Owner Operator for Amazon

I'd pay twice as much to Amazon if it means I'm not giving Walmart a dime

 

I did like 4 Amazon loads last year that went for $5 mile.

Haven't seen them this year.

Those mega carriers get top dige for their freight, make no mistake.

We had an agent try peddling UPS freight as some marketing gimmick.

The easy question to ask is, "Why would you move it for a big discounted price, compared to what it cost them to move it?"

 

I will for $5000 a week!!

 

But they are also paying what the market will bear.

Let it sit in the dock, and sure as the sun will rise, so will the freight rate.

 

I could be convinced to drive for someone else for that even.

 

I run the I-5 almost exclusively in the PNW, the trucks I see pulling those Amazon trailers are actually decent looking, then again since they run into California Dreamin', they need to be CARB compliant, which makes those trucks a little newer per se.

 

That's the question I always ask these Mega Trucking Companies who also have brokerage divisions, who post their loads in the open market at times because they can't get their own truck underneath it.

I'll ask, "why are you trying to get me to do it for that price when your own trucking division would lose their arses doing it for that?"

Which why I'm incredulous watching these lease ops and owner ops hauling freight for LESS than real fixed & variable operational costs.

 

They'll post it when there's no one to cover it.

But they're the same. They will pay what the market will bear.

 

Some of it depends on customer as well.

If it's one where the load has to be there, on time, on target, then the games aren't played and it starts at a decent rate.

 

I took a load Thursday that I'd normally never take.

It wasn't bad, $1,000. Moses Lake to Portland. Delivered Friday.

Delivered my dedicated in Kent Thursday morning, that pays a fortune, DH up to ML to get it then.

The reason I stayed is there's a load that pays $1800 Portland to Seattle picks up Sunday morning, delivers Monday morning, then I'm booked out back down to Arizona.

So to me was worth it to DH the 187 miles to get the load.

Now I could have rolled the dice and hoped for a shuttle load down to Portland or someplace.

But a load in the hand is worth two in the bush.

There's a truck load of ebb and flow involved in this business.

I think there's as many base hits as there are extra base hits, and home runs.

The important thing is not to strike out.