400 trucks posted and only 352 loads in houston,tx

The flatbed guys were complaining about the same thing a couple of weeks ago when I was in Baytown.

Dry van freight is, well, pretty dry as well this week.

It stinks that O/Os are willing to drive rates down so far just to put off the repo man for another 2-3 weeks. Going broke slowly is just as bad as just throwing in the towel, maybe even worse.

 

could have something to do with the slowdown of pipe shipping to n. dakota

 

That does suck but at a certain point you just have to take a load to get you to a place with better freight. It might suck taking cheap freight but sitting for a week waiting for a high paying load isn't going to stop the repo man coming for you either.

Everyone has to know where the balance between their fixed and variable costs are on their truck. For my trucks its about $450 a day based on a 20 day work month. I could justify sitting for a day maybe two to find something better, after that I am losing more money than I could make up. The cost of my equipment is high so if you are not making any payments you could sit for longer.

 

Sir you are right to a point,,,and wrong as well.
O/Os don't set the rates! BROKERS set the rates. O/Os have to live with it!
Yer right tho about hauling cheap freight. They will go broke doing it and it just puts off going broke a little longer. Most are already broke and just don't know it BUT,,,you can't blame a man for hanging on as long as he can! At least HE had the cahonies to try. I don't like it either and hope they do go broke and get outa the way but they do NOT set rates! They are just trying to pay for a truck that they can't aford, and provide for their family.
I should hate them but I don't! I've been there.

edit, I will tell ya that about when I quit hauling cheap, is about when I started makin' money with a truck!

 

If an O/O is forced to take a cheap load just to pay for fuel to get to the better paying freight, then it's time to hang up the keys. That just means that your 'better paying freight' is also cheap.

 

Brokers will tell you what they're willing to pay. YOU set the rate that you're willing to accept. The only way I'll accept a load that pays less than $2/mile is if I'm headed to pick up another one that will bring the average up to or above $2 / mile.

Here's why I say that the O/O sets the rates:

We all agree that this week has been nasty where rates are concerned. I pull a dry van, arguably the lowest paying freight out there.

This week I've delivered 3 loads, will be delivering a 4th in the morning, and a 5th tomorrow afternoon. Total miles will be 1160 loaded, and 300 empty miles. Revenue to the truck will be $3550.00 That's $3.06 per loaded mile, $2.43 for all miles. And that's not counting detention, and I haven't added the cash that I'm pocketing from lumping my own loads.

The brokers didn't set those rates, I did. I didn't take any of those loads at the rate they were offering.

And 'trying to pay for a truck that they can't afford' is exactly what I was talking about. Brokers will keep going lower and lower with rates as long as there's someone to move the freight at the rate they're offering.

edit: Every load this week was pulled straight from the load boards. None of my 'regulars' called me this week with loads that they hadn't posted. Every one of these loads was up for grabs to anyone that wanted them.

 

Shoot, i live in Florida and it seems that every Flatbed Truck i see is Empty. I am glad that i am pulling Containers.

 

If you sit in Houston waiting on the "good freight" you'll be there till next spring. I was out there last Monday and got lucky getting two pick ups going to Atlanta which put me at $1.83 on the miles going from drop off in Tomball to Georgia. If I didn't pull the trigger on that load I'd probably still be stuck down there. I try to get better than average going into the Houston area so I can deadhead out a couple hundred miles if need be. With as many trucks that are out there now we aren't going be setting any rates until spring. Unless they really need you, the next guy on the phone is gonna take that load at the rate you thought was too cheap. The brokers know it and they are going to ride this horse as long as they can.

 

Sir you are absolutely right!
I believe we are saying the same thing, but saying it differant.
My point is that the brokers, big company brokerage depts. know that someone will haul it if he's desperate enough, and that's all their gonna offer.
I don't like it but can't blame a guy thats grasping at straws trying to make ends meet. We all know he's why the broker set that cheap rate, and we all know he's gonna go broke hauling it. Problem is that for every one that falls,,,there's 10 to take his place.

Had an old trucker tune me up one day when I was sniveling about how tough things were. He told me "son,,,when they make it hard on everybody,,,I make money! Figure out how that works or you will go broke".

How do ya do it? Don't haul cheap! There's always a good load, or combination of partials that will make a good load. JMHO but I still don't blame a guy for being stupid, and I don't feel sorry for him either. I just do understand why hes doing it.