Rates are crashing and fuel to the moon!

Never knew it was pronounced "yost"

 

the door slammers will tell you if you had an aero truck, you should be able to push 9mpg out of that 8 axle setup . anything less is just leaving money on the table ..

 

Knew I should’ve bought a Cascadia …

 

A lot of you guys subscribe to DAT or read Freightwaves, but I'll add a couple of subjective observations on my own last two months. One is that about that long ago, I (additionally) submitted my info to Swift/Knight and Landstar for onboarding....I know, I know. But that didn't mean I had to do any hauls for them, I was just trying to widen my options as things were getting tougher. However it only struck me recently. I haven't seen a single load posted on the spot market from those two companies for several weeks now. Not a one. Secondly, the total number of loads JB Hunt is posting in my home region - which is easy to keep track of for me - has dropped from an average of about 64 per day, to the low 30's in just these last few weeks.

JB Hunts declining revenues were posted a few pages back in this thread, and I also remember watching a posted youtube video of an owner of a few-hundred truck fleet discussing her companies bankruptcy before that. And she specifically mentioned that freight contracts were now expiring, and that shippers were becoming aware of the current situation and were demanding concessions, even from the big carriers. And I'd bet that's becoming true. It seems as if there may be fewer safe harbors left in contracted freight anymore, either- let alone in the spot market.

 

In my area Tyson’s has 2 big DCs and they utilize all the cold storages too and I’ve barely seen any loads for them and assume it’s all going on their company trucks. The loads I have seen are the terrible ones where you have multiple picks and drops.

You just have to take it week to week and hope next week is better. Hope is not strategy but beyond just parking there’s not much you can do because carriers have zero leverage at this point in the cycle.

 

I'm not an owner operator, I know nothing about owning my own truck, I just come onto this thread to learn and hear the interesting and differing perspectives on things.

Just a question for you all: Let's say you make X amount per year and that's your average net income, after taxes and after it's all said an done, that you make per year to make a decent living. It doesn't really matter what that X number specifically is for what I'm asking, but just follow me here.

So let's say X amount is your base average to make a good living each year.

How many of you old timers run as hard as you can during the good years (like the past 2 years) and made double the X amount, and now during a bad year like this one and perhaps into the next year you'll only make half of your X amount, thus you average out to making slightly above X amount per year, on average, over the past 4 years, even with the last 2 years (or perhaps this year and next year) being terrible?

Which kind of means that you get to take it easy this year and not have to run so hard? If you were good with money, and it would probably help if you were single or at least had no kids, couldn't you just consider the down years like vacation time, where you can just take it easy at the house and be involved in your community more instead of hitting the road all the time?

Hopefully that made sense.To put it another way (in case I didn't make sense):

X amount is $4 net per year for your base average to make a good living each year.

2020: Netted $8
2021: Netted $8
2022: Netted $2
2023: Netted $2

Total for 4 years is $20 earned after taxes, which averages out to $5 per year. Even if 2022 and 2023 were terrible years for you, because 2020 and 2021 boomed so hard you would STILL make above your average needed per year to make a comfortable living ($4 per year in this example).

 

I delivered in Houston Monday. I found one little #### load by afternoon going 100 miles east. I deadheaded the other 900. I can’t see how those guys stay in business out there.

 

Any one who’s been through these cycles before, know to make hay while the sunshines., pay off debt, and put money away for the eventual downturn.

The problem is the vast majority of newer operators thought the Covid years were the “new normal”. And overpaid for equipment, spent money on materials things, and will soon pay they price.

 

Agreed but remember not all contract freight is the same. Some companies have relationships going back decades with their carriers. They're not changing carriers like dirty shirts especially ones that stood by and took care of them when they were getting gouged for $5 a mile on everything.

And just imagine for yourself being a shipper that might move some volume (maybe not mega volumes though) and you work with a smaller fleet and also let's say JB Hunt. Who do you think answers the phone and fixes any transport needs quickly versus one you have to wade through a dozen phone prompts and may or may not answer. I mean is anyone really surprised that JB Hunt's customers shop them?

 

I have read this thread from the beginning. I run reefer and it’s getting bad. I have one customer and they told me last week volume is going to be cut by 1/4 next week. I run produce & meats generally.