Freight Rates

Well I guess that makes sense. If the market was predicable on a year to year basis truckers would start flooding certain markets and then the price goes down to carry the load. Seems like being a O/O is like being in a game of poker or being in the stock market, you have to watch what happens, pay attention, and then know when to strike and get in the game when you have a good hand.

 

I hauled recyclables tin, steel, cast, glass, plastics ect, for a number of years and did learn raw materials trend 6 mos before the market they suppley. If a long term highway bill pass, raw matereal needed for road rehab, steel for bridges and heavy equipment, sand, stone lime ect should trend up. Knowing projects that are shovel ready in your desired lanes. Steel from VA to New Orleans to raise the leeves lasted 8 mos.

 

Weird how that works, last year at this time we were killing it, so far this year starving. Glad I didn't spend anymore than I had to last year.

 

Yeah I used to say before a year started "ok, not working Jan, Feb, or July for sure and maybe more" but realised sometimes there is money out there at times that I figured were slow and it is crazy to just sit and not make any hay while you can. One has to be ready to go any time at the drop of a hat.

So now I just take things as they come my way and if it slacks up take time off. There are no "must take off this day, week, or month" rules anymore. Also during periods when it slowed down I figured out how to work at lower rates (gasp!!) on less volume, being picky and choosy as always, and maintaining my overall average. Which adds revenue at years end that I was missing because I was in the past unwilling at all to even try and piece anything together when rates were down.

Last year was for me a down year and I would have made more in a good company gig. That said I have yet to find any company gigs that allow weeks off at a time to the tune of months a year so really I still say I am better off. The year before that was for me a blockbuster year. And so what I learned from a down year will help me to improve going forward. And I'm positive regardless of overall industry conditions I can do as well or better than I did in '13 when it was like taking candy from a baby. It's the difficult times that make you.

Keeping accurate tabs on where I've been and what I've done has been important to my future where it's headed.

 

I've put 9,418/miles on my truck so far this year....but than again I've never drove lots of miles😉

 

agreed rollin coal knows his stuff....