I see why trucking is going the way it is...

I've even heard a few older guys over the years act like working hard for peanuts is a virtue. Very frustrating to convince them they are worth something.

 

I have never loaded a TL load for less than my breakeven cost/mile. Never. I will sit and look for loads far away that pay very well, and go get that high paying load. Still I will at least breakeven to get out of the bad area. Then I try to learn from my mistake. Why did I so badly misjudge that area? Is that area worth gambling on again?

There are many places I refuse to go to without enough pay on the trip there to be able to DH to a surefire area to load back out. Denver, or Grand Junction is a good example of one of these areas. I need enough to go to Denver and DH all the way to Omaha and still average my target all miles rate per mile. If not, I don't go. And I rarely find loads that are willing to pay me enough to go there.

 

I think it's a psychological thing that differs from person to person. I've done the math on $2,000 monthly truck note and am positive I could keep running a truck with a payment like that exactly how I run my current paid for truck. Cherry picking and choosing the good paying loads, working about 7 months out of the year, turning about 60,000 miles annually. Now, the key thing here is I have zero payments or debts on anything else. I would not be intimidated into "I gotta roll to pay the bank" mindset carrying a $2k monthly truck note at all. A couple of years ago that would have intimidated the hell out of me.

 

Usually I get split loads going to NC then load out of NC for twice that. Now I did say my post wasn't to draw attention and I just said 1$ because I didn't feel like doing 1.5/1.8/1.3 etc... Also it's been done rarely and sometimes it just happens. I do on avg 45 stops each week for LTL. Now going from Easton PA to Mobile AL for 900$ I wouldn't do. I guess you have to see things on my end Semi to understand it. And yes I have DH the 1200 miles a few times because there weren't loads. And up until this February you couldn't get much $ loading out of the north east.

 

Sorry I didn't catch this post. I do know all my numbers and like I said I've been doing things from the boss view as eventually I will take over my father's company. I run light for the most part. When I was @ 80k we got 3k$ for the load on a total of 1373 miles. All you said I've already taken in and know what my cushion is and such. Honestly I ONLY chimed in because sometimes you just have to take that 1.xx/mile load. Like I said it's been a VERY long while since we've had to accept something like that because it was that or DH.

 

No reason to haul cheap. As long as drivers do it it will stay cheap.
LS has loads on the board that range from $.61 cpm to $3.50+ but you have to be quick to get the good ones. But, more important is setting your self up with a few agents and showing them your qualified, neat, safe and dependable. They will call you a lot once you have proven your self.. I have agents call me with well over $4 a mile that never hits the board. Some times I turn that freight down. I do not run just any where just because it pays well. I will not do the NE for several reasons. One is, Tolls are horrific in that part of the country.. $85 to cross the GW bridge. Not this old fart.
A good paying load in is not so good if you sit in a bad area several days and then haul out for the price of fuel. Why go in there in the first place. ?
I live in Kansas and will dead head from Houston to Kansas instead of taking a load of cheap freight I have to reach into my pocket to deliver.
There is a lot of $1.50 a mile freight down there in that area but I wont haul it. My fixed expenses keep on whether I sit or run and breaking even to get a load that pays little more than the one I turned down is not the answer.

Your right, far too many new O/O /LP operators have no clue to how much it costs to run that truck. Most operate off a credit card for stuff( chrome, shiny and other none essential items) I tell wanna be O/O's that to be an O/O get ready to support 3 families. Yours is one. The truck is two more.
ya'all be safe now. Holiday traffic is overloaded with tired, tipsey and stupid drivers.

 

I just typed up a huge similar thread about all the wannabe truckers coming in and signing n with the western express type companies with slave wages because it's the only place that will hire them. They know this going in by the 50 pages of complaints yet do it anyway. It's killing us all. Until these guys realize companies like that are not the ticket in they will continue to operate.
These types of companies have got to be stopped. These n00bz also need to realize the LP deals are ALL a rip off! Get a clue people! If the only place that will hire you is western express then look for another career! Have some common sense and dignity and stop being their slave. It will get you no where and you're not only hurting yourselves but the entire industry! I'd have more respect for you if you flipped burgers then driving for these western express type megas sticking you with no ky.
Stepping stone my ###! They will be bankrupt and done before their first year.

 

That's correct Rollin'!! That $2000.00 per mo. is money you HAVE to have to pay for the next truck, AFTER you wear this truck, ( and you WILL wear this truck) out......

My point being, it makes no difference that someone paid cash for a piece of equipment, if they haven't budgeted REPLACEMENT cost into their rates, when that equipment dies, they're done.

 

So, your fixed cost is the same as a guy from L.A. with a brand new 389 and Reitenour? You missed my point TWICE. Its not how much you work for that is my point, its that there can be no set number in the industry that EVERYONE needs to get to break even. Everybody has differing amounts of money going out, everyone has differing amounts that they need to survive in their personal life. I understand when you say that you have very low fixed costs but still need to get 1.85 to make it worth while. Maybe worthwhile to you is 100K per year profit so you need $X.XX per mile to get that 100K. A guy who is happy netting $20K per year doesn't need that much. So there really can be no "fixed cost" for everyone nationwide.