Bad paying freight

As much as I hate the idea of paying $5/gallon for diesel, if it takes that for the people to wake up and throw this bunch out of Washington, then it may be worth it. I would not recommend taking on any unnecessary debt.

 

Exactly peteybob1, if we say no, the suckers will take it. They'll go under. And we're what is left, demanding good pay. We just have to weather the morons.

 

This might work for someone who runs a lot of miles, but it won't work in a shorter haul operation. When I run a little farther out I have to sometimes remind myself that I have to haul cheaper per mile, no less than $2.00 a mile and that is hard to swallow. Guess that's why I stay close to home.

You are part of the problem!

Think of it this way.... If I sent 5 trucks into your area with your attitude then you will be running both way for $1.10 a mile......

Yeah, I know, you never thought of that, most don't!

Excellent point! I don't foresee fuel jumping that high either.

 

GMAN ICOULDNT HELP BUT LAUGH WHEN I READ THE FIRST SENTANCE! BOTTOM LINE PERIOD.

 

ITS COMMENTS LIKE THIS THAT LET YOU NO THE MENTALITY WERE DEALING WITH OUT HERE!
MAGWUA! TWISTED!

 

its a revolving door!

 

I'm just getting into running for myself after five years fleeced onto another company. I've gone over the numbers many, many times what it'll take for me to make the money that I want to make.

And the first rule is DO NOT take cheap freight. You can't. You can lie to yourself all you want about a $1.10/load getting you somewhere better, but you've set the rate for everyone else. If you decline those loads and say it's not enough, eventually if they want to move that freight, they'll have to up their pay. Every time some sucker takes it, it holds the bar low.

You have to factor deadhead into your business. You might learn the hard way that the 'good paying load' isn't so good when it's a horrible area you're going to. I know I might get caught by that. But you don't compound the problem. You suck it up, take the loss yourself and deadhead yourself out of it. Don't take the loss and BENEFIT someone else by hauling cheap freight.

 

It's easy for you guys doing flatbed to pick and choose and draw a line in the sand, nothing below $2 a mile to the truck. That's exactly how I will be when I get a flatbed sometime in the next year. Flatbed and dry van are worlds apart. The competition is jsut so much more in dry van. You can post a truck as empty and no one will ever call. Or you will get calls for cheap stuff. Once in a blue moon you get a lucky a depserate broker situation. I have heard that posting a flatbed truck as empty will have you're phone ringing off the holder, some good, some bad, point is your options are not so limited. There is too much excess capacity out here with dry vans. I do know my cost per mile. I do draw a line in the sand. And I will sit and wait a day or two. Or bounce. Been doing it right now in, KS. Actually turned down a $2 all miles to my truck load to western upstate NY because I was afraid of the reload situation up there, and here I sat. As it is waiting a day paid off as I have 2 loads to work for the next 1,100 miles that have me right at $2 a mile on all miles, plus I'm swinging (not off route thanks to mapquest) by the house for the weekend. But that was just dumb luck and not the norm in dry van. I wish I could average that every time. But I don't. I can't draw a line and say, nothing below $2 a mile, because it is not reality. I admire you guys pulling flats for that and that's exactly where I want to be. But I am a world away from that right now. You will sit a lot or bounce all over creation without being able to adjust your thinking because of that viewpoint, and you will make squat pulling dry van doing it. It is just so competitive and that's why I want to park the van, so I can pick and choose when I pull it based on what I hear our other guys are doing. I just don't want to be doing this right now in Jan like I am. Next year Jan will be vacation month.

 

Does anyone else think freight (both van and flat) has been soft the last couple weeks? Mostly on our trucks outside the midwest. The South (GA & FL) was terrible the week.