Closing up shop or thinking about it? 2.0 Heavy hitters welcome.

Still going, took a gamble of skipping a new reefer box and just doing a few plates on the floor of my current one to Atleast get through the winter, apparently the dealer spec one I had a deposit on was paid in full by the time he called me to tell me he had cut a check to return my deposit so who knows. Wasn’t for lack of work/cash I just didn’t want to be tied down with a payment to keep options open,

can always spend the money later

 

I deliver to grocery stores and I've yet to notice any slowdown over here. In fact this Thanksgiving I saw my regular stores taking bigger loads than ever before. I really wasn't sure they were gonna be able to fit the whole load in the store tbh. They even paid us some nice bonuses to run on certain nights so they could get all the loads covered.

We're still going full steam ahead with no sign of slowing down. The only real thing that's changed is they aren't constantly calling me to cover emergency loads someone else fell off of like they were when the spot market was booming and many left to chase the big money.

The benefit now though is they remember I stuck around with them and saved their ##### tens of times while everyone else ran off chasing the spot market and I get the gravy runs while the guys coming back get the worse runs.

 

Same here, been keeping an eye out for an F-550 or Ram 5500 service truck. Just waiting for prices to come down.

 

I just regret buying the van last year instead of a 53' 3 axle drop...

 

It sounds like you found a good niche for yourself. That's important. You did well.
The difference in your store and the one I was talking about might be location. My friend's store is in an area that has always struggled. A lot of the work is seasonal agriculture and that means a certain percentage of people will be below the poverty level. Most people are tuned in to that fact and they spend their money accordingly.
We're seeing a new dynamic too, one that was predicted but nobody thought would really happen. I live in the Emerald Triangle and for years the mainstay of our local economy was the growing and distribution of marijuana. It was illegal but it pumped so much money into the local area that people just winked an eye at it and scooped up the money it brought in.
Since pot was legalized here and in the surrounding states the wholesale price has dropped to almost nothing compared to what it was. We don't have a corner on the market any more and the days of big money are over.
So...less income, less disposable income. Stores are closing, small business is disappearing, and those of us who have lived through these cycles before tighten our belts and do the best we can.
I'm not saying pot is totally responsible for our current monetary woes. It's just another straw on the camel's back. That old camel is getting pretty tired.

 

Nothing has changed at my carrier , still very busy and the only rate change I've seen is one customer whose rate dropped 30 bucks on a 800 mile run inbound , one outbound rate actually went up a few bucks .

 

Win, lose or draw I’m planning on shutting it down next October. Been a full year since my truck and trailer were stolen and I haven’t really recovered from the loss.. Burned out and getting tired of the bs.

For now I’ve been getting lucky with loads but put a lot of effort in finding them. Fuel seems to be dropping almost daily so things are looking good for now.

 

IM CLOSING UP SHOP…….


….as soon as someone comes and buys me out for $3,000,000.

It’s a fair price to get into the game

 

Been busy, got a good thing going and could use some help. However, with trailer prices high… I’m holding off on buying another Reefer trailer till Feb or even another three years. Just seeing how diesel prices will run….

 

Just a driver bit around the industry for a long time. Outfit I run for is small. About 9 of us and 6 drive full time. We have some direct stuff outbound and then broker loads back. I do 30% of gross to truck. Average weekly revenue is consistently 4500-8500 per week. That is up over this time last year. I just loaded a 26,000 lb two piece shipment going 235 miles to get me home for 1400$. All the other guys are similar. The big range in my numbers is due to the fact that I’d rather be pulled back deadhead to grab another outbound load than stay out. The guys that stay out are more in the 5500-9000 per week average to the truck. None of us work weekends or reset on the road unless we want to. So yeah we’re doing well still. But I could actually use a slow up to say 4 days a week to catch up on other projects. I don’t think boss will be shutting doors any time soon. He does do a lor if maintenance in house