Freight Rates Dropping ?

Hahaha nice one!

 

The low rates some are seeing are because there is too much capacity which is cause by too many trucks.

 

As a non driver, all I've heard for that last three years on t.v and radio is that there's a driver shortage.

 

Lies, never has been a shortage.

 

Didnt u hear, ? The driver shortage ended weeks ago, now its all about these big companies cant afford to pay the bills .. Gotta love the media, make up a new story every week

 

I'm seeing just the opposite here on the west coast. Rates have been up, but I run reefer and it's harvest season.

 

Reefer rates have been down in the southeast for over a year now. The new norm into FL or the Northeast with a reefer is about $2.50 a mile on a good day. It used to be $3 on the really low side without even asking for more. Of course reloads out of Florida pay the same nothing as always. Around a $1 a mile + or - and that's if you can even find one going your direction or even a half decent direction. Yeah we know Florida only has an excess of loads for a short window of time in the spring but it's still hard to believe how easily people willingly lose money to go there these days. There's plenty of $1.50+/- loads out of the northeast that route across expensive toll roads so those are practically $1 a mile loads.

You can avoid tolls but probably will lose so much time on your ELD it's not worth the hassle for how it will screw your schedule. Everywhere is weak. Even guys talking about "good rates" (how long have they been doing this?) if they were being truthful would tell you it's mostly week to week you take a good one with the bad. ELD's have sure made trucks desperate to utilize their hours. When they weaken the HOS and allow a 17 hour window instead of 14 it's only going to get worse. But truck drivers will always volunteer to give away free time for nothing. They love to work excessive hours for peanuts.

 

Yes, rates are down. Truck capacity has increased greatly while freight has stayed the same for going on a couple of years now. This will change as as the market corrects itself.
Gotta love capitalism, it will either break you or make you rich. The smarter o/o's will be just fine now and prosper later.

 

Wether this is a barometer of economy or not is debatable at the very least. I am afraid that it is rather an indication of a long term social change when traditional trade skills are much depreciated and there are less opportunities to find decent jobs for common folks.
Also, the ever lessening skillset needed to perform as a CDL driver, with current communication technology and overall driving comfort makes it more accessible to people who would have never considered this job 20 years ago.

The megas ability to bring contracted drivers from poor countries does not help the load to truck ratio either.

They, megas, are the number one enemy of small carriers in their agenda to change the way we work. Contracted foreign drivers, Elds , speed governors, increased liability insurance.
Some of them should have sunk already. Every time one of them sinking is a victory to small carriers.

 

And you wonder why people think they can survive on $1 per mile.

Rates are down due to capacity being high.