Truck Load Rates Halt 8 Week Slide 2.0

I could probably be ok with that. lol

 

I’d take the 7:10 odds. My Friday load to Miami cancelled. Had planned on leaving out Saturday, delivering Monday. Did my fuel taxes last night just before midnight. $1.62 credit, 6.35 mpg avg. Yeee haw!! I’ll be rich in no time. Now, I should take the 400 mile trip paying $1200 tomorrow, I’m being offered. Sitting at home, enjoying being left alone. It hardly seems worth it.

 

I got about the same average but I owed them about $75.
I am lazy this year. In the first two quarters, I run less than 35 000 miles...which is about half of what I did run in the same period last year.

I am sticking to 200-300 home radius. Some weeks, I'll do only two trips, some other, I'll do 4.
I am starting to like it. Those trips, up to 300-400 miles can pay from $3 to $4 per mile, not all of them are perfect due to deadhead and not very convenient pick ups or delivery times. Some of them include heavy water and beverages freight. I find these shorter runs more efficient for the total mileage but...the total revenue and the net earnings are much lower than the last year due to obvious reasons. If I am left with at least $10 000 after fuel and tolls per month, I am completely comfortable with that income, considering the current rate slow down and my less demanding work load. That's the benefit of having the truck and trailer paid for and enough cash reserves for potential repairs. My two other major fixed costs are parking $300 and insurance $750 per month.
I think that securing that 10 Grand is relatively easy. However, If I had to secure additional equipment payments of $3000 to $4000, then I could not afford to work at this pace. Sometimes, I think that operating brand new equipment with these financial obligations on the spot market - which is about hauling random dry van freight- is a daunting task, even if I include running to the fullest all of the up cycles.

But...at least now, I can sleep at home more nights than in the truck and most of the weekends I am at home.
I hope I can afford to make less by working less, yet more efficiently. When things improve, It'll be a full steam again.

 

My total miles for the quarter, were 16,140. I haven’t even bothered to add up revenue at all. I’m just happy I can live off working less. Parkings $125, Insurance is $925, up $175 since I raised my values up. Going to drop them back down soon, on the Truck at least. I just saw a similar Truck for $40k. Trailers a necessary evil. Prices are still high. 08 dry vans selling for $25k is crazy stupid.

 

First time checking in here in a couple weeks. I haven’t been on social media for the same amount of time. I’ve just been out working and it turns out you can still make money and it’s nice not being bombarded with nonstop posts about how bad the industry is. Since I left home on July 20 I’m at $2.41 to my truck after lease and trailer rent. So pretty much the same as it has been for the most part.

 

I am curious if all those visioneers prophesing the end of the World, spending money on billboards and ads, etc. do believe it. Obviously, they were proven wrong so far because the world never ended, so how can they explain it or get away from the accusations of trying to dupe their followers and being duped by themselves?

 

Lol, my stepfather commented in ‘08, that he told me bad economic times were coming. Yes I agreed, you’ve been saying it for 20 yrs. Lol. The only thing coming to an end is each of our lives someday. The world will hardly notice.

 

I went to the DMV yesterday to surrender my CDL since I'm retired and I still get triple the points on my driving record if I get a ticket. So I get to the counter and she tells me to go to the terminal and take the driving test, and when I'm done (and if I pass) come back for an eye exam. I said WHAT? So to downgrade my license in California from a class A to a class C, I need to take the class C tests again to qualify. I said forget it, I'll wait for my next renewal in 2.5 years.

 

It's California, no surprise there.