better, because time is still a factor - but taking two 300 mile loads in a day is going to eat up your 14. It's harder work doing more small loads than it is one long load a day. That's where I think a lot of O/O find their niche.

So yes, I think that this is why there are those on this forum that continue to harp on the fact that short haul is where it's at for O/O and very small fleets, and this is how you compete in the industry - not compete against the large carriers, but compete in the industry in general. I can't wait to get a truck of my own and do this. I'm not saying I'm gonna make $3,000/week profit every week, or even at all, but I certainly think that I and any others who are taking the time to research the living crap out of the industry and saving up their dough in the meanwhile, can indeed compete and succeed in this type of work.

 

Stop telling the whole world

 

Sorry!! I love to explain things, especially on the net. I'm not so good verbally, and I'm very quiet in real life, so I use the net to spew my verbal diarrhea.
But hey, at least we have freedom of speech.

And it's not like others don't say the same thing. I guess I'm just good at stating the glaringly obvious

 

Well it is said alot and im afraid sooner or later people are gonna startt listening

 

There won't be enough that listen to impact the market in any way. Most are to lazy for the work involved in the shorter runs.

 

Where you running this week?

 

I unload in Norcross, GA in the morning, not sure what I am going to do from here.