the main reason i parrked the truck!!!!! to many hands in the cookie jar but ,it's comeing around for me again it's been a year and thanks to certain people on this forum and a few otheres that i'm in contact with on a daily basis,things are looking up,,,, it's about learning the buisness and understanding on how to play the game
Not really digging at you. When you look at the cost of maybe $100.00 to keep a reefer tank full and you take the stand that the company has to pay, and the load is ruined, your cargo insurance will pick up the cost IF ONLY you can prove that it is the responsibility of the company. If this is part of your responsibility to make sure all equipment is operating properly then " U ### IS GRASS". In most cases the cost of the fuel is in your rate. If the rate is that poor that it hasn't got enough cash in it to cover the fuel cost just "don't pull it".
You really need to look at what you need to make per mile to know what rate you can AFFORD to take the load for. The trick is that if you do not have contacts or know what the rate is coming out of an area, then you need to make sure that you only take loads that pay you enough to afford backhaul rates which can be as low as 80 cents per mile. We used to move a lot farther until the fuel price increased to more than $2.50 per gallon. Now we have to move lighter and smarter to make sure we turn a profit. Never take a load unless you know how much you will average round trip...$2.00 a mile may seem like a good deal but not if you can't get out for at least a buck fifty... Also don't assume that the mileage quoted is going to be the miles you actually need to drive to get to a place. You may need to drive 150 miles to get to a city where there is freight, also you may want to take a route that has less mountains or traffic. A lot of times shippers actually pay less than brokers. Also rates are seasonal based on capacity, since there are less vans available during produce season for example. Even when rates are good, there are still brokers and shippers who will pay as much as $1000 less on loads. When rates are bad it is better not to take a low rate, because it hurts the industry as a whole. You need to be persistant, post your truck and stick to your guns. Remember that at the end of the month and on Fridays, shippers and brokers are going to be a lot more willing to pay you what you need.
finding loads is'nt the problem, it's finding loads that PAY worth a darn. as a O/O i use load boards that take me to area's i have no contacts as of yet. but i refuse to haul cheap freight.
So here in Oregon and Washington and Idaho, I see a lot of 4 axle tractors and trailers. Are these loads available on load boards? How do people tell if a particular load needs heavy haul equipment or standard equipment? How do local/regional o/o's starting up find freight? Thanks, Chuck
Shipperspoint.com is for O/O and shippers. No brokers allowed. You can find some good paying loads there.
OOIDA.com Check this out. Their load board is powered by DAT a for another small fee you can get the rate the freight is paying for the lanes, low, high, and average
Wow. I haven't been to an auto plant since '04. Never heard that before, guards at the gate would check the VIN plate on trailer, but never looked at any tractor paperwork. Were you running a tractor-trailer or a straight truck?
