Under $2/mile loads with $6/gal diesel.

F

False, attached is picture I received from a failed carrier of a damaged plantain banana. Notice the sweat and freeze cool temp damage. Cheap ruined 43k lbs of them. Buyer now has to explain to customer retailers why they failed on their orders. This is why I thrive and am not the cheapest. You set your bar where you decide. I set mine above the competition. Otherwise, why even bother.

 

Whoever shot that picture should've clipped his nails. Gross!

Time for a drink!

 

One dedicated a week. Every week. One truck. Less stress, and relationship building is a good thing. You can do it. Build a legacy. Leave your mark.

 

Haha back in the day my grandpa used to deliver to chef boyardee.....they called it wop slop Lol

 

@TallJoe
Let’s dampen the negative attitude. I got one positive thought.

Your one truck. One. That’s bad… not so fast!

You can be dynamic. Change can be easier when dealing with one truck.

Semper Gumbi

You can put your truck where there is a temporary shortage, book in the last minute

You can sign on for a temporary dedicated important haul

Serve a customer

lease on to a carrier that has something good happening

do local when fuel costs are high

So many possibilities. The best plan will fail, you got to come up with solutions to the obstacles. Never stop focusing on how to provide a better service. If you give into a defeatist mentality and lifestyle, you will suffer. Winning is a choice. Step out of your comfort zone and focus on your tasks ahead. Working randomly with brokers and not building a brand will cost you money in the long haul.

 

So instead of hauling for $2 a mile, haul for $2.05 and promise you know how to haul bananas.
Got it.

 

Everybody can claim whatever they want on the internet but when the economy is junk and countless trucks are out here willing to haul cheaper and cheaper you simply cannot keep commanding high rates. I don't care how good your so called "service" is.

 

Which is why you park it and wait for the cheap haulers to put themselves out of business... And if you cant afford to park it until then, well I guess you will just have to keep hauling cheaper and cheaper freight until YOU go out of business.

I have a dedicated 1 day run I do once a week that makes my truck payment, insurance, and fuel plus about $500 a week. And I can usually find a run around town for $500-1k now and then. Thats all I really need until the low ballers die off...

 

Right on!
I am in a niche that is not known for overpaying “drivers”. I put out lots of fires on the route that I deliver products on. I fix problems that are not technically my responsibility, I’m clean and presentable, etc........and I know for a fact that my contractual rate is about 35% higher than the competitors’ rates. I have retained this contract for the past 8 1/2 years.

 

I don’t think 2.05 will pay for the money I spend on chicken lights or polishing. No professional produce hauler hauls anywhere near the 2 dollar range. My numbers are mine. No need to share. My fellow carriers are also my competition. Only way to find out is to lease on, and I’m not picking up another trailer until inventory gets normal ish.