Are O/O A Dying Breed

I’m going to guess the increase of insurance has to do with the large number of new carriers in the trucking industry. They have to charge more to compensate for the increased risk.

The other causes could be:

• New entrant carrrier
• CSA score
• Years with CDL
• Location of business

 

Certainly there are lots of assumptions on both sides. One of them is what the load pays. How do you know that Landstar isn’t lying about what the load pays? You just need to trust them.

The host of Trucking With Authority was leased onto Landstar, and while he has said Landstar isn’t a bad company, he has said there is more potential if you have your own authority. I think at the moment he has at least 15 trucks, and he is using a factoring company to dispatch his trucks among other things.

 

It’s the same with loadboards if the load pays $2k to go x number of miles that’s what it pays. You have to decide if that’s a rate you can live with.

 

Ultimately, it depends on the person running the business. You compare your profits of being leased vs. independent. If you were making more when leased, then the leased option was better for that person.

I was leased for 4 years, and I’ve been independent for almost one year. Independent is hands down more profitable, at least for me. There is also more potential for growth, and many different ways a business can be run if independent.

 

I think among Americans we will see OO continuing to be a less attractive life, but among foreign born and first generation Americans, I see a whole lot of interest in becoming independent. I talk to Eastern European and Indian immigrants, they are frothing at the mouth to buy their own trucks and build their own fleets. They haven't been indoctrinated by a failing educational system to regard "truck drivers" as something far beneath them, quite the opposite, they see trucking as a way to business ownership and becoming the boss. These people are willing to endure hell and high water to achieve their goal. Because of this, I don't think we will see OO's going away, I think they will just morph into a different demographic. If you have noticed the increase in Indian owned trucks on the road, I think that speaks for itself.

 

Well we have 6 OTR truck pulling flat bed and 5 log trucks one wreck 2 years ago put my insurince up to 66 thousand pre year per truck

 

Landstar charges 35%? My carrier, with load board and all that charges 25%. Yes there is a trailer rental, but it doesnt come to 10%.

 

I’d say there are probably more owner ops then ever. Those things you mentioned are certainly head winds but doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Some people are not good enough at running a business, some get older and can no longer adapt or have the want to to keep going against the grain.

I’m 34 and was 27 seemed like yesterday. From 27 to 34 I did a lot of fleet growing and doing just fine. The market has flipped on its head from great to terrible so it’s natural to see people get out entirely or absorb into fleets.

Keep your head up and moving forward. For thousands of years people have been saying it can’t be done.

 

BINGO

 

At this point there are more wanna be owner ops than company driver that will work for anything with there brand new trucks.