Holidays a slow time?

[sylvester]

New to this form of trucking. We have 25 years as an O/O hauling general frieght cross country. Every Holiday season,(Christmas) you could count on shutting down for a week as most shippers were doing the same.
It's never to early to plan ahead. My question is.
Is this true for Expediting as well?
Is there another time of year in this business where your better off parking for awhile, you know, like a major shipper shuts down for annual inventory.
Thanks,
Sylvester

 

[Glen Rice]

Great question! Most operators I know run up to Xmas then head home for the week until after New Years. In the past January and February had always been very slow. Well buddy times have changed! In the past few years our Jan. and Feb. revenued as well as other soft months...you know, like July were plants do vacations and model changes. I would change the way I operated in that I would maybe stay in the predominately good markets like Atlanta, Chicago, Memphis...you get the idea. The industry has changed and the days of sitting for a week are gone. Give it 24 hours and move to a more desireable city is imperative. These are my thoughts. This is how I would run. It may not be for you, but it's my opinion. Go where the money is or at least where the snow ain't? We had auto chains on our truck so the snow didn't much bother us. We just got worn down by the cold. A couple of years ago Janice and I saw snow only once and ran all winter in the south. It only happened that one year and the next year I swear we must have chained up 15 times! The next year we had the Auto-Chain! You bet yah! Have fun, make money, do it safe and try not to add to the scale house revenue! Thanks again for the great questions and comments!

 

[X1_SRH]

Hey Sylvester, you are correct about the time between Christmas and New Years being slow - but freight should remain strong right up until the Holiday. Any day where factories shut down and nobody comes to work (holidays, either real or manufactured) will tend to throw a "hiccup" into the expedited freight picture.
Another factor to seriously consider is the Automotive summer shutdown for the model year changeover. This usually occurs during the first 2 weeks in July. If your company relies heavily on the automotive industry, this could be a great time to plan a vacation.
I hope this helps you out - X

 

[raceman]

Last year we were running teams in my trucks and they shut down for Christmas day only. We did very well. I can not say if solo will be slow but I think said you were a team anyway. I think it is just hit or miss. The way I look at it is if I can be availible out there I will if not I will be home. First two weeks of July in my company are very slow. Other than that have not seen real bad times anytime. There was a three week period without a transmission in one truck but I think that was just my problem. Welcome to the business. Good luck!


---Why hug a tree when you can welcome a new comer---


raceman

 

[sylvester]

Great replies, thank you. Even though we have so many years under our belts driving over the road, this will all be new to us.
I can't count the times the wife and I spent Thanksgiving in a truck stop.
We will never forget our first year on the road, not knowing our main shipper shut down durring the Holidays, we spent 4 miserable days in DETROIT!!!! We ended up in a Ma and Pa Motel. One night at 2am the heat shut down. -5 outside. Office was closed. I ended up turning on the shower with only the hot water on to use the steam as heat. Hey, it worked, let them pay the darn water bill.
This is the reason for the question. Do not ever want to get stuck like that again.
Sylvester

 

[jg]

Another thing to think about is that if a lot of drivers with your company go out of service, then what few loads there may be will go to you. I stayed in service during the two week shutdown in July, and earned good money and had a better choice of loads. Also stayed out in January and February because a lot of drivers don't like being in the snow....again, fewer drivers, more loads for me. But snowstorms along I-94 from Detroit to Chicago will make you think twice. I agree that getting stuck with a load over a holiday is the pits....especially if you can't get home with it.

 

[sylvester]

Talking about sudden snow squalls reminds me of the stretch of I-90 Cleveland to Buffalo. Man, one minute clear skies, forcast calls for no precipitation and bang you get hit with a lake effect white-out snow shower.
Hope you all do not get tired of my questions, but Glenn just touched on something I never would have even thought of.
Automatic Chains. I have seen city Fire Trucks with them on.
Would you recommend this is the way to go, for a cross-country, year round team?
What's the cost, maintenance and can you take them off after winter is over. Sorry if they sound like dumb questions.
If you asked me about 18 wheel opinions I could write a book, but this straight truck thing is virgin to us.
Thanks,
Sylvester

 

[Crazynuff]

I sent a private message with the name of the manufacturer but they are permanently installed and can be installed on vehicles from 1/2 ton up with or without airbrakes . The price is $1495 plus installation which takes 6 to 8 hours .