Cutting the Rate/Rate Cutting.....Lets dig into it

Great thread. I love it when someone posts something I can sink my teeth into and get something out of !

"I can testify first hand that there are carriers with one of my shippers that move the exact same freight to the exact same customers for less then I do it for. So, you may ask, why would the shipper keep using me? Beats me."

Classic way to put it! SOmetimes if you try to hard to figure things out, you just get all wrapped around the axle for nothing. I would guess that they like you for some reason. Maybe that particular customer sees the value in keeping more than one horse in the stable.

 

I agree. there is a lot of talk on here about macro and micro economic theory. I do follow these things to a point, but you cant waste too much time stressing over things you really have no control over. I have also seen a lot of mention to being a business man vs a driver. If you are a one man show, you still are a driver first and you need to be driving. If I sat around and did nothing but crunch numbers and speculate on the current state of the economy and all the what ifs, well I would definitely go broke. I prefer to do my pondering and speculating AFTER I have a load in my trailer and I am on my way to point B.

 

I disagree about not being a businessman. If you own a truck you need to be a businessman first and a driver second. Driver are mostly concerned with miles. Businessmen are more concerned with the bottom line. Trucks are only tools we use to make a living. A businessman is crunching numbers. It is part of running a profitable business. You don't need to obsess about it, but you do need to know your break even point and whether loads are profitable or not. I don't worry about driving more miles. That is not where the money is in this business. It is about profit. It is about maximizing your skills to get the best rates and most profit for your efforts. I am thinking and working on the next load as soon as I get loaded. In fact, I will sometimes start working on a load before making a pickup. I have been doing this for some time, so I know where I need to be on rates to be profitable. I never haul a load just to get me to a good load unless it is profitable. I understand that there are many who will. If they want to haul them, more power to them. You can operate by the seat of your pants with little or no planning. Some are successful doing this in spite of themselves. I prefer planning and planning for contingencies. I rarely do anything on a whim. All business is cyclical. It is good to know what you need to do to survive if the economy tanks or when business is down. I never haul freight just to have something to do. I prefer to sit or deadhead to a better area rather than hauling something that is not going to pay a profit. I still enjoy driving, but not as much as a few years ago. I enjoy making a profit more.

 

I think that being an O/O is obviously a business. I have been self employed over 25 years and I have started several businesses. That being said, I think you need to be a driver first and a business man second. There are times where the business man needs to take over and make the real decisions, but once that is done, the driver needs to be back in the seat driving.

This is just my way of looking at it. For me at least, being a business man comes naturally after being one over 25 years. For those who have never been on the other side of the fence, well of course they need to focus on developing their "business man" skills to survive if they don't have any. There are plenty of helpful threads on here and plenty of helpful folks who can help a new O/O figure out what things they need to focus on as a "business man".

Once you get that area mastered , well, you are back to being a driver with good business skills.

 

I'm based out of California hauling both Dry and Reefer wanting to get contracted with a direct shipper out of TX? Rates are just so bad that i cant rely on Brokers anymore. Any imputs?

 

i was in contact with these people, i dont know them, but they seemed nice

i just happened to find a better deal with someone else, but these guys are out of texas

Jessica Martinisi
888-474-5805
Universal Louisiana Transportation, Inc