Taking my trucks to JB Hunt!

Unless USA have gotten a lot better they will have you setting in a truck stop for three days at a time

 

USA Truck has a good plan if it one guy and one truck, but they do not pay enough to make a profit and pay another driver. 0.90pm Loaded or empty +FSC which is approx 5 cents less than most other companies.

I've gotten a call and an Email from JB Hunt about that program. What gets me if you have your own authority why would you want to lease on to JB Hunt and pay them to do what you can do your self and kept the extra?

Isn't it like defeating the purpose of having your own Authority?

 

you're not leasing on with them. you are pulling their trailer & they are brokering the freight for you.they do lease o/o's but this is a different plan.i talked to them last fall about it myself,but it didn't sound like it would suit me so i didn't pursue it any further.

 

Well what they told me and the email states sounds more like a lease.

 

you can do it either way. they will lease you on & you run under their authority. if you have your authority,then they are basically acting as a broker,although you are pulling their trailer. they will broker freight also with your own truck & trailer.you can go on their website & get more detailed info.

 

What you all are missing is why they want to "Partner" with your company. You are a seperate identity of sorts, a sub contractor to them. They need poor saps like that for one reason. I learned this lesson the hard way with Prime and it is the same for all of these big companies. Sure they will promise you the world but deliver you a turd. This is how their plan works so they can advertise they are doing well in down times. They go to a cstomer and bid on a lane, say for arbritrary purposes 100 loads a week from point A to point B. They give them a low rate for those loads, upon winning those loads they tell the customer to bill me 80 of the loads at "this" rate and the remaining 20 loads at "that" rate. The "this" rate is manageable by all, the "that" rate is barely enough to cover fuel and driver pay. (The customer is happy to ablige because the end results are the same) Now the stage is set and guess who gets the higher "this" rate and who gets the lower "that" rate. This is legal to do and they are doing it, make no mistake. They have nothing invested in your company other than using you as a whipping post to make their bottom end look good. If you fail, it doesn't bother them one bit. Now I am sure they will woo you right away and give you several loads of the higher rate then they all of a sudden have the lower rate to deal with. You will be promised they will follow it up with a higher paying load BUT they cannot gaurantee it because it doesn't exist yet ***wink wink*** and when the only load ever coming out of where you are is their crappy rate, you give in thinking you will show them that you are willing to work with them and help them so long as the favor is returned. This will go on for about a month or two and you will see it right in front of your eyes. I have been in business for 2 years now, started off with 1 truck and now I have 3. I had "partnered" with Prime because I was unsure about keeping 3 trucks running by myself so it seemed like a good deal. I had no one tell me the info I found out, so maybe my pain will be your gain.... I started with them with about 20K in the bank. After 8 months I was 20K in the red. Now since I have been back on my own I have filled that hole they helped to create and once again am in the black by a good margin. I used to have 2 trailers and I sold 1 after I started for Prime (because I didn't need them if I was pulling theirs) and when I left, I had to rent 2. Now I have placed an order for 3 new Utilities that will deliver sometime in June. It was not easy but when I realized what they where up to and that if I stayed with Prime, I would fail and I got out and went back to what I know, trained my drivers how to deal with finding loads and they know what my min. rate is, if they find a load above it, they don't bother me, if they can only find a load below it, they call, I look at where it is going and call ahead to see what is coming out of the area, my guys have never been happier. They run where they want when they want. While being partnered with Prime I was averaging 1700 miles per truck a week paid and an additional 600 to 800 miles a week DH. Now my guys are averaging 2600 miles per week paid and 400 to 600 DH. These loads arent all above my minimum rate but at the end of the week for all loaded miles we are averaging well above it. Some pay real well others pay enough for fuel, driver and maint. I am making a little money now and this has been my best quarter in 2 years.... you do the math. Bottom line is stay on your own, it is no privelage to "partner" or "Be Invited to Join" etc. They try to put themselves off as the greatest thing since sliced bread and you will become the whipping post. In the end, they will survive and you will not.... and they still win.

 

Why any O/O would consider leasing a truck to any mega bottom feeder fleet is beyond me. Why guys are content with making $1.15 or whater per mile is also beyond me. I have more respect for the newbies here who seek their own authority, than these JB hunt threads, which btw barely deserve mere mention in this forum. Set your sights higher. Just my opinion and no offence to anyone.

 

They just dont listen

 

Heck of a learning experience for ya I guess. Hey, hopefully things are working out better for you wherever you have your trucks now.