TRUTH!

I am sorry to hear about your problems, FREEBRD. Rates are pretty crappy and there isn't as much freight as we would prefer. Most people will do some sitting due to the current economy. Freight is always slow this time of year. Things should begin to pick up in a couple of weeks. Several factors are at work. Of course, politics is at the top of the list, but so are other issues, such as the storms that have ravaged the country. That has slowed the time that we should have seen a turn around. Life and the economy runs in cycles. Things can always be worse and things will improve. It hasn't gotten as bad as the end of 2008 or 2009. There is much uncertainty in the marketplace. That will impact our industry. But, things will improve. They always get better.

This has always been a tough business. The important thing is to keep moving forward. There is a saying, "It is always darkest before the dawn."

We have always had cheap freight haulers in this business. It isn't just the brokers who are responsible for the cheap rates. We live in a supply and demand world. Right now, we have an over supply of trucks for the available freight. Owner operators and carriers are running scared and putting anyhing on their trucks to keep them moving. Some people are afraid to sit for a day or so. Not everyone is meant to be in sales. Your attitude is everything in sales. Most salesmen spend about 90% of their time prospecting for customers. They spend about 8% qualifying the customer and only about 2% of their time actually selling. Those who have been in sales for a number of years work in a very systematic fashion. Sales is nothing more than a numbers game. In order to get one sale you will have to call on a certain number of potential customers. For someone starting out, it can be challenging to accept all the rejection. Try to not take a non sale as a personal rejection.

If you no longer have your trailer, you may want to look at a couple of options. You might be able to do power only for JB Hunt. I think that they are averaging around $1.70/mile. You might do better with short runs and you would not need to worry about tarps. I might be able to offer you a couple of broker contacts that get freight out of your area. I got a call from one earlier today, but I didn't have anything in that area.

Another option is to lease your truck to another carrier. If things are not working out as you would prefer, then perhaps it is time to consider making a change. I know of one carrier that is looking for owner operators to haul freight out of North Georgia to Pennsylvania and then back. It is pulling a flatbed. You would need to rent or buy another flatbed. I think that they are averaging about $2/mile to the truck. Leasing to another carrier would save you the expense of your own insurance and they will finance your base plates and insurance. It may not be the answer that you are looking for, but is an option. Whatever you decide, I wish you well. Feel free to pm me if you need any of those names. I am only about 3 hours from you.

 

I had $1,000 left and i was in a bad way and homeless too.I was living in run down hooker and drug infested motel room in Kansas City.I was down pretty far for a working man.I have known your pain all to well.

Then i humbled myself and asked an O/O from Landstar what i was doing wrong.I listened and became a student to this ''old timer''.Whom i speak with to this day.It was a long journey back from those days but I HAD TO CHANGE and I HATED IT...LOL,LOL

Today and 3 years later i am $100,000 plus,lost some weight,own my own home thats close to being paid for and have a beautiful Harley in my very own garage.After over 20 years of trucking i only thought i had all the answers..There is an old saying..

When the student is ready,the TEACHER appears...Thank god the teacher appeared in my life at that time.If you need anything i can try to help and pass on what was given to me...Hang in there.

 

....That was from G/MAN...Great Idea.!!!!!!!!.Look into this with JB,Landstar,Mercer or anyone for that matter..I make just as much with L/S and less paperwork/headache than With my own Authority.Many guys over here at L/S gave up there Authority to come over here and Mercer.This may be one of the ''CHANGES''..

 

i feel you. the problem just isnt the brokers though. its alot of these big carriers. Today i called on a load in NJ. it turned out to be a very very #### load. from southern NJ to NW ohio 47XXX weight they where paying 400 bucks. the tolls are almost 200 alone plus fuel.... for ##### and giggles i called back a few hours later and found out that jb hunt took the load. evey since jb and all these big companies got into flat bed and other setups all the rates have gone to crap. they figure its a tax write off so what do they care. so since they will haul a load at 50 cent a mile brokers think we all will.....but they get what they pay for. to many times i have talked to brokers who tried that route to find their freight was late, damaged or other issues arise from using companies that wil haul at any rate and use crap drivers and carriers......

 

I appreciate that, FREEBRD. There is a broker that I have dealt with who tried to get me to buy a 3 or 4 axle double drop or RGN a few years ago. He said that he had a lot of machinery coming out of Long Beach that had great rates. I was tempted, but don't like to put all my eggs in one basket. I called him a couple of months later and he said that he had not been getting much out of them. Had I spent the money on that trailer, I might have been in a bind to find the freight to keep busy. I would like to have an RGN or double drop at this point because I have freight that I could haul which requires the extra axles and low deck. There is other freight coming out of Knoxville that you could haul. Some of it has decent rates. I know a company in Alabama that ships steel beams and some of their loads require either an extendable or 53' trailer. Rates are not bad but not great. They do offer pretty consistent freight.

Sometimes it can help to develop relationships with brokers. When you have a relationship with them they can often keep you busy when others sit. They will also sometimes offer you higher rates once they find that you are reliable and have a good safety record. It isn't always necessary to have direct shippers in order to get good rates. However, there are shippers who don't like dealing with brokers and actually prefer doing business with smaller carriers or independents. I had a conversation with a shipper only yesterday who won't deal with brokers other than as a last resort. In fact, she received a call from a broker while we were talking. It was interesting to listen to her side of the conversation. She told the broker that she had her core carriers and that it is unlikely that she would be doing much, if any business, with any broker. Essentially, she told him that he was wasting his time. So, there are shippers out there who are looking for independents to haul their freight. She told me that she could load me out if I gave her 24-48 hours notice when I knew that I would have a truck in the area. She books 15 loads a day from her facility and does so fairly consistently all year long. They have plants in several states. From what I am seeing, this is an area with very little broker freight available. You can make a lot of phone calls in the course of a day to find direct shippers. That is what brokers do. They are on the phone all day long calling potential or current customers. There are also logistics companies that many brokers use for their freight. Most will use independents or small carriers. When I have drivers in my trucks or when I was dispatching other trucks, I spent my very long days searching for loads, making calls, checking credit and doing paperwork. As you know, it can be very time consuming.

I have never tried to sell price. I don't want to be cheap. I don't want a reputation as someone who hauls cheap freight. I prefer to be on the upper end of the pricing list. I want to be the guy whom brokers or shippers calls when they need a dependable carrier with a good safety record who can get the job done. Having said that, we are living in troubled times. We may all have to run for rates less than what we want in order to survive. I don't mean that we need to lose money, but in order to keep the home fires going until the economy improves. And leasing to a carrier may not be a bad deal. I think that I have posted on another thread about a good friend of mine who pulls a flatbed. He grossed $208,000 last year to the truck. The year before he grossed $206,000. It is the best two years that he has had with that company. There are others with the same company that don't do nearly as well. I am sure that there are others who are doing as well or even better than my friend. He had a very difficult time for the first 2 or 3 years that he was with this company. But, he stuck it out, changed what he was doing and is now doing very well. He considered getting his authority, but is doing so well without the extra paperwork, that he has decided to stay with this company.

I am still at classadrivers. I don't post as much as I used to, but I am still around. I usually check in most days, whether I post or not. My computer has been acting strange the last couple of weeks, making it difficult to even get online. It seems to be somewhat better right now. I think that I may have had a virus that is still lurking about and only shows it ugly head every now and then.