How much do container haulers make? Would like real numbers.

Question for you California based drivers,,,,What is the real scoop on older trucks not being allowed to operate in state??

 

There is a CARB cutoff of 2011 and newer are allowed to operate

 

Depends on the carrier, the port, etc. I haul cans out of the rail in Denver, I'm a company driver by choice, been with my carrier 24 yrs, last 3 yrs I've grossed $80K average, earlier this year I was making money hand over fist, it's now dropped off by 20% because of lack of can movement.

As for O/O's, it depends on the carrier, the situation and the state. Example, in my area, the majority of O/O's are lease operators, they may own the truck, but they are leased to someone else, they are also all on percentage, typically it's 75%. The company I work, we have one O/O currently, he makes 90%, BUT, he's also an independent, he has his own authority and can walk away at any time no questions asked, he basically uses us as a broker and for our SCAC/IANA codes and operating. I would say like any L/O situation, there is the possibility to make good money, but some of these people waste it too. In the Denver area, the L/O trucks range from barely mobile to only a year or two old and in excellent condition. I can't speak to the L/O's of other companies, but depending on the week, I'd hazard he's doing $3k to $4K to the truck per week, I know in the past he's done as much as $6K to the truck for a 5 day week.

As for port haulers, I'd say it really depends on the company, and are the L/O's or O/O's or company drivers, one thing to consider, the port workers are the highest paid union workers in the country, they start at $120K. You also have to understand that there are different kinds of port trucks, I see guys running cans from Houston and L.A. to Denver or SLC direct, they are not junk trucks, at most are 3 or 4 yrs old and in as good of condition as any fleet truck. I was parked next to one in SLC last night, he'd loaded a reefer Matson in Idaho and was heading back to the port, the truck was a 4 yr old Cascadia with 570K miles, paint was faded, the fairings were all intact, the tires looked reasonably new, it looked no worse for wear than the Landstar truck parked on the other side of me.

 

Here's something the media and everyone is ignoring in this backlog, the railroads have some blame. PSR (Precision Scheduled Railroading), basically maximizing profits, if that train is scheduled to depart Long Beach at 3 pm, by god, it will depart Long Beach at 3 pm, the loading cutoff is 1 pm. It's like this everywhere, there's also a massive shortage of train crews, early retirements, turn over, the same as every industry, and they've not refilled the positions. AS a result, you no longer see 4 or 5 100 car intermodal trains, but instead see one 200 or 300 car intermodal train with a crew of 4 and 6 to 7 engines. I've seen trains arrive in, and depart Denver that are 70% full due to making that schedule. Also, due to crew issues, trains are often delayed, not uncommon for a train to be 3 days late, few weeks back, we had a train due in Friday night from Chicago, two domestic loads on it we needed for Monday. the broker told my boss the train would arrive Friday night, cans grounded by Saturday morning. My boss checked, said no way. On Saturday afternoon, I traced the containers (I was supposed to pull them Sunday morning), the train hadn't even left Chicago yet, it wasn't due to depart until Monday at 0100, and arrive in Denver on Weds at 1700, with a grounding of Thursday at 0400.

 

We looked into hauling containers around Denver when we first got our authority doing power only loads, but never did commit to it. If I recall, a round trip load from Denver to Raton was quoted around like $700 or something on roughly 450 miles.

 

I understand net. Yes, this particular set of loads are 100% legal on hours. Five loads to Lubbock will gross 5.1k. I also own my truck 100%.

We have another set of runs home daily grossing 7.5k a week with a net of approx 5.4K a week. Containers. Not particularly up to dot standards.

 

I figured they have lots of cash, sure don’t spend it on their trucks.

 

"How much do container haulers make?"

Not enough. BTDT, and F' those longshoremen and the horses they rode in on, and their mothers, and their descendants to the nth generation...!.