Is money being made in this industry?

I don't do this as a hobby and I don't do it for charity either. I think you know the answer to your own question.

I am an owner-operator under my own authority. Is it easy? No. Do I break the bank? No. But I've made enough to pay my bills, pay child support, etc. Some months we're in the black, some months we're in the red. I have no one to fall back on except myself...no gubberment bailouts for this guy!

You already know your brother...sounds like he's a boy in a man's body. He probably has always had someone to bail him out, give him a loan, tell him he's a good boy and trying his best, but things just don't seem to work out for him.

Bull crap. Failure is a good thing. It teaches you important lessons...those people who are coddled and never really had to work for anything or allowed to fail keep leaching off those around him.

It sounds like he should sell his truck and go run as a company driver. If you don't run a business like a business, how can you look at any metrics and see what needs improvement and how you are doing? You can't.

Good luck with your brother..he sounds like a piece of work. I apologize if I'm completely off base here, but there are two kinds of people in this world, and they fit into the following categories: those that only care about themselves, and those that care about others. I'm completely sick of the former.

 

Ditto to the above.

If there was no money in this business then you would not see decked out 6 figure trucks running all over the country, sure there are many POS's but the same goes for a restaurant or any other business venture

I have in-laws who thought that getting a Corp. filed meant they were in the "game" and would spend $$ on big lunches, cars, etc... then they were in debt and broke

You have to know your operating costs, I myself actually figure my P/L daily, always have, even before trucking I owned my own business. They are all the same, money in, minus overhead, equals profit and of that you need to plan for the future, not retirement or a week at the resort, I mean a breakdown, added gear, or expansion

It doesn't matter if you have an $8 hour job, if it costs you $40 a day to get to that job how after taxes are you making it? we all need to know operating costs

 

He's a lost cause then.

 

Ditto to the above...again...lol!

It seems that your brother has no business sense and has been bailed out too many times. Trucking is a business..period! If you do not know how to run it, you are setting up for failure. It's a shame that when I talk to younger owner operators and or wanna be owner ops, how many of them have no clue what is involved or how responsible you have to be. They think that they can just get a truck, drive the hell out of it and make big money! You need to live within you means, know your cost to operate per mile, have an ROI (return on investment), some mechanical knowledge and a good business head on your shoulders.
As far as your question, yes there is money to be made if you follow all of the above info and more. I haven't grossed as much income over the last few years but the economy hasn't been where it use to be either. This year I'm still on track to gross $250k with a profit margin of $62K after all expenses. I would tell him the same as above.....sell the truck, drive for a company or find a new career..

 

Now that is a very broad question. Of course money is being made in this industry. If not, there would be no one doing it.
But then define " making money" and then 'industry". Most of the mega-carriers show a rather consistent profitable bottom line, even declaring dividends.While they are part of the "industry', they are not owner operators.
Most experienced company drivers { not owner-operators } make a decent wage, but they work for it. Most new-comers start out barely surviving for the first year or so.
Now to the owner/operator section, as I am,like your brother.The amount we earn is directly proportional to the amount of work we do. If you hustle, have good connections, drive carefully, watch your spending habits, run it as a business,etc., it can be very profitable. But you have to be active and run hard and smart. Hard means legally running as many miles as you safely can [ not goofing off ], smart being knowing what it costs you to operate your truck, and staying well above that mark on the average.
Now it also depends on what your brothers deal is. You say " working for a company that provides load leads '. That could mean he can refuse loads if he is lazy, which it sounds like he might be.The more you turn down, the less you will be offered. Some companies require you to take a load if offered, not just providing leads.
There are some who drive a company truck that make 70, 80 thousand a year. Most probably half to two thirds of that. It depends, many variables.
The POTENTIAL for a seasoned owner / operator is there to make more. Just depends on how hard they want to work, and their business savvy.
If I had to guess you bro should clear 40 to 50 a year. Others may say different, just my thoughts.