SO .. Where is the money - most OO going UNDER

That's right....might really blow his mind to see people making $5 + on lanes too hahahaha[/QUOTE]

I suppose I’ll have to be constructive now.

I started in an awful year. Fairly well prepared, but green. But prepared - just in case things didn’t go well. So I learned. Think outside the box.

I notice in another post the OP highlighted the fact you need hazmat at Landstar. This is an assumption, but I’ll guess you’ve also erected many invisible fences around your ability to succeed.

I got tanker, hazmat, TSA, TWIC, CARB exemption, from the get go. Bought a 53’ flat instead of a 48’ flat or a step which everyone else had. Worked on relationships and learning. Anything I thought would be a tool in the box.

Asked a lot of questions. Of bull haulers. Reefers, van drivers, flat step and heavy haulers. Of whites, blacks, immigrants. Heck, I’d ask a fence post how it got there if it would talk. Show trucks to duct tape. I wanted to know. I wanted to hear failure stories as much as success stories. And that first couple of years I got to watch the market rise. And how people behaved.

So I figured my way to here. And here may fall apart tomorrow. But I’ll know what to do if it does. Learn, adapt, change.

Last year this place was awash with every Jim Henson character asking where to buy a truck and how to get in. Remember? Then January 1st came and it fell off a cliff. Last year I didn’t go out and finance or buy anything. I took the extra profits, and reduced debt - knowing what was coming.

A buddy said - “If these rates get worse, heck - I’ll park the truck - or sell it. I ain’t playing this game to lose money “. Sounds harsh, but pretty smart.

I’m sitting. Why run around being the busy idiot in the heat of summer, when I can just wait. I won’t haul cheap if I don’t need to. I now understand why others do.

If it’s not working out for you - lease on somewhere, park it and go company, or sell up. Because people selling up and getting out is the only thing that will force a market correction.

Your comment about a major truck issue - you should have $15k on hand to handle a tow and inframe or transmission grenade. I think that was Trucking 101 - have an emergency fund.

I probably didn’t help much - and I’m desperately trying not to come across as smug, because I wish all success in this industry.

So now I’ll shut up.

Good luck.

 

Looks like we were typing tandem matching thoughts there.

 

I suppose I’ll have to be constructive now.

I started in an awful year. Fairly well prepared, but green. But prepared - just in case things didn’t go well. So I learned. Think outside the box.

I notice in another post the OP highlighted the fact you need hazmat at Landstar. This is an assumption, but I’ll guess you’ve also erected many invisible fences around your ability to succeed.

I got tanker, hazmat, TSA, TWIC, CARB exemption, from the get go. Bought a 53’ flat instead of a 48’ flat or a step which everyone else had. Worked on relationships and learning. Anything I thought would be a tool in the box.

Asked a lot of questions. Of bull haulers. Reefers, van drivers, flat step and heavy haulers. Of whites, blacks, immigrants. Heck, I’d ask a fence post how it got there if it would talk. Show trucks to duct tape. I wanted to know. I wanted to hear failure stories as much as success stories. And that first couple of years I got to watch the market rise. And how people behaved.

So I figured my way to here. And here may fall apart tomorrow. But I’ll know what to do if it does. Learn, adapt, change.

Last year this place was awash with every Jim Henson character asking where to buy a truck and how to get in. Remember? Then January 1st came and it fell off a cliff. Last year I didn’t go out and finance or buy anything. I took the extra profits, and reduced debt - knowing what was coming.

A buddy said - “If these rates get worse, heck - I’ll park the truck - or sell it. I ain’t playing this game to lose money “. Sounds harsh, but pretty smart.

I’m sitting. Why run around being the busy idiot in the heat of summer, when I can just wait. I won’t haul cheap if I don’t need to. I now understand why others do.

If it’s not working out for you - lease on somewhere, park it and go company, or sell up. Because people selling up and getting out is the only thing that will force a market correction.

Your comment about a major truck issue - you should have $15k on hand to handle a tow and inframe or transmission grenade. I think that was Trucking 101 - have an emergency fund.

I probably didn’t help much - and I’m desperately trying not to come across as smug, because I wish all success in this industry.

So now I’ll shut up.

Good luck.[/QUOTE]


What are you really trying to say Blair? Hmmm?

 

What are you really trying to say Blair? Hmmm?

View attachment 291809 [/QUOTE]

Mnah mnah - do do dee do do!

Sorry Dave - you’re an exception to the muppet rule.

As many are, but the majority just saw the gold rush last year and piled on in.

 

I’m thankful I took the easy path. Heck I waited to buy another truck because I was holding out until he was buying a couple more trailers just so I could take the easy path.

Depending on what you’re doing you don’t always trade profit to run for someone else. I would venture a guess that if the OP is pulling s dry van he could make more at the end of the day if he found something specialized to do for someone else that has direct customers.

 

Still can’t figure out why O/Os are struggling in the greatest economy of the last 50 years.

 

Ok again to the op, explain what you are doing first before anyone can help you.

As mentioned there is a very high failure rate as an o/o, and it may be something simple to fix.

 

Midnight, you're not on your own yet so you don't know what it is like.

It doesn't matter how the economy is going, many will fail as part of the attrition built into the industry.

And why try to make this political?

It isn't a political issue.

 

sell everything or lose everything.
Anything is better than that 75 grand a year company driver job.
Even pulling cheap broker freight for free.

 

@blairandgretchen stop with letting the secrets out will ya!

2019 is not a good year on spot market. Dedicated holding strong, but I think it may get worse.

My total CPM (driveway to driveway) is down 1.00 Compaired to 2018,2017. With that said, a injury early 19 didn't help. Now my savings and retirement definitively is not showing any growth in 19, the bills are paid and food is on the table. Let some of these less than professionals go under. It will come right back. The trucking world is feast or fathom.

Some may ask how you can be down 1.00 per mile and still run. Well I don't haul no 1.75 freight. Well except one time in 19 that it was my fault and miss quoted. Again my fault and I was mad at myself for about 2 days. Almost fired myself.

 

Would you mind expanding on ‘attrition built into the industry ‘ please?