Finally got my own truck

Yeah I am thinking the same. They bought all that #### from China last fall and haven't bought much since. Eventually all that stuff has to sell, and then another round of freight will come, holidays are coming up and from all I've seen, consumer confidence is still in a good spot.

I am wondering if this whole tariff thing was actually a saving grace. The economy was running full steam ahead. It still is.

But the tariffs kicked us in the knee a little bit. Maybe letting off the gas pedal a little bit and letting some air out of the bubble will keep the economy growing. We don't need it to grow 3-5% like Trump likes to boast about. We just need it to keep growing and not contract.

The R word keeps creeping into my mind. Doesn't feel like it's coming yet. But it will come eventually. I'd like to get my truck paid for before it does. I'm halfway there.

Its hard to think about rates possibly getting even worse. It still isn't as bad as January-March 2017 when I just started out. It seems as if there are less spot market postings but rates are always sticky downwards. Everyone got used to where the rates were the last couple of years and I think carriers who've been around are still fighting and pushing for more money. They don't want to go down easily. But there are a lot of new trucks who don't know better and are happy to take whatever rate.

Of course this goes hand in hand with shippers pushing hard to lower rates. And the lower they push, the more the broker has to push just to make a piece of the pie, and on less volume. Broker don't mind making $100 on a load if he has 15 of them that week. But now he only has 9 of them, and lots of pressure on either side, from shippers, carriers, and other brokers trying to take their business. I'd hate to be a broker right now who depends on spot market for his carrier pool.

This load I'm on, Memphis to SLC, 1622 loaded miles, got him to $3500 and swears up and down he's taking a small loss. And I believe him. This lane went for at least $4000 last year, and I've seen as high as $5500.

There is instability in our industry right now. There is still cautious optimism but it is unstable and not sure where the bottom will be. The tariff thing has had a large effect. But like I said it may be a blessing in disguise.
I still wouldn't add capacity right now, and I think whoever did add capacity last year probably right now wishes they hadn't, unless they have a #### ton of direct freight.