Whats the deal?

Let's hope not

 

They are hurting and reducing the size of their fleets . YRC is laying off over 3,000 workers and getting the Teamsters to agree to pay cuts . Scneider closed their driving school . Quality Carriers changed their rates with O/O's and lost a lot of good O/O's .
Really smart O/O's that can hustle and find a niche and properly manage their money will survive . Build a large fleet ? Not likely but there are fleet owners with maybe a half dozen trucks running for expedite carriers or FedEx Ground .

 

Owner/Ops will always be around. No matter how bad things get, there will be some of us that love, live, and enjoy the business to take the chance and fight our way through all the hurdles. I think right now a great owner/op not only needs to look at it froma business stand point, but like I said earlier they need to love it.

The big carriers are making it cause of the lower overhead cost. They are big enough that they can self insure themselves along with bulk buy everything. Just look at the fuel cost difference alone. When I was with a small carrier (4 trucks) we didn't get any discount except cash price. Now that I'm with Schneider I get their price which at times is 20 cents lower than cash. That adds up over a year.

 

No way. Owner Ops will always be around.

Many you see, have their rides paid for. So they'll ride it out with the rest of us. And many, have their own select accounts they run. Which has helped.

You get into areas like here where I live. It's a "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" kinda deal.

"Hey Bob? I got a load going to Dallas, with a load that picks up in Dallas to come back to the plant, the next morning. Do you want it? "

Small towns are nice places...for the little guy

 

Right now, I know a few guys that fit that description. And a few that have closed their doors. Is it the end of the world? No, but none of us have ever seen it like this. And I am the rookie of the bunch with only 19 years out here.

I wish I had a crystal ball, because I am at Schneider too. They have treated me right, no lies or tall tails. But, I just don't see it happening here at this mega carrier. Plenty of freight, but it is very hard to get enough runs in to make it all work $$$ with their upside down scheduling. I know why they do it that way, but it frustrates the hell out of me.

Holding my breath.

Mike

 

I'm a company driver with an outfit that regularily gets trashed on this forum... name starts with a P.

First, I haven't been sitting much. I work hard, drive hard, and do my darnedest to get the load down the road - that means I have a good relationship with my FM. He tries to keep me loaded, although I've had more restarts than I'd like in the last two months. Just the same, I rarely sit for more than a good 10 after getting empty. And no, unlike the propaganda post about how bad "P" is, they don't run you ragged. Need a break? Post a PTA down the road far enough to get your break before the next load. Need home time? Ask for it... but give your FM enough notice that he can make it happen.

My truck doesn't break down. I keep up the maintenance, and that's the way the owner of "P" wants it done. They've found that it pays them to do the maintenance up front instead of waiting until the freight is cooling on the side of the road. That doesn't mean they don't have problem trucks... thank goodness mine isn't one of them!

As far as getting loads is concerned... we really try to sell service, and it's paying off. Of course what sales sells, we drivers have to deliver. So far it's working! Helps to be pulling reefers... when you can't find a refridgerated load, you can turn the reefer off and give the dry van boys some competition!

Maybe the griping that is being quoted is just a bunch of wheel holders that can manage to get the job done. You hear a lot of that in truck stops. That and whiners that can't manage to find the root cause of their whining (themselves) and blame everybody and everything else.

 

Well, that has been my problem, lots of resets. Plenty of freight, but as an example, 3-4 days to deliver a drop n hook when it can be done legally in half the time. That is the problem I am having. And trying to reschedule? I would think it would be easy.

Not that I want 3000 miles a week either. But I could do fine on 2000 to 2500, but it seems to take ten days to get to those numbers. Getting discouraged along with everything else going on.

Mike

 

First, the load planners tend to add some time to the schedule in the winter just to deal with weather.

Second, I try to get to the receiver as early as I can... then contact them to see if an early delivery is an option. Doesn't always happen, especially with the larger grocery warehouses.

Sounds like that's how your company deals with the freight cycle. Everything slows down from around Xmas until March or so... varies with the company depending on what kind of freight you pull, but its part of the yearly cycle. Our guys are up front with us... will tell us if loads are available, and do real scheduling. At least that way we can deal with life in between. Your company may be blowing your schedules way out, and then keeping you under load instead of turning you loose.

 

I know about this time of year and all of that. That is not the problem. I pick my own loads, and have tried to reschedule. I am normally way early by a day or two, legally. I like the easy schedule, but it is not putting any money in my pocket.

And when I look at my logbook and I have more time sitting than rolling while under a load... Well that just ain't cutting it.

Mike