So..... is it over?

general commodities dry van

i agree with the O/O parts of your statement. BUT I myself have not been sitting waiting for loads OR sitting on them for delivery.
i have been pretty steady since the beginning of the year. USUALLY preplanned for my next load. 2500-3000 a week (except when hometime falls in the same week)
i HAVE been told by my dispatcher (and other Co. drivers) that i have been "lucky" some have had the same exp as i, some NOT. i dont know if it is "right place at right time" OR the fact i choose to run "super regional" (which takes me out of SE regularly. OR my time mgmt. NOT SURE.

 

YES!! nor I!!! due to the reasons stated by doubledear.

 

Not van, reefer, or flat... that's for sure. You all can fight over that!

 

i hope not, health ins is one of the best things to have. but seems the high deductible HSA's are becoming ALOT more popular these days. NOT good for the broker of more traditional plans.
med bills are one of the top 3 causes of bankruptcy in the US.

 

My brother in law has been an owner op. for almost 35 yrs. and he is screaming about the current rates. He said the same things you did, about rates being cut in half. There is freight if your willing to haul it for .80 to 1.30 per mile. He said if he has to go below 1.30 he's just going to park his truck until spring.
I am currently furloughed from CSX Railroad, we have 38,000 empty rail cars sitting, and over 500 engines idled in various states on the east coast and in the mid west. It's slow everywhere, and I don't see it turning around any time soon. I work with guys that have 40 yrs. on the rails and they also said they've never seen it so bad.

 

Rails will be picking up sooner or later.
That's in the Master Plan for this country. All the countries are in the process of being turned into a One World Order. The First Bush , Administration already started it. Our money will be changed into Euro's.
But before all that happens ,this country will fall into a spiral downhill affect with the economy, before it crashes. Eventually the Rails will pick up and will move freight long distance. The health industry will crash too. But thats another subject for another time.
Right now, the only worry a company driver has, is losing his/her job from the downsizing of companies. And it's not just the truckers. The whole economy is feeling the effects. Right here on my local news, they were talking about employees losing their 401 plans for the sake of not reducing their pay rate. Or they have the choice of working lesser hours, with lesser pay.
The banks are crashing, and this starts the spiral downhill effect. Most businesses can't live on Credit. They have to operate on a cash flow system, at the level they are at. That means downsizing. The feds are trying to bailout the banks using our tax dollars.
I heard a large group of truckers at a truck stop talking about , instead of giving the banks the money, the Feds should give all the people 20,000 dollars each , and the people will get this country turned back around.

The health industry, is another subject. First too many doctors are leaving this country to practice in other countries. There is a shortage here already of doctors in this country. They can't afford to practice here in this country. Second , after the economy crashes, the health industry its self will come to a halt. With the economy that has already crashed, many people will be without insurance. Eventually health coverage will be "Only" for the Real Rich that can afford it. Believe me, that won't be too many people. Businesses won't be able to carry it any more. But by then, many companies will already have gone out of business.
There won't be many Large companies around, surviving, that people can work for.
If anyone ever watched "Little House on the Prairie", we will be eventually be living our lives , like in that era. Being Self Sufficient!. People won't be able to rely on Corporations to work for.

It's a Scary Subject to focus on, and to talk about ,, but It's Going to Happen. The year of the Y2K was the beginning of the One World Order System. Watch what happens in the next three years.
History does Repeat Itself.
And if any 'ole time Trucker remembers many years ago, how the Rails complained about the trucking industry taking over their work. The Rails will have that chance to get it back again.
There is Nothing New Under the Sun. And the government will create Infrustucture work, like they did back in the 1940 depression era. Which they are already talking about.

The rise and fall of Rome. Nothing new under the Sun.