Cost vs. Spot Rate Spread (Dry Van, National Average)

The issue is that I would bet most of the O/O you're going to run into here are probably doing something specialized that isn't general dry van freight off load boards. Dry van spot rates are kept low because its the easiest and lowest cost of entry sector. Anybody who can scrape together enough money for a run down Cascadia and a junk van trailer can get into it fairly easy and start hauling freight. Most of your competitors in dry van spot freight come from third world countries and don't even speak english. If they can manage to get a few thousand in profit over a year to send back home their families can live pretty well.

I won't share any info about my costs or rates because I haul very niche freight that would be very easy for some broker to find and massively undercut me. I know it can happen because it has. My customers call or email me directly when they need something moved. Sometimes they ask for a quote but usually its just a call to come pick it up and send them a bill when its done.

I can assure you that I wouldn't even get out of bed for the numbers you posted at the beginning of this thread.

There's a lot of guys running for rates that are significantly lower than my cost. It's why I gave up on trying to find backhauls off load boards 3 years ago. We now bounce empty trucks home because I would be hauling that freight at a loss and getting half the fuel mileage to do it.

 

The guys u are looking to educate are on instagram and facebook they arent on here.. this forum is filled with some of the best in the industry you will find.

 

You can't do that. It matters. Why would I haul crap I don't want to haul for .10 more per mile for a broker or customer I don't know when I can have some balance in my life doing what I like, when I like, close to home if I want to, etc. Making what you want to make absolutely involves personal budget and a lot more than just pure rate. Most of the time I go out with a goal of making what I need or want to make that week or month. When that goal is made it's home time.

And you keep going on about not jabbering. Dude, you're jabbering just like anyone. You don't get to decide around here who derails threads and talks too much or not at all. Just wait, this will eventually devolve into a political war and get shut down. Don't believe me? You haven't been here long.

 

That's only an issue if you make it an issue. Haul refer or general dry van spot market and yes, that's your competitor. Just like any business, use your competitor to your advantage! Every day, and I mean every stinkin' day I am thanked by brokers for speaking English, communicating, tracking without compoaint (yep, if that's in the contract I don't complain....within reason), and I'm asked to repeatedly cover stuff I've done before, which I don't usually do unless it's close to home. I get bored easy.

I haven't been less than $3.50 all miles in months, and 3 out of 4 weeks over the last several months I've been right around 4.50 all miles. I only count all miles, couch to couch. This is dry van spot market.

 

As @Razororange said, why share info to create more competition?

That's absurd to ask or expect.

 

Totally agree, though I just kind of did it. But I only run reefer DC to DC in California so............

 

Every 'road train member' on this site could post detailed numbers with receipts and it's not going to make a difference. The numbers have been posted here and many other places. Anyone can find them with a little bit of work. Guys hear what they want to hear and no amount of home truths will change that.

This is another reason why posting numbers isn't going to change things. I'd be adding in an 'hourly wage' for myself for all the time spent keeping the books or spinning wrenches while others wouldn't. There are too many different ways of crunching the numbers, and most of them are valid and tell the same story for anyone willing to read.

Yeah, not so much. You're assuming they know they're being deceptive - they don't.

Looking at just the native born drivers, I'd argue that at least 10% are barely functionally literate. Another 20% are literate but read at an elementary school level. IE they can handle Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone but not the Deathly Hallows. More than 50% of the industry struggle with arithmetic and cannot do basic algebra. It's pretty hard to use excel to track your numbers if you don't know how to do the math. So we have a major skill deficiency from the start.

Most of these guys barely know how to drive the truck and know nothing about running a business. Which is why they spout nonsense numbers for a couple years before failing.

And why did you need an accountant to tell you that after a decade? Not trying to be mean, but in my opinion this is the biggest reason O/Os fail - lack of critical self analysis. Both Blair and Banker spent YEARS planning their move into truck ownership. Once they pulled the trigger they constantly examined their actions and applied the lessons to future choices. There is no need of more 'numbers' or 'transparency'. What's needed is critical thinking and honest self reflection.

 

Money vs lifestyle is a very valid metric in a 'decision matrix'. For years I stayed OTR because I perceived that I was making more per unit of work OTR than I would doing LTL. I was correct until I wasn't (Schneider changed the pay structure and freight patterns changed). I'm making a LOT more now running linehaul nights, but there's a cost. I can completely understand taking a pay cut to increase job satisfaction or to better fit one's personal life. The key is making an informed decision, which most don't. If they did then Schneider Finance and Lone Mountain would be out of business. Well that and making enough to stay in business and buy a new truck when it's time.