Truck Load Rates Halt 8 Week Slide 2.0

Patronizing? You can keep that and just say you disagree.

It’s hard to give credit to the fish if fish are still being caught. Some fishermen know better spots. Some fishermen have better boats and gear. Some fishermen are just straight up better fishermen. Blaming the fish is easy. Acknowledging one has areas they could improve in is difficult. And harder to accomplish.

I get it. Everyone and their brother has a dry van. Is everyone trying to stand out? All of them clean record, clean truck, hygienic, lucid? Doesn’t seem too hard to stand out in that crowd if you ask me, but I know I have high standards.

But also look at it from this lens: How many smaller shippers/receivers have you been too? Places that might ship/receive 1-5 loads a week or month? Places that depend on their product, coming and/or going, to be in the absolute best shape from end to end? Places that don’t act like you’re an obstacle to their day? Do you prefer those places over the likes of a Walmart DC or Amazon warehouse?

You can be a statistic or an outlier, the choice is completely yours. Make no mistake on that.

 

Well, 3 weeks off turned into one thanks to snow in the high country out west. Bounced an hour from home and loaded back out, then the money talked enough to get me to go to Maryland for Monday morning and somehow got lucky and have a load back already. They said it’s for a tradeshow and I need at least 20 straps. Yeehaw.

 

Hey guys. Just checking in to see if everybody is surviving? Been too busy to miss being on the road, but I see high diesel prices and low rates are the norm and I wonder how my old friends are doing out there.

 

Nothing to miss really, Steve. Except for being on the road if you have that sailor's longing for being on the sea...

I am sure all the old foxes are surviving, they should know how to. I have to run about 2000 miles a week to find $5000 of revenue. Every other week, I only work a day or two trying to find something decent on the shorter runs. My authority fixed costs per month are about $1400, so it is not that hard for me strictly on the financial side, the market should never go as low so that a solo owner-operator with paid-for equipment and no personal debt would not manage to survive. It is much harder on the mental side, as 6 months ago for that mileage 7 grand was an easy peasy thing to do. But the more time passes, the easier it is to put up with it...
Actually, that may sound strange but I don't mind if the marasmus continues for a few more months, even until the Spring of the next year, so that the equipment costs normalize, both on used and new. At that point, I may pull a trigger on something newer or completely new.
Those having difficulties are most likely with hefty loan installments and insurance with little cash in the bank and have to run insanly not to be repossessed.

Anyhow...
You had a brilliant timing in getting out and cashing out on your equipment. The only thing that's regrettable might be your perfect customer setup that most likely would have remained unaffected by the spot market slow down. But now you can retire and enjoy life. Good for you.

 

I'm still here. It ain't pretty but I'm still here. ( <<<< See caption in avatar)

 

I’m still plugging away being a fake o/o who bought himself a job. Rates have been steady and the fuel surcharge has been doing it’s job.

 

I think the thread has run its full cycle, from the lowest to the highest to the lowest again.
It has done an excellent job of chronicling.

The loadboard with Chicago outbound today is as barren as it can be. I am officially in sustainability mode, just running the minimal mileage to make enough to pay the fixed costs and bills. Otherwise saving tires and the trailer floor for better times, not to mention whatever is left from the truck engine.
If you don't book at least a week ahead, you'd be better off staying home and planting tomatoes or sugar peas on a trellis. It is half of June, it should still give you crops before the first frost. I'll add a few tomato plants today, despite the horrible heat.
If someone told me 20 years, heck even 10 years ago that I'd become fond of gardening, I'd call them crazy...

 

I've been doing all sorts of home improvement projects. Two new entry doors and a bunch of painting and landscaping. Might hang new toolboxes on my truck and remove the headache rack if it isn't as hot as hades next week.

 

I've given up on gardening since I've been OTR. I just can't get any help with it from my family. They will help if I'm there, they 'forget' if I'm not and I hate to nag. Man, do I miss home grown tomatoes and peppers.

I've kept my gross up this month but the miles have gone WAY up to get it. I'm taking off the last week of the month so I'll tally it up after next week, but I've already done as many as I usually do a month.