Good and Bad Companies for O/O

Prime is paying O/O's 76% which currently averages about $1.10/mile + FSC to pull their trailers !!!! That is garbarge considering QC fees etc.

 

Is Prime forced dispatch for owner operators? It's difficult to accept that any company with so many company and lease trucks has enough decent freight left by the time the loads get to the owner operator.

 

Yes 76% does not look that grand however there is a reason it has been pulled down. It is due to the economy. They will bring it back up as soon as they can however the problem they are having is renegotiating prices at this time are near impossible without losing the customer. So what they have done is simply passed the expenses on to everyone else. These are not good times, but when I made my decision it was simply based on that whith my own trlrs, and me paying all of the expenses, 1.25 a mile (which is what the avg. freight is going for right now ) is putting me in the wrong dir. Selling the trlrs. and losing that bill has helped me some. We can not go on forever like this but it is enough to survive off of. With all of the other discounts added in from them it does make it manageable and when things pick up (which they one day will) it will be brought back.

 

You sure about that. Call me cynical but in my experience companies are quick to take away and VERY reluctant to give back.

 

Hey MM,
I understand exactly what you are saying, that is why I asked and got the explanation I did. Right now with dropping prices and freight everyone has to absorb it in one way or another. It is not great but it is manageable considering the times. From a business standpoint and all of the added things they offer, to me it is worth it to have everything they have at my disposal as well. That is really the only reason I would say it is justified to me. If it wasnt, I would be elsewhere in a flash. I still have plans to get my own contract but that takes time and right now with them having their own clients, it just makes better sense than to try and fight for table scraps from my brokers.

Their biggest reason for the drop and all of their % have dropped company wide is simply because there are still companies hauling stuff for nothing and a few of their accounts that called them to renegotiate didn't do much negotiating. It was I had an offer for my freight to be pulled for this, you can meet it or good bye. It is the shippers market at the moment and they are taking advantage, every penny of it. It will start to swing as more companies fold, right now Prime is very stable cash and freight wise so that is why we decided to partner with them.

 

Good questions and info. thanks all

 

glad it's working for you. 550 said he saw you in St Louis the other day. took me 6 days to get a load out of TX so its likely better then this place

 

Hey there, I too have been looking at more than just rates recently. I agree that the buying power, discounts and stability of some of the big boys can be a good choice in this economic climate. Is that buck and a quarter you mentioned with or without the fuel surcharge???

 

That is before fuel. It is what I have had so far. They say their avg is 1.10 but we have been doing a little better. One of my guys got a load yesterday and it came up as .76 and I called and said that is not possible for us to run. Turns out it was a computer glitch and it was 1.21 so we took it too. I have looked on the boards and made some calls and to be honest, it isnt looking good. It is all due to how long the bottom scrapers will hold on till they fold, and for us independents, it is even tougher unless you happen to have a contract in place. I think if we get through March things will get much better. There are some companies that have been pulling cheap for a while and I just dont see how they will make it through the next 3 monts. Just make wise decisions and minimize your expense and I think we will make it.

 

Thanks for the 411. I lost my mind this week and sold my 96 379 with zero payment and bought an 05 with an $1100 payment, so it's off to work I go! Trucks are CHEAP if you shop... couldn't resist the price! BTW, is that in refrigerated, van or flatbed division?