Struggling as an Owner Operator in this economy.

Remember being smart and savvy isn’t the same as quitting… it’s being smart and savvy.

If a ship is trying to sink you do what it takes to right it or you hop onto a lifeboat for awhile and ride it along until you get on a ship again. Do not ride that ship titanic style until you’re broke. No shame in parking flatbed if you think Power Only pays better. I took a peak at some power only also and it was paying about the same as local flatbed stuff in some cases lol. It’s a crazy world.

Parking it is not deactivating your authority. Just letting it take a nap if your insurance is kept up to the requirements.
The Hotshot market is not healthy either.

 

Very true

 

only in volume, not in rates!

 

Get 8 ft tarps. You can get a new pair of 8ft drops for like $600. I do a lot of loads that ask for 8ft tarps. I'm honestly surprised a lot of people don't carry them. It's about the same amount of work as putting on any sized tarps. I got my latest pair from mytee.com. They held up well but I did get the heavier 18oz. They also shipped pretty quickly and cheaply.

Good luck out there. I've also got authority with a flatbed but just decided to park it for the winter and enjoy some time off here in East Tennessee. That is if I can ignore the ###### itch to hit the road that I'm cursed with.

 

I’ve only been running since September but I’ve only taken one load off the DAT board. I can see how someone would be discouraged if that’s all you’re seeing.

 

You state that your truck and trailer are paid for. So how are you struggling? Having your own numbers, your only hard expense is insurance. Fuel, IFTA, maintenance are variables and can somewhat be controlled. I have had my authority since 2008 as a one truck operation with debt free equipment. I'm not struggling. What am I missing here?

 

We are struggling to find flatbed loads paying much over 2.00 a mile. If we don’t mind doing those loads we can be busy all day long. We just prefer not to run our truck and get paid like company drivers. If we were to do that then we ought to go be company drivers. Since posting this thread we have shifted gears and decided to park our flatbed for probably the winter. We are currently on a power only load that is paying 3.20 a mile and we have another power only load that is paying almost 3.60 a mile and will still have chance to get us another load that comes back.

Yesterday when I posted this in post I think I was having one of those blah days. We were getting frustrated with the flatbed side of things with this fuel being so expensive and the rates so low. But as far as us struggling, maybe that is an exaggeration because we do have money in the bank. We have 20,000 in the savings we have 30,000 in the truck fund, and we have about 5,000 in our personal account. So maybe struggling isn’t the best word to use because we have enough money would could lay off the next 3 months and be ok doing so. We just are use to running and maybe a little spoiled on the past rates. All in all we are still holding our own. The spot market we are learning can be very trying at times,

 

i was for some reason under the impression that fuel for the transportation service was covered by what's known as a fuel surcharge, the fuel surcharge being based on the transit distance and weight and current market fuel price. the whole point of FSC being that everybody from both parties can actually see that within the agreement, fuel costs are covered in full. Based on current fuel prices. and the transport cost is separate from the FSC, so you can see what they want to actually pay you for your time and equipment.

is FSC not a thing? is FSC sometimes not a thing? does FSC have to be a thing?

i would think that while freight rates (what they're willing to actually pay you for your time and equipment) would fluctuate based on the season and the times and how hot the commodities are and how many trucks there are available willing to pull for low rates, but i can't see how FSC would not ever match the current fuel price, with the transportation cost fluctuating separately, based on other factors.

sometimes to survive you have to get smaller, but sometimes to survive you have to get really really big, bigger than you want to, or bigger than you're comfortable with, if you try to just hang out in the middle u just get ripped apart.

 

FSC is normally not a factor in spot market and even in some direct customers. Negotiated rate is all in. Simple as that.

 

The previous business I was in… the mantra always was “adapt or die” and those that understood this always did very well. It’s no different in trucking.
Honestly, the fact that you guys bought a truck and trailer no more then a year ago and have it paid off, with 50k in the bank is unheard of in normal times. Generally, people have to grind for 5 yrs to get where your at right now. Yes, your probably spoiled but now it’s the time to buckle up and so that “business ####”. Like on top gun… “Alright Maverick, time to do that pilot ####”. You are the pilot of your operation… Make it happen! You got this!