Low rates?

And big companies have contracts with the shipper essentially guaranteeing them the money and work...

Add in the fact they buy everything in bulk have their own shops and get loads because of their name and you're pretty Set

 

Companies make it off the average freight rate they pull in and the low overhead of CPM workers. Drivers that don't pull miles don't get paid. Their is almost no overhead in sitting them out.

The megas are the ones that drive the freight rate down. They will pull freight for pennies a mile if it keeps a deadhead off the books. Since they live on average freight rate, that cent per mile run will average out with the higher dedicated miles to a good profit. A O/O cannot do that. Most O/O cannot sit out for days waiting for higher freight to happen along. Most cannot take a load lower then their cost. The Mega can, will, and does. That allows the mega-crap company to come in and underbid all the O/O in a dead zone with only cheap freight going out.

 

Yeppers. We care and its team effort, but your gonna sit for a day or two, not because there isn't any freight, there just isn't any that is going to allow us to make what we want. On the third they will take something, the same paying freight they could have given the company driver two days ago.

 

Read an article today. The mega fleets contract out more than 42% of their freight.
Mega's are making their money.

 

http://fleetowner.com/fleet-management/study-biggest-trucking-firms-outsource-over-42-their-freight

Great information. The average mega contracts out 42% of the freight they control and even collect an 8% premium for doing so.

How much do you want to bet that isn't their premium pay freight that they dump out to contractors?

 

How about putting a price to a persons time for being available 7 days a week minus their 34hr resets (if they do them). That's a possible 536 hours on a 4 week month that the driver is either working or on stand by at a truck stop. Now pay that driver federal wage ($7.25) for all their time of living in their truck and working with that truck. badabing badaboom $900+ a week to maintain an easy cheap laborer.

 

Perhaps 10-15 c only.

 

Mega companies get discounts on everything do you really think they pay same price on fuel,tires,truck,trailer or even insurance. A lot of them are self insured put up a bond no more monthly ins payments. Fuel they are getting up to and more sometimes 50 cents off pump price. They like little to no exp wheel holders can pay them less then someone with 15 to 20 years exp there's your driver shortage. They could haul 1 mile freight all day and still turn profit.

 

I'm going to use off numbers for ease of arithmetic
Oo makes 2.00 a mile120000 miles per year. 75% goes to bills (taxes tires payments insurance) 1 truck. 60000 bring home
Big company makes 1.5 per mile 120000 miles per year 60% goes to bills (big company discounts on tires, fuel, self insured etc) 30000 pay for driver.
Leaves 42000.
Multiplied by 500 or 1000 or more trucks.
I know the numbers are exaggerated just to make the point.
The profit made off each large carrier trucks may be less. I don't know this for a fact but that is the best i can figure