Is it sliding or not?!
Last week, I came back from CT to Iowa City, IA on Uber load that paid close to $3000...just made a bid on it and lo and behold I was awarded it. Delivered on Tuesday and from there I deadheaded to WI to load 5 000 lbs for $3700 to York, PA...from there I did not get as lucky and backhauled $1850 to Eau Claire, WI.
I am in 18000 in revenue this month which already exceeds my monthly minimum. I need $200 000 revenue to net $100 000 per year. For whatever reason, the formula which says that you get to keep half of your gross works like a clock for me...
I booked a well paying load from Minnesota to Boston area that picks up next week. It is 1500 miles for $5100 / 42 000 lbs. It is over 400 miles away from my terminal so now I have to come up with a way to pick it up e.g. IL-IN/OH - MN maybe $1200/1500 - $1500/1800 from what I see on the load boards today.
Frankly, I don't like to do it this way...it creates a puzzle to solve and additional stress. But if there is a 4 digit figure that starts with 5, I can't resist. At the worst case scenario, I could deadhead or cancel a few days before so that they have time to recover but I did deadhead there before and at the time when the load paid even less.
I noticed that some lanes out of Northern Wisconsin and East Minnesota to East Coast and Baltimore market area have soften on their rates. Not enough to call it poor but it is a noticeable slide nonetheless.
Still, it is not the first time this happens this year.
I'll need a new truck and I think sooner rather than later. My machine is running solid but I can feel it is tired. I don't like going to these so called friendly shops and beg for service either...yes, they're busy enough not to care much about the sight of a returning customer. On the other hand, all the things around me that I see, hear and read don't make me too zealous to engage financially more than I am. Giving a hefty down payment of 20 000 - 30 000 is not a problem. The problem is the answer to the question I ask myself: Have you for the last 5 years been able to put aside $120 000 - 130 000 on the top of you put aside for your own living? No?! Then what makes you think, it'll be easy for you to pay that thing off in 60 months? If I only had some assurance that the current situation will keep up at the level as it is for at least another 2-3 years...
Enough! I am in a hyper typing mood today.
Truck Load Rates Halt 8 Week Slide 2.0
Discussion in 'Freight Broker Forum' started by Scooter Jones, Mar 7, 2020.
Page 460 of 682
-
Midwest Trucker, PPDCT, Brettj3876 and 2 others Thank this.
-
Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
-
My bi-monthly check-in to report that my truck and trailer are still parked. My phone and email has been blowing up with load offers, good prices too.
I be like, thanks but no thanks...Midwest Trucker, dwells40, TallJoe and 2 others Thank this. -
@TallJoe #### nice rounds you've been putting together. What specs are you thinking when you get another rig? Probably another volvo right? Read some very good reviews from the MP8/D13 with 415 hp with turbo compounding getting really good fuel mileage. I wanna say it beat the 445 version in fuel economy. I'll try and find that article
My Conklin to Bayonne is done, Amazon bought the 2 ware houses and is knocking em down to put a final mile hub in. Might of mentioned this before can't remember. Been hitting it big waiting til end of the day to book stuffTallJoe Thanks this. -
@Brettj3876
Looking at Volvo 860 (big cab) D13/500 HP Eco-torque but with single Turbo. The only thing about Volvo is that their dealership customer service might be problematic. For instance, they are mostly closed on all Holidays and weekends. They seem overcrowded here in Chicago area too. I was also looking at Western Star 5700EX on Detroit DD13. It is almost the same price but serviced by Freightliner, which is a day and night better imo. At least, I'd get out of the Volvo club. lol
However, the essential question remains, is that an adequate investment to do what I've been doing, which is racing on the dry van spot market? Here, a duck tape, zip tights and spray paint cans are a norm to a lot of competitors and how can you get ahead of them? When you do it, you need to up the game and I got too complacent already.
Sorry to hear about your customer closing. Amazon is doing disservice to U.S. Economy, it has affected all of us already and will do continue to do so. They may say it is an inevitable aftermath of technological advancement and that you simply cannot stop it , the same way you cannot stop evolution. But that only means that folks like us become more replaceable and disposable. People don't realize that by buying from them, they are undercutting their own livelihoods.Truckermania, p608, dwells40 and 2 others Thank this. -
But you're right, best to get out of this for the sake of life quality and overall health of body and soul.
I am sure you could collect quite some cash for the equipment at this time too. Maybe it is best to wait with that though...in case you miss it too much.Midwest Trucker and Brettj3876 Thank this. -
To be honest my dad and i were starting to hate going to Bayonne. It was awesome at 1st pre covid then It went to hell. It was always a cluster F way too small of a place. Couldn't nap because you always to move spots to let a guy in/out. Them booking too many trucks at once. Only 2 receiving/shipping doors and there would be 15+ trucks stacked up sometimes. If you didn't have 830 or 930 apt you could be there for 4+ hours sometimes. They just stored the wine bottles in conklin, they come down from Canada so them guys are prob running em straight down now.
Still have my steady coming back outta jersey, their good about giving us 3-4 days advance notice so we haven't had an issue booking stuff down to jersey.
Not much room at all. Built back when 40ft was a big wagon and the bottom right by the fence they're always a bunch of straight trucks parked there.
-
On this end i loved it, couldn't of had it any easier. 8 miles from the yard Lol and was always loaded within 30 min.
-
In perspective though, I really wouldn't care if my current gig with my boy only made me enough to cover my personal expenses and to set aside a little extra every month. Having the opportunity to be with him is awesome.
Life isn't all about money or prestige...
Ever seen a Hearst pulling a trailer with all the dead man's possessions and money on the way to the graveyard?
One of my in-laws was telling me the other day about their father who is on his last leg with throat cancer, so bad he can hardly swallow anymore. His wife was having a garage sale in order to raise some cash, etc., and the father was b i t c h i n g at her and demanding that she not sell the "stuff' too cheap. He's always been like that and even on his deathbed with the soon to be reckoning with his maker, the reality of suffering and death hasn't tempered his clenching fist one bit.
Now that's sad.Midwest Trucker, dwells40, Dale thompson and 2 others Thank this. -
Came across this article today. Interesting how this chart corresponds with freight market
Stock Market Leverage in La-La Land, Rises to Historic WTF HighSteveScott, Midwest Trucker, Brettj3876 and 1 other person Thank this. -
dwells40 and Brettj3876 Thank this.
Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds
Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.
Page 460 of 682