I do not and will not pull cheap freight!

Email chris(at) farm2fleet com I can't clear it from my phone and won't be on the computer for a day or two.

 

If you ever think you can't get a rate you won't regardless of the numbers. If you think market is down rates bad guess what.

 

The market is only going to support a certian amount trucks and cost for any commodity at any given point of the year. We work in a market that largly driven by the commodities futures 60, 90' 120 days ect. That is how product can be bid, manufactored and Delivered as far out as 60 90 and even 1 year in a competive field. One may bid a building today and all the suppliers cost may hold for 6 months, this is becauseof the availabilty to buy product on the futures market, ie, lumber, all metal product, pretroleum based products. As we know as business people margins are not flexable enough to allow sharp flexuactions to alter these bids. A .20 jump in fuel will cost . 04 per in fuel cost per mile for a thousand mile trip is $40.00 that will be probably all the carrier will get for this project as an increase if is pulling for one of the vendors. The thought you can just get more money is market and proven good service driven, during the bid process, of consumer, industrial, and service products. Raw material is delivered by the end of the month to get that months price. That is way freight is slow the 1st week of the month when buyers are pricing, amd the end of the month is busy to get out the door.

 

Qtr start/ends too create their own challenges too.

 

As a flat bed carrier my money qtrs, 2nd & 3rd, are now. Like a farmer if you dont have your crop in the barn by Thanksgiving, it could be a long winter.

 

I couldn't agree more with Epmtrucks. Trucking rates are largely seasonal and adjusted for capacity in the fleet. Here is the DAT trend chart:
[TABLE="class: trends"]
[TR]
[TH]Industry Trends[/TH]
[TD]Week[/TD]
[TD]Month[/TD]
[TD]Year[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Mar. 24 - 30
vs. Mar. 17 - 23
[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Mar. 2013 vs.
Feb. 2013[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Mar. 2013 vs.
Mar. 2012
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: trends_grey"]
[TD="align: left"]Spot Market Loads[/TD]
[TD]+ 8.8%[/TD]
[TD]+ 37%[/TD]
[TD]- 4.1%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: left"]Spot Market Capacity[/TD]
[TD]- 1.4%[/TD]
[TD]- 1.3%[/TD]
[TD]+ 19%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: trends_grey"]
[TD="align: left"]Van Load-to-Truck[/TD]
[TD]+ 8.1%[/TD]
[TD]+ 25%[/TD]
[TD]- 10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: trends_grey"]
[TD="align: left"]Van Rates (Spot)[/TD]
[TD]+ 0.6%[/TD]
[TD]+ 2.3%[/TD]
[TD]+ 0.6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: left"]Flatbed Load-to-Truck[/TD]
[TD]+ 24%[/TD]
[TD]+ 58%[/TD]
[TD]- 35%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: left"]Flatbed Rates (Spot)[/TD]
[TD]+ 1.0%[/TD]
[TD]+ 2.4%[/TD]
[TD]- 5.4%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: trends_grey"]
[TD="align: left"]Reefer Load-to-Truck[/TD]
[TD]+ 1.1%[/TD]
[TD]+ 32%[/TD]
[TD]- 6.3%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: trends_grey"]
[TD="align: left"]Reefer Rates (Spot)[/TD]
[TD]+ 0.0%[/TD]
[TD]+ 2.6%[/TD]
[TD]- 0.5%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
Flatbed Rates and Surcharges, 2012 - 2013

Similar trends hold for reefer, dry van.

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

?? Any thoughts guys & gals.

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I don't necessarily disagree with either of you in the broader sense but I do not believe this means a one truck operator need to run for "going rates". Maybe starting out because it is competitive and very few just automatically have good connections right out the gate. But that's why you network and seek out freight that isn't typical general commodities where it's all planned out 30, 60, 90 days or however far in advance. That sort of freight will always move according to the cheapest price. It's trying to compete with megas and what will have a truck avg $1.60 a mile. Good spot freight with solid rates any time of year - that is where relationships and trust come into play. What I'm saying is an operator doesn't necessarily have to allow his rates to drop with the seasonal trends. If the operator has those relationships they won't. Now they might work a lot less when freight is down but they are still rolling for better than typical rates when they do run. Like I said, a person's mindset has EVERYTHING to do with what rate will tempt them to roll.

 

I believe it depends on how you are setup. As a sole proprietorship all your profit flows to income level for tax purposes. In a C Corp you can have retained earnings that are taxed at a different level but also have other requirements. S Corp is same as a sole proprietorship I believe.

 

Brilliant, thanks.

I had never hear of them but now I have I found this.

More reading and thinking required !!

http://www.bizfilings.com/learn/s-corporation-vs-c-corporation.aspx

​