Truck Load Rates Halt 8 Week Slide 2.0

During an emergency, we step up and do what needs to be done. The guy in the video would be a lot more freaked out if they were stacking bodies like cord wood in the hospital parking lot. If those bodies weren't in a reefer, they would be in the very small refrigerated room in the basement of the hospital.

 

Years ago, I used to listen to "Trucking Bozo" show on XM Satlite Radio in which the host Dale Somers (RIP) was touching on a subject of a potential national crisis and contingencies.
I was stunned when I heard about some facilities in Indiana capable of being converted into big crematories where dead bodies could be delivered by rail.
Then I thought that it did not have to be BS because such contingencies must be planned for.

 

Looks like the freight has dried up, I had a delivery 240 miles away from home this morning and I will be deadheading back.

 

Yeah I’d say the cliff is near.

 

I found it this morning. With the bulk of what I deliver going to food service. Looking at adding 3 stops and nearly 200 miles for a extra $150. I had to pass

 

My experience has been the opposite of this cliff. Today has been the absolute busiest I've been this month.

 

Grocery shelves are mostly full again as are most Americans freezers and pantries .

The End of the World drama is lightening up after hearing it every night on the news.

People that truly need food have no money to buy it right now.

 

It's going to be interesting to see which parts of the supply chain dry up and vanish in the coming weeks. I haul primarily reefer, and I can see an upswing in food deliveries to DC's for large chain stores, but a severe drop off in fresh produce heading to smaller distributors that supply restaurants. Restaurants are still selling food, but it's all delivery so I imagine that it's a significant reduction in their normal volume of business.

For the last 4 weeks I've been hauling nothing but beer, wine, and frozen fruit, the later of which is going exclusively to Costco. Beer loads tend to be on the cheap side, but I guess everybody locked up in their homes has them drinking more than usual, because they're routinely running at or about $3 per mile now. When one does come up on Convoy under that amount, I bid it up, and so far they've agreed to my price almost immediately. I just booked a load of Bud out of Fairfield tomorrow morning to Portland for $3.30 per mile after it posted for $2.75 and I bid it up.

I've been seeing quite a few high paying loads for Coke over the last few days heading from NorCal north and east. I guess the soda pop market is seeing an upswing as well.

 

Also, how many private fleets and oil patch trucks join the regular market. I know Sysco has their entire fleet doing alternative freight now from what I read.
Between emergency freight catching up, and many businesses being closed, along with what I mentioned above, I’m very concerned for the next few months.