The Recession

Yeah, I'm lucky in the fact I'm just running Hotshot now, so in worst-case situations, I drop my trailer for a min and go to a normal gas station if I need fuel badly and no decent discounts around. I usually just go to the smaller truck stops though.

 

The rates should be doable till end of January, the momentum has been exceptionally strong but don't be surprised if after 1.5 per mile is a daily bread for a dry van until enough will sink again.
All I can say that I am glad for having been able to parttake in the latest wave. Ive been on it the whole time. It has been a great run. It'll be tough to adjust to anything lower than 6k revenue per week then 5k and so on. But never did I expect that dry van could sustain these elevated spot market rates for too long. Too easy for too many, especially when other segments in economy work at half whistle.

 

Are you saying the rates will just drop to $1.5/mile for Dry or is that what they are now? (I'm not running semi anymore just my hotshot doing cars so I dunno what your rates are these days)

If they only drop to $1.5 then I don't see why guys couldn't survive. It's if they drop to $1.30-$1.2 is where the problems come in as they did during the start of the trade war/covid beginings..

 

1.5 allows to keep floating for most independent o/os with enough money reserves and lower fixed costs (especially paid for equipment, not too high insurance) to wait out for another wave but it is not sustainable for longer time - 6 months - 1 year. Fleets can't make much profits at that at all - ever when drivers' pay is over 65 c per mile these days. Some will say the threshold is lower some other will say it is higher. I hope to be able to run at 1.5 and stay alive but I prefer 4 dol per mile, of course.

At present time this is what it looks like (per DAT loadboard trendlines).

 

That's pretty hard that flatbed rates are less/same as dry on average. The car market has started getting bad the last 2 months so I've been eying flatbed freight again but the partials are paying like crap so I haven't taken any. I guess that's why.

 

I drive LTL for ABF and our freight is starting to dry up. New guys on hog board had been taking the weekends off coming back on Monday morning and there was freight for them. Now they go 2 or 3 days without driving due to lack of freight to haul.

This started after Thanksgiving which for the week following would be normal. Having it be this slow this long after Thanksgiving is not normal.

 

The reason for me stating the 40cents off per gallon was to show that I am buying fuel for $1.83 a gallon today. Hence my fuel cost has not skyrocketed yet.

 

We are laying low and raking it in to end the year on a good note.

 

Hmmmm I'm seeing rate increases on the contract reefer freight i haul.

 

And the police openly admitted that they have Zero intention to enforce th lockdown.