Brokers need to be taught a lesson

Your right but it is starting to get harder to get into trucking!!

 

I don't know about that. I've seen a TON of new DOT#s in the past few months. Buy an old Schneider truck and van or flatbed on the cheap and get after it. I'm not knocking them, more power to them. I don't see any shortage of newly minted owner ops and start ups on the road here in Texas at all. There is a guy that parks in my lot that has five or six old baby blue internationals (I think they're old Service tanker trucks), five drivers that don't habla ingles so good and they are hauling the crap out of pipe and other oilfield garbage. I don't think he has been in business for more than a couple years.

 

not everyone is suffering…..

 

u park in Katy?I know a guy like that.
how long can he stay afloat hauling nothing but brokered pipe with drivers on his truck?

 

Long time paying drivers $.33/mi

 

It's that time of the year folks. From now though March, you're going to be hard pressed to thrive on spot market freight alone. The freight is just not there. That's why you save up enough during the busy times of the year to carry you through the lean winter months. It's not the brokers' fault.

The company that I work for has upwards of 60 power units and more than 150 trailers. I'm a company driver, and they're having to feed me broker freight to keep me moving. I'm running some of the same lanes and loads that I was booking for myself or turning down at the last company, so I know that some of them are cheap, cheap, cheap. If you want to stay busy and can't afford to park it in the first quarter, you're going to have to take some of the cheap stuff.

 

Yep, off Morton road in the muddy mess. It's walking distance to the house though. I don't know how long he can stay afloat but I just noticed today it looks like he either has a couple new guys leased to him or bought some more trucks. They look like O/O trucks but I don't know for sure.

 

Why not haul less then 2/ mile? Lets think this through. An area like FL has great rates going in and horible rates coming out. Is it more profitable to deadhead 400+ miles and pay for the fuel out of pocket, OR take a cheap load that pays 1.20/mile that gets you into a good freight area. Its all about averages. Personally, I'd rather haul a low rate load that gets me to a good aarea then make noting on a long deadhead. Atleast with the 1.20 load, I cover my expenses for moving the truck and still make some money. I'll make up for the low rate on my next load. My point is, cheap freight is sometimes supply and demand. Knowing the freght lanes and ares will help you get the best freght, but taking a low load wont kill you. I've hauled for over 4/ mile into florida, so im willing to take anything going out since anything is better then nothing. I already paid for my deadhead out with the high rate in, why not make even more by getting a low rate out?

Thats why i have hauled cheap freight.

Also,, consider expenses. I can move my truck pretty darn cheaply. I get good mpg, my fuel cost is low, my maintance is like .06/mile. It doesn't cost me much to move my truck. So for me to make the same profit as someone driving an low mpg truck with a huge maintenance bill, i can haul for less money then they can. Now accourding to you picture, you drive a columbia, which is a great choice for MPG. Now, if you added air tabs, micro blue bearings, PP muffers, Super singles, aero package on trailer, fass system, you could easily pick up .10-.20/ mile in profit and thus not be so peeved at a lower rate.

 

i got some killer rates doing that. Shipper needed freght to go from bosie id, to long island. I didnt want to go to long island, so I told him ill do it for 6/mile totaly expecting to never hear from him again. 15 min later he said they couldn't find anyone else willing to do it and would i do it for 4. 4/ mile on a 2500 mile run isnt bad even if the last bit sucked.

Key is finding the demand, and not taking freght you dont want. if you dont want to hau cheep freght, then don't, but don't complain when i make a profit doing it, or when i try to stick to lanes that only have the good pay freight.

 

wy is it rediculess. Its supply and demand. its what our economy is based on. If they paid high rates the other guy would get it before you anyway. The rate is controlled by the demand and if the demand is low and the supply is high, why should they pay more then they have to. If you dont liek that, then sign onto a company that pays you the same rate for all miles, but you will probaly make less on average.