Can New Owner Operators get loads?

should have contacts before you apply for authority. contracts aren't worth paper they are written on but try to get at least two verbals with rates. learn/estimate cpm and away you go. startup is hard, you need a shipper that is close by and busy. i started with super sacs of talc, heavy and cheap and lots of wait time but always available

 

How did you know that shipper had loads available? What are some good practices to find shippers?

 

There are boards where you can offer bids but w/ one truck I really had little to offer, they will call when you are gone. I talked to people i knew who occasionally had freight and secured a contract with persons i had loaded for before. If you don't have an idea where to start i suggest you aren't ready. If you are clueless as to what rates are there are boards where you can research this, lane honey for one. You really have to have some years of experience with costs to make bids and always have a picture of economic conditions as relating to your bids. Set a rate and link a surcharge to fuel prices; baseline used to be 1.50/gal, goes up maybe a quarter per dollar in/gal pricing. you can piss off a lot of people w/ this topic but if the contract is over a quarter ( /yr ) you need some flexibility; could be to customer's benefit...

 

CH Robinson has been decent for me so far. Also got lucky and found a local company that needs a couple loads ran a week.

 

if you can establish a particular run w/ a co as large as C H Rob you will be able to fill in around it. keep an eye on what you want ,not just what they offer. dependability is the way to get business.

 

10-4 thanks for the advice. Me and a broker I have been working with for a couple weeks are starting to establish a good relationship as far as him knowing where I like to go and what I expect as far as price. I was told if I ever run cheap freight for them that is all they will take me for so I make it known that my truck is not moving for the cheap crap and he understands.

 

you will probably reach a point where you will take a cheap backhaul just don't make it a habit. everyone has customers who want to save a buck and they can usually find someone who will take it. favors have never worked out for me, and specializing equipment for one account is generally a bad idea

 

What one man or woman can do , any man or woman can do the same. I've been building houses since I was on summer breaks at sixteen years of age. Still doing it at forty three. Haven't had a day off unless I wanted it. No knocking on wood necessary lol. It's how you do what you do. You know the in's and outs. Never jump into anything, without knowing what your getting into . My dad use to tell me it's what you know, not who you know. Before he passed away he said maybe he was wrong ,that it was who you know. He was right the first time, the people in this world have made this place a bitter place. Not all but most. Good ole boy cops, lawyers ,judges, who take money over rights of citizens. So many negatives ,can't equal out to be positive. So many pushing to be in first place ,what about the people who got you to first place. Be careful who you step on to get to the top, they may pass you on your way back down