Finally got my own truck

I have my own fuel card now, have had it for a couple of weeks.

I get discounts at TA/Petro but the bad thing about it is that their coffee is subpar to PFJs.

 

Hey all! I'm alive!

Just wanted to check in.

My God are rates terrible.

I go to a good area and asking for $2.50/mi might as well be asking them to chop off an arm.

I'm glad I didn't "make relationships" when it was busy because I wouldn't be able to afford this downturn.

I'm blaming a few things for this.
New owner ops who jumped in and don't know their costs, carriers running for cheap and paying imported labor cheap and on a 1099, and the trade tariffs on China.

Even when people are calling on your truck, they don't want to pay anything.

And they're like "this isn't like it was last two years" and I'm like "So why are you begging for my truck?"

If you're new, here's a piece of advice.

If someone is calling on your truck, there is absolutely no reason to quote less than $2/mi and it doesn't matter where you are or where it's going.

You should still be aiming to average $2.25+ loaded mile.

And no that's not on 1000 miles a week.

I don't mind running 3000+ miles in a week. But I'm not gonna do that for $5000-5500 gross. I did that the first 4 months after I bought the truck and not doing that again.

You can call and beg for freight every single load and still avg $1.60/mi but that's company driver pay when you actually add up your expenses.

I've also been in the market for possibly selling my equipment but I love it out here. I've had some low-ball offers and I'm not interested in that.

In 3 months my truck will be half paid for. Hard to believe.

Anyways, just wanted to check in. I'm in college basketball mode lately and can't wait to fill out my bracket.

Hoping my Wolverines can keep up this recent offensive renaissance because with their top-of-the-nation defense, a trip back to the title game isn't out of the question. Also high on Wofford, but who isn't??

Go Blue!