Ridiculous rates

You'd be surprised. I just got told someone took a load from Atlanta to Miami for $1100. That's with a stop in St Petersburg first. Broker actually told me the driver wanted to get home and took it for fuel. I mean even if everything you own is paid for, that is a ridiculous rate!

 

Are you a broker now? That sounds like a foolish misinformed statement that they would make. Three weeks ago I bounced 1636 miles to go home. Wasn't about to put a cheap heavy load that had to tarp on my trailer for "fuel." If you have to haul freight just to pay for fuel to get somewhere you need to take a long hard look to see where it is you are actually going. That dizzy feeling in your head is there because you are swirling down the toilet with the rest of the turds.

 

Just saw a load on board from Chicago to Miami paying $8,500 with a stop in Nashville. 13,000# of no touch electronics.... so it's not all that bad

 

That's why when you quote a run to the middle of nowhere, you figure in the cost to bounce back empty.

i do the same thing. I'll pull a LTL home for a $1.50 but it best not weight over 10,000# and be small in size.

 

Same here, I always figure the rate per running mile not loaded mile. When I get a good load back it's a bonus!

 

Exactly... and I was even shopping for daycab trucks this week

 

SHC, i'm pretty sure I saw you running east thru Illinois yesterday around Ottawa. Sure looked like that sharp Star you got

 

Wow, it seems that most people posting are business people yet from the responses do not understand the market forces behind the rates. Large carriers with good paying contract freight are the ones driving the market in areas with over capacity. Because they don't focus on the profitability of the load but rather a bigger picture they are more concerned with getting the asset back to the contract freight. These companies look to keep load management to truck ratios in the 40:1 level (dispatchers, load planners, driver managers, etc.). If they spent time pounding the phones looking for better paying loads you would be in the 15:1 ratio.

They have a much different business model than the typical O/O. An independent can run in this model, and many do (and you would be surprised at the net income the can make). But then you need to evaluate your profitability on a monthly basis rather than on a load to load basis. I looked at it but it is much more based on getting miles.

Do you think Nordstroms sits around figuring out how to compete with Walmart? Of course not. Then why would any of us waste our time discussing markets that are served by the Megas?

 

Going through this thread and when i saw this i LOL'd.

 

I agree, that's quote material.