What is the Denver market like for the Owner Operators?

Denver is ok. They do a spot of shipping in east Denver.

You will find that the southern part of Denver is a different culture.

Denver is not the people or government it was once long ago in my time. There has been a exodus of sorts out of the west coast that managed to eat into and infest some of the things Colorado never dealt with before.

I keep tabs on them to this day, but it's a adequate city. Just a place to fuel up and fit for battle prior to the mountains west for me. The one saving grace is that the place has always been relatively wide and roomy, rather easy to get a semi around. Beats say Camden NJ any day.

 

No, Denver is considered a "backhaul" zone.

 

If most smart o/op charge to leave Denver empty on the inbound freight you may want to secure something before the move .. otherwise it’s a dollar a mile lane or it used to be anyways

 

Never had much success getting out of Denver. Of course I pull a flatbed and the rates were usually a dollar or less per mile.

 

Just deadheaded 645 miles out of there yesterday.

You have to get enough going in to pay for the trip out too. What little freight there is in the Denver area pays less than terrible.

 

As others have pointed out, you need a rate going in that will offset the outbound rates.

One thing to understand, some places, like Denver are high consumption areas. They have a high demand for goods to come in. Most is consumed for local use, little is made for market. That translates to a lot of empty trucks. Drives rates down.

There is freight, just not good rates.

 

^^^ My experience exactly. It's unfortunate. I have family there and it's a great city/area. I really wish I could get out there more. Last time I tried I could only get potatoes a couple hundred miles out of town going back to Kansas City and I have no idea how or why people haul them regularly.