The rates are down…what's to come?

Supply and Demand. Supply is there, demand is not.

Time to thin the herd a little.

 

contract rates are up, it is only spot market broker rates which are poor. And this is the only industry where when there is an equal number of trucks and loads it is considered poor demand. Can you imagine the price you would have to pay a contractor if every one of them had a house to build ? We're being duped, straight up.

The only time demand is good enough to drive rates up past breaking even is when every truck is running all they can handle and loads are still not being covered ? That's what it takes to get more than a break even rate now ? ridiculous.

 

It drives me crazy when I quote a decent rate and some poor soul hauls the load for a buck a mile or less. I still can't figure out who would jeopardize their own future like that by becoming a cheap freight specialist!

 

I would think it is the guy/gal that thinks the truck has to move no matter what. They think if the truck isn't moving it isn't making money. Problem is if it is moving for too little then it is losing money.

 

Let's all scream together now.....there is a shortage of truck drivers! And because the industry needs 30,000 drivers, rates are.........ummm, well jeez that doesn't make sense now does it? How can that be? Obviously you cannot have a shortage (for two decades) and falling rates.

 

I don't think there is actually a shortage of drivers as much as there is a shortage of intelligent management in this business. Hauling loads at a loss is just plain bad business as is running inexperienced drivers just because they can be hired on the cheap. This industry has had a serious management problem since the fleets started popping up.

 

Or maybe since Deregulation???

 

As bad of a time this is i believe it will help in removing a lot of these guys out here that haul freight for nothing those are the guys that are hurting us more than lack of freight. On many occasions I'll call on a load and the guy will tell me we have a regular that does these loads at buck a mile i know half the time they are full of it but other half they are speaking the truth, but i say keep hauling cheap until your numbers dont add up eventually