Which lane is better overall?

Assonet MA

 

Hammer lane is the best lane.

 

I read this article about truck sales reports, looks like the bubble starts to deflate.
"The two major organizations that report on and analyze commercial vehicle data both said year-over-year Class 8 orders were down sharply in April.
ACT Research said preliminary North America Class 8 net order data show the industry booked 14,800 units in April, dropping a moderate 6.2% from March, but down 57% from year-ago April.
ACT will publish complete industry data for April, including final order numbers, in mid-May.

FTR reported preliminary North American Class 8 orders for April at 16,400 units, 52% below April 2018, noting April is the fourth consecutive month for Class 8 orders to be below the 20,000 mark and is the lowest April total since 2016."
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April Class 8 orders down sharply year-over-year, data show

 

My experience as an Owner has been Midwest you can stay pretty steady on rates going back and from from Illinois to Texas.

From March-September I was getting $3.70 to go to the Northeast and $2 coming out so big difference there.. Northeast is always great because nobody wants to pay tolls... IF you are going to run the Northeast Interstate 90 is the best road in my opinion, even though you have to pay tolls.

 

Your sig says your from Portland OR, so do you mean from the NW to these areas or within these areas? I've heard (and seen) that most people who know and run within the NE make some serious money but if they live there the cost of living is higher. I've heard the same from mid-west folks but money not as good but cost of living less too, so it's relative.

 

Right now in my personal opinion;
Only run lanes you know you can continuously stay loaded and moving at a rate above your cost (Survive). That $3 a mile going in ain't nothing to get excited over if you're deadheading 100mi into a $1.65/mi load.

There's really no fair way to tell someone what is a good lane without knowing all the cost associated with the company. I focus solely on operating above cost to mitigate the hits when I have to take them. I don't send my trucks into dead zones unless I know I'm going to be able to cover the dead head. It gets pretty frustrating.

 

The west coast in Canada is even worse than the NW in the States. Today the fuel is $5.11/US gallon. The runs staying within Canada going to the less western provinces means driving through the total mountain land of BC, where getting more than 6 mpg pulling a tridem (104,000 lbs gvw) is tough due to the constant blind curves on 2 lane goat trails with grades constantly and anywhere between 6% and 14%. The highway usage tax in BC is the highest in North America. Insurance and plates add to roughly $1400/month. The average rate is $1.75/mile, with fuel surcharge built into it. Oh yeah, our dollar is worth 72 cents American so everything is way more expensive up here.. And we have single pay health insurance paid in our taxes, meaning those taxes are sky high.

You guys should feel blessed being American and run in the States.

 

Just snow storms and truck bans