The Right Answer

Or, maybe you are wrong! Maybe, that one old Peterbilt 359 will have bought 15 other trucks, a farm, and a separate house. It purchased your own truck shop, office location, and a warehouse facility. It led to your purchasing approximately 65 trailers, most of which sit for 10 months of the year, just because you need them for 8 weeks during the busy season. You have several children, who enjoy working in the family business. And not only has your wife supported you all along, helped you book loads and done paperwork, she still enjoys riding along in that same old 359 when the opportunity presents itself. Every scenario has another side, but unions will NEVER be a 1 size fits all. You are welcome to go sit in a corner and whine, that’s not the way I was brought up.

 

With freight rates where they are, ain't nobody buying a single peterbuilt and building some norman rockwell-esque empire from it. Maybe decades ago. Not now.

 

I personally know a man who built a business just as I described. He started with a cabover years ago, then bought an 1985? 359, in 1990. Said he thought he was big stuff! Wish that truck could tell stories, it has 4.7 million miles on it. I haul for him seasonally, and he is a great guy. Gave me my first driving job, and sold me my first truck. And he still runs that same ol truck, says it will never be for sale, it has paid for everything he has ever bought.

 

One Peterbilt gives me a fairly good income. I am on the lower end of my industry because I don’t need or want more at this point in my life and 50-55 hours a week is plenty for me. Not everyone is currently broke in trucking and those of us who have saved aggressively for a rainy day can still survive the times the bottom falls out. Talk to the hard chargers in my industry and see if settlements that are currently 25%-50% greater than mine are with one Peterbilt are struggling or not.

 

I think those are the numbers these illiterate individuals pulling a 3 car wedge are dreaming of lol. And they run nonstop trying to pay their fuel!

 

Mine aren’t even great rates compared to some, but it’s multi year contract freight that only carriers with several hundred owned and leased trucks can bid on. Not to say occasionally some of the 2-3 car carriers get a brokered load and haul. Often they do thousands of dollars in damages causing my shipper to value their Professional Carhaul Contractors even more causing job security for me when my contract renews.

 

Do you personally know everyone who is buying trucks? Then how do you know that's not happening?

 

But nearly every company is not the same. There is a whole lot of difference between various sectors of this business, various regions of the country, small vs medium vs mega fleet size, etc.

And drivers also have the ability to become independent O/Os or exit the industry.