Dead Markets

Some are always looking for someone to blame ,instead of looking at themselves.Large trucking companies pull very little of the freight in a big picture.The majority of there customers want truck and trailer availablilty,Those customers most small or even 1 truck operators can’t and really in my case don’t want to try to service.So in reality even if I was pulling a van I’m not in competition with a Schneider we’re going after 2 totally different customers.You have to find your niche ,I do run for a direct shipper!for last 6 years the loads work for me but it’s not for everyone Landstar tried running the freight but the drivers weren’t taking them because sometimes you do wait to be loaded and all the loads are between 4 and 10 stops,but for me it works it pays enough to go back empty and I’m home almost every night.

 

Same here, big companies cannot do what our merry little band of Owner Operators pull off daily, there are roughly 6 to 8 of us. Those outfits are not even in the picture. In fact, we bail them out quite often, and it pays very well.

 

BINGO ! You have to find a shipper that needs a service YOU can provide.Do ' something ' the others can't ( or won't ) do, for a shipper willing to pay for your services.Filling the 'niche ' has always been my business model, and it has worked well for many years, and thousands of loads.Those jobs are out there.

 

God this whole thread is like when people blamed Jews hoarding grain for famines in the middle ages. It's not anybody screwing you, it's just that those markets literally have more trucks than loads. Sorry.

 

It is all simply supply and demand. Nothing more, nothing less. It runs our entire World, even the trucking industry.

 

I live in Michigan and can't find crap local. I've never seen a load going from MI to MI paying more than $600-700 unless it went up to Traverse City then I've seen $900. Most of it is in the $500-600 range. I don't see where you'd be getting this good money you speak about.

 

Ive gone into NYC for example and there would be a thousand food trailers moving in. Without this food the city wont eat.

You can pretty much bet you are going to have to deadhead a little bit before reloading which is good because getting clear of the city is the other half of the problem.

I probably took 4 loads out of NYC in my life time. The rest were deadhead out.

There is always someone hungry enough to take a load at .50 a mile which cannot be supported by the industry in general and company drivers do not get a choice on loads often if at all.

Finally but not least, using Baltimore as a example in the 70's you had 50 or more employers around the harbor area all of them requiring a bunch of trucks and shipping out. It's all condos now where the employers for the most part were.

 

Maybe for him it's good money.

 

That's what I'm saying. It isn't good money for anybody and it would be nice if people realized that. I dead headed out of Atlanta today even though I could have taken a $700 load to Alabama. I won't touch that crap. I don't have to have it. I've done well enough this year that I don't have to mess with that crap. I can afford to keep upward pressure on the rates by keeping my truck off the market and if everyone did that it would help all of us.

 

There seems to be a particular type of trucker/trucking company that just LOVES them an overnight load delivering 115 miles away for 500 bucks. I've never really understood it honestly. Maybe someone here can shed some light on the business model. I've always assumed it revolved around insanely cheap equipment, self maintenance, and short miles... But I could be wrong.

EDIT: I know it's also possible to buy insurance that only covers a 500 mile radius. I got the distinct impression it was moderately less expensive than normal insurance. Also it goes without saying that compared to most of you these guys are NOT working hard.