Landstar

Wouldn't that indicate the rate you are paying is too low?

 

There is no reason you should not be able to schedule your loads where you can make money with your own trailer. I have never been one who only looks at the miles that I can run. Having a good rate is much more important to me. I would rather run fewer miles at higher rates than more miles for less or even the same rate. Just because you are running doesn't necessarily mean that you are making money. I have done drop and hook. Sometimes, it works out well. But, there are times when live loads are more profitable. One consideration that you need to be aware of when doing drop and hook is maintenance. Not all owner operators and drivers are concientious and take care of their equipment. You could pick up a trailer that is damaged, has bad tires or lights out. That takes time to get repaired. Hopefully, if it is your trailer you will take the time to make sure that everything is working properly. You never know what you are getting when you do drop and hook. Back when I leased to Landstar I picked up a van out of Laredo. The trailer had missing mudflaps, missing lights and very bad tires. It had been across the border and someone stripped it. It wasn't Landstar's fault, but I had to take time to get the trailer to the point I could pull it. I have known drivers who have done well with drop and hook. I have also known some who did well pulling their own trailer. It may not be right for everyone, but I would prefer pulling my own trailer and keep the extra profit I would make.

 

That could be one school of thought. The other could be a lot of our BCO's have their own trailers. This is non-brokerable freight. It goes to priority customers for our direct customer and it's van freight. There's nothing we can do about contracted rates until next bid process (2013). The other issue I've discovered after talking with many of our drivers is the lane is too short and the freight coming back to Dallas is so poor that they can't make a living, even with our decent rate.

 

A drive needs to make his own choice, which is better making money or being tired and broke. If one can make 600 on a normal day it is stupid to work for half that and use the same amount of time.

 

Agree 100%. It is not always about money. But this discussion was about money and the statement you made that you can make more money because you the wheels are turning with drop and hook (summarizing what I took from your comments).

And you are say the opposite of my point. My experience is that you can driver less miles and make the same gross on live loads. That works out to a better net because less fuel and higher percentage. And less fatigue because of less driving. And more life on tractor because of less miles.

Now your reasons for going this way may be more personal and from that you have found a market that works well. I was just pressing you on a statement that only one other LS van driver has told me.

 

I am not trying to say your rates aren't good when viewed as RPM on loaded miles. The things you mention seem to indicate the rates are too low for the lane. Trucking is a pretty pure supply and demand game. If the rate was truly attractive, you would have no problem getting drivers to haul the freight. The lane you mention is only 200-300 miles, and I don't think there is much for van freight that moves from Central Texas back to Dallas. So if they can't afford to come back empty when there is nothing moving it would probably be tough to get someone to commit. Have you looked at other alternatives like looking for other agents or new customers that may have freight to make the round more attractive?

 

Truth be told, I haven't had time to look in that area. I've attempted to work with other agents to develop routes like that in our other areas and they are just as bad about calling me back as they are about calling you guys back. It's pathetic really...

 

I don't understand why anyone who makes their living selling fails to get back to those who can make them money. I met with a friend of mine earlier today. He just bought a step deck similiar to mine. He contacted two trailer places and neither would call him back. He was planning on buying a trailer from one dealer and even called them 3 times in an effort to get in touch with them. He has already bought 2 trailers from this dealer. He wound up going to a different dealer to buy his trailer. All the salesman needed to do is get back with my friend and he would most likely have had a sale. Well, not only did this guy lose this sale, he will likely lose any future sales to this guy. A dissatisfied customer will cost you 10 new customers. It is ironic. I sent my friend to this dealer after I initially purchase a trailer from them. I will think twice before referring others due to this incident.

 

Hubby is a OO thinking about going to Landstar. They lease their trailers for about $135/week. They don't show much of the load board unless your hired. I'm worried the move maybe a financial blunder. Any thoughts??? Wish he made that 6-figure salary now.

 

Some people do well, others fail. Landstar doesn't have dispatchers so you are pretty much on your own as far as finding loads. You do have the capability to post your truck and doing so lets Landstar agents know that your truck is available and what type of trailer you pull. Often agents will call but my experience has taught me that those who seem to do the best have someone at home or with them that can check the loadboard while their spouse drives. With Landstar you need to be proactive in order to be successful. In other words, you need to check their loadboard and call agents who have freight that you want to haul. Once you have a load on the truck you need to post your truck and start looking for loads coming out of where you are going. Some loads are not posted until the last minute. It takes time to learn the better freight lanes and which agents have the better paying freight. You need to allow about 6 months to get familiar with the Landstar system. It is different than any other carrier. A number have attempted to mimic their system, but I have not seen any who do it as well. Landstar pretty much developed the agent system as we know it today. Landstar is rather anal about some things. They do have a very large freight base. I would not expect him to clear six figures, at least starting out. In fact, he probably won't do that well unless he gets into some specialized area. A number of factors determine your actual net.