Mega Carriers Killing Rates

I don't know Seattle, but I can tell you when i take a load to Denver or Nebraska I'll take $1/mile out of there if I have too. I don't like it but I was hauling generators to Denver from Chicago for 4.80/mile and if it's $1/mile or deadhead I'll take the load. hate on me now...

 

That's just good business, IMHO. Cheap freight out of an area exists for a reason...namely there are far more loads coming into a market than going back out. It's simple supply and demand. Common sense dictates that bouncing out of a bad market generates $0.00 in revenue. $1.00/mile is still $1.00/mile more than you make bouncing. Just like your example above, you rolled in on $4.80/mile and rolled out on $1.00/mile. Theoretically if you took that $1.00 all the way back to Chicago, you still did $2.90 on all miles for that entire trip.

For argument's sake, let's just say that there were 50 truckers bringing loads into some town, and only 20 loads were leaving out, with the next closest load 250 miles away. All 50 truckers have decided to stick together and "say no to cheap freight." They have decided that $2.00/mile is their minimum, and none of them will haul for less. My question is...WHO GETS LOADED AND WHO BOUNCES OUT??? Obviously the 20 out bounds are going to get hauled, at $2.00/mile, but how is it decided which 20 trucks will get loaded and which 30 will have to eat 250 miles? Will they draw straws? Will they do a lottery?

The beauty of the free market is that it works. Period.

 

Exactly right!!! That's why I've never considered a L/P more than once in my life. I ran the numbers, and realized I was losing money.

Im company (make more than .30 a mile) but I can sit down and show any L/P op how much they're losing in about 15 minutes.

Unless they are knocking back 3 grand a week after fuel and truck payments. They ain't making squat.

 

Not going to beat you up, everybody does what they do, but have you ever figured on maybe deadheading 300-400 miles or farther if necessary to get a better paying load.. ..maybe it doesn't cover all that deadhead and still works out to a buck a mile but on the loaded miles if it's 2-3$ range that is a much better option than taking the closest, first $1 a mile load that pops up. And I have to say if I got $4.80 a mile on anything that justifies me going all the way back to where that load picked up and I'm still riding pretty high at $2.40 a mile on the round trip.. I just refuse to tie my eqipment up on a $1 a mile it never works out imo and it can/will cost you a good paying load at some point...

 

I was happy to get 1.1/ mile out of Denver last week. First thing an old trucker taught me was to take the good with the bad! Like it or not the name of the game is volume. It is how the big companies make it. We, as smaller o/o must just survive on our customer service. I know I will never be late and that is why I stay busy.

 

Volume is the game of mega's - why are you trying to compete with them?

 

At a $1 or $1.10 a mile its costing you more money to do the load than if you deadhead out. Figure your empty miles to get the load, time to load and unload and you use more fuel loaded than empty that buck a mile load just cost you money. To bad so many in trucking are so bad at math.

 

done!! Ghytjuykuikytiukiuokyujyuykiulkiuk

 

Why are all of you guys bashing Denver?? some of us live here you know, why not pick on Albuquerque?

and stop taking all the $4-5 inbound freight - leave for us that need to come here!