Owner operators delivering for amazon prime?

The problem comes when there is a huge down turn in the economy. Months and months go by it just gets worse, you can't beg borrow or steal a good load. Truckers are cutting rates so fast, begging for a load just to turn their wheels. Truckers will go broke lots of repo's

The extra capacity has to be thinned out until the trucks that are left can start raising rates and making money.

This business is easy in good times, it's brutal in bad times. The old hands have seen it and lived thru it. The new hands? The smart nimble ones will live thru it also. The rest of them, it's going to be brutal.

These economic good times don't last forever, but neither do the bad times. Set yourself up to weather the bad ones, cause there's always boom coming.

 

So what's the deal with Amazon loads being broker through 3PLs paying far better than their direct carries?

Ive worked for a company that had an Amazon contract through JB Hunt. None of the lanes payed cheaper than $2.5/mi.

Are these their overflow loads that Amazon carriers are not able to cover?

3PLs not being morons, Im guessing they ask for spot market prices to be able to make a profit and find a reliable carrier? Just a guess, but if this is the case im sure there's a sharp independent out there making good money with Amazon.

 

2.5 dollars per mile on a 15 mile run is not good business if you waste 1 hour on each end.

 

My trucks are moving amazon loads northern Cali, southern Cali, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. It ain’t so bad, but it does come with a baggage. I had a good driver quit due to the load delays including the short of empty trailers and amazon personally recovered one of their trailers running 6 hours late from a truck stop because a bad driver didn’t want to drive and decided to stay in the sleeper for 2 nights straight after this incident.

 

None of the runs were less than 500 miles and they were also drop and hook. $2.5/mi was the cheapest run that was available. However, sometimes it was a hassle to find an empty JB hunt trailer that didn't look like it had been hit by a train and Amazon, like others have pointed out, is cancel happy.

I think these were the good paying Amazon loads that people like @rollin coal use to pull in previous years. I remember reading those guys were having a hard time getting good paying loads from amazon in the last year or two.


Like I said before there's a good chance someone out there is making good money with amazon. Although, more than likely those people are the exception an Amazon will eventually find someone to do it cheaper.

 

Anyone got the info on pulling for Amazon

 

Call 1-800-LOSE-MONEY

 

I'm interested as well, been searching online how to get info on how to apply. Can you pm me as well? Thanks.

 

Amazon has two different systems for their freight. They used to only work thru the megas and brokers but it was costly for them. That’s when they started buying trailers and developed the owner op system. They pay owner ops very poorly and the excess they can’t cover then goes to the brokers for much higher money.

Can’t remember what they call each but they basically now subsidize their truckload freight costs on the backs of hard working owner ops and small fleets. The good paying overflow is pretty well non existent now.