Are we doing something wrong?

If you get your own authority you can sign on with a number of logistic companies. CH Robinson, JB Hunt and Landstar all have loads available to independant owner operators who have their own authorities. This way you are truly your own boss. It can be scary but so much more fulfilling.

While you can pay the bills by getting loads from brokers, the real money is in finding companies that you can haul for directly.

 

you need to do your own research, Bulletin boards will seldom give you a answer you can go to the bank with.

 

They go out of business because of bad management, period. Its up to them make such decisions, if there putting there eggs all in one basket, I dont who they go with there setting them selves up for failure.

 

So you have a year in with LS and not getting the work?

Is he an owner or just a driver?

Did you guys ever attend any events at agents or go on a meet and greet tour with your truck to see what else is there?

My drivers move around within LS if there is shortage of work, they all went to their FB training and are flexible. If they have to haul something other than dry van, they do it.

There is still a lot of work from LS.

 

There's no need for any of that Volvo racism here. I'm running a Volvo too fast for conditions every day, all day, and I'm 100 Amereeekan. Mine ain't white though.

Everything else you said about Amazon etc. I agree with 100%

 

Landstar is about as close to the same kind of trucking as haveing your own authority as you can get. One has to learn to run for landstar, it is your business, they will not run it for you. A guyneeds to learn not to take a load jjust for the sake it is offered, they have the same cheap junk others do, as well as loads that pay. also, you may have to move to where freight is better, and stay out a little longer before going home.
I ran my own authority from day one, what I found is money wise it was comparable to being leased to a good outfit that let you run the way you wanted to. Companies like landstar can have benefits that a one truck show will not have.
Companies like landstar has some leverage that you can never have with a one truck show, like needing 20 trucks on a move, they can and do command a better rate than I could get on my on.
I have a little more freedom, not a lot actually running on my own, but money wise I think I could have done just as well running for landstar. I did wind up being a preffered landstar carrier and hauled quite a bit of freight for them.
You might also look into what is happening at landstar with flat or step freight, instead of van and swap over, if you need to.

I noticed years ago that rates will go up and stay very good for a few months, then when they go back to normal, folks go broke, never could wrap my head around that one.

 

I don't work for Landstar but I did a lot of research on companies in the past.

Landstar was a little bit like the Wild Wild West. There's a certain way you have to navigate through Landstar to be really successful.

Apparently there are some really good agents and there are some really really bad agents. My research always told me that you need to find really good agents that you can work with because however Landstar is set up there a lot of agents that will give freight to outside carriers first. You need to make good relationships with the good agents.

Each agent there is apparently their own entity. In other words they're not necessarily governed by strict rules through Landstar. So just because they are an agent for Landstar, they don't necessarily always have your best interest at heart first.

That's the way I understand it anyway.

And I agree that someone that's leased onto a good company like Landstar or Mercer can do just as well as someone that has their own authority without nearly as many headaches or expense.

 

Actually agents are govern strictly, they have to meet requirements to maintain their contract and lbs does intervene when there's a problem.

Ls is really like having your authority but with a safety net, it is a very good step to do before having your authority becuase it is just like dealing directly with customers and brokers.

Agents don't have an owners best interest in mind, i think that's childish to think that way because they are focused on the customer and making money. It is an owners responsibility to take care of themselves just like having an authority,

 

I hauled a lot of landstar freight, but as far as I know all of it was available to a landstar truck.
The last freight I hauled for them, the agent was giving me 15 load confirmations at a time, but there was plenty left for any and all landstar trucks that wanted them.
I Also do not know that they have bad agents, probably a few, like ant company, they do have bad freight, like anybody else, but you do not have to haul it, and if you do, it is nobodys fault but your own.

 

Once again someone who has never worked for LS knows all about them.