Realistic Dry Van Rates

I too parked my semi just over 2 years ago when the rates started falling. Now the rates are worse then what I've seen in 20 years and guys are still trying to justify been out there. Waiting for rates to get better is no excuse to continue trucking in this economy

 

$3-$4000 a day?????

 

You read it wrong. $300 to $400

 

You are right...my bad!.. not that I would complain if I could get 3-4k hehe

 

With fuel at around $3 a gallon, you have to be very careful where you run and when you run.
Always assume you are going to get around a buck a mile OR LESS heading West. You need to make sure you can make what you need going one direction
(so for example assume you are getting a $1 one way and make sure you are getting at least $1.65+ the other way).
We are based in AZ and now that freight is picking up we hold out for better rates and will not take less that $1.75 heading East. Right now we are even getting decent rates going to Los Angeles.
I think it is crazy to go to Northern CA unless you are getting around $2.25 because fuel is so expensive there, there are huge mountains and the more competitive rates are in Los Angeles.
Always remember that Fridays and the end of the month and quarter are the best days to negotiate.
Avoid doing business with Bear and Schnieder at all costs. Remember when you take a low paying rate it sets the bar for all the other O/O's out there.
CH Robinson will give you a good rate if you hold out long enough. Remember to post your trucks on their website especially with where you are looking to go and they will call you!
There are good paying companies out there. If they don't offer quick pay ask them for an extra $30 to "pay for factoring."
Never let them know that you are the O/O Always refer to yourself as "my driver" Never take the first offer, always say "I need to check with my driver and I will call you back" If they want to speak with "the driver" tell the "The driver speaks Spanish"
If you don't have a computer get a smart phone and search for loads on it....
Feel free to hit me back w/ any questions...
I was a sales recruiter, but did well in 08 and needed a tax write off, so I bought my husband a semi....I did everything from getting our authority to our LLC all by myself..You can too

 

Telling them that the driver speaks spanish should work fine as long as they don't then tell you that they're bilingual, lol.

Oh, and I wish my wife could afford to buy me a truck! He should be worshiping at your feet just for that!

 

I wish he appreciated it...He nagged me about buying him a truck for THREE YEARS and still blames me for not taking out a home equity loan earlier "when trucking was good" (even though we did not have the equity at the time)
He complains constantly and has only has to wait one day at the most for me to move him..Including when he was in Miami...He is so spoiled because he only worked with a broker for less than a month and does not realize that some drivers have to wait a few days at a time to get moved...The best thing about this job is that I can have mny space while he is on the road...

 

I started driving as an O/O in March of 2010

I'm averaging $1.92 for all paid miles and $1.62 fer every hub mile put on my truck.

You haul for what you accept. If you accept low paying freight then that's on you. I'll sit home if I have to run for free.

People say $1.30 if the going rate...you just have to run more miles. Why? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

Why drive 8 - 10 hours for $5 an hour. Then I let em know up front that I will call on arrival on the shipper and receiver and after 2 hours I charge $50 per hour for that to.
I don't get every load but at least I get paid for what I run.

My base rate is $1.10 a mile. I charge $45 per hour.

Example

500 miles at $1.10 = $550
500 miles divided by 55MPH = 10 hours.
Add 3 more hours for dock time for a total of 13 hours.
13 X $45 per hour = $585
Rate would be $1135 on 500 miles or $2.27 cpm

I start negotiating form there. Is there lots of DH? don't give that away. Every 55 miles you drive is basically an hour. Sure you can average a bit more but stopp a couple of time for rest areas breaks and ect and your averaging 55 mph.

Start charging for your time. It's the right thing to do.

Check out my blog. I post my earnings there. http://higbsblogcity.blogspot.com/

 

My dry load Friday paid me 1.75/mile...my load Monday night will pay 4.00/mile but I will deadhead back and forth all week.

 

What most of you people tend to leave out is the miles traveled for a rate and how long the load takes from start to finish.

I could just post that I get $3.00 per mile all the time. What I fail to say is that it takes me all day from dawn to dusk and it's 125 miles and I get only 3 loads a week. That sucks.

I'll take a load in a heartbeat from coast to coast for $1.50 per mile on 3,300 miles.

Rates are really based on length of haul or the amount of freight available in the area your headed to. I get $1.15 to go 600 miles into a great area from NH. I get $3.00 to come back home. That's $2.07 per mile overall.

For the past 3 weeks while I was out I ran at least 3,800 miles per week. Sometimes I got $2.00 per mile and sometimes I got $1.37. I take the bad with the good.

I will not sit in an area for 3 days waiting for a load that pays $.50 per mile more. Sitting for those 3 days cost me over $1,500 in lost revenue.