How's Everyone Doing in LTL Right Now?

I noticed a Swift daycab pulling a Swift trailer out of our yard last week, which on its own is pretty normal. He probably pulled it to the local Swift yard so they show it was picked up on time and the OTR driver can come grab it later. But I also noticed an MME truck (Swift’s newest LTL acquisition) pulling a Swift trailer down the road and it got me thinking how close we are to literally giving our work away to our competitors. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to see an MME truck picking up that Swift trailer next week, and then see it being swapped at the meet point while we had a few runs cut that night.

 

That's crazy. I'm at work right now and have been working 7 days to pull in as much summer money as I can because I take off ALOT during the winter. I called Central at 0230, and he just said "hey, I know you can turn and burn. Take this van and roll. I already dispatched you in that fast truck so don't worry about self dispatch."

At Estes, it's not 2020 freight crazy but we're rolling. When you can call on the weekend and they'll pretty much give you what you ask for... We're good.

 

I'm in bed at the hotel now. The run was only 400 miles. Ran it straight no breaks or stops like it ain't nothing. Easy money!

 

My barn lost a few more runs on this next bid, but I still somehow managed to end up with a 550 mile daytime run. After four years of nights or extra board, I finally get to see how the other half lives.

 

Our volume is down, for sure. But my run is still booking along at 12-13 hours per day. So I haven't personally felt the pinch.

 

Then again, it's also a contract year.

 

That’s awesome. Not gonna lie I’m a bit jealous. I’ve got 5+ years and cannot even hold a run and I’m at a hub. I’m about done. Thinking of applying at Estes.

 

It's apples and oranges. You have good reasons for being where you're at, and it's definitely tough when you're at a hub and there's not many guys under you. I've just been really lucky to end up in this position.

I feel like things can't get much worse than they are now. As long as you're still getting work most days, it'll probably be worthwhile to stick it out. Estes will have you working a lot harder for not much more money.