Our first quarter, 2008 run count, miles and revenue were down about 12.5% compared to first quarter, 2007. We attribute that to time off we took in 2008 that we did not take in 2007 and "breaking the streak."
Friends have told us, "Don't break a streak." By that they mean when you have one run following another and another and another, stay with it. Don't go home. Don't go out of service. Stay focused and stay in the groove. When you go out of service, you break the streak and it takes a while to get back into the revenue stream and recapture your momemtum.
Taking yourself out of service puts you at the bottom of the list for next loads out when yoiu come back in. Also, when you are in service, predispatch offers can come your way. When you are out of service, those same offers will be sent to other trucks. You don't get one run after another when you are not on a run or in service building dwell time toward the next run. When you are out of service, you have to start over from no predispatch offers and no dwell time. There are times when dispatch will call even if you are out of service, but that is not something to count on.
We broke the streak several times this year that we did not do last year (carrier training, family events, multiple dental appointments, truck repair). Thus the declines mentioned above. It is encouraging to hear from other contractors that they are running well. Watching our numbers go backwards is not something we enjoy.