How cheap is cheap

[cowboyz]

OK, you have a DR T-val unit sitting in charlotte nc since mon. 6:30 pm. you are running solo for another week,you have been offered 3 loads none that are over 1.15 a mile. is this cheap freight for a DR T-VAL unit? this is not what I bought this unit to do. How can you keep a unit on the road for this kind of money? I can't. This is to cheap I do tell,





Just trying to do my part

 

[Vinnie T]

IMHO NC is slow at times. I would take the load as long as it was moving you to a productive area. Been sitting since Monday? Say if you relocated to MI,OH,IN,IL etc you would have been back in the loop right now on another load making money and not spending money at a truck stop for 3 days.

 

[cowboyz]

Thanks, just accepted a load going to memphis. hope to be back in loop soon. To much idle time for me








On the Road again!!

 

[Vinnie T]

You should be thankful you have a dispatch that is offereing you loads, no matter how cheap they are to relocate you. 1.15 is WAY better then sitting or dead heading.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

>You should be thankful you have a dispatch that is offereing
>you loads, no matter how cheap they are to relocate you.
>1.15 is WAY better then sitting or dead heading.

And this is why the cheap freight offers will never go away,because there will always be someone who can justify their reasons for accepting them.DD.

 

[Fr8 Shaker]

DITTO !!!

 

[RichM]

Double Ditto

 

[Vinnie T]

How cheap is cheap?

How long are you willing to sit for a load?

That is the question. Dispatch should exhaust all efforts to move the truck on an expedite for a good rate. 1999 is come and gone and sometimes there isn't that good paying load in some spots for a day or two. So what do you do?

1. Sit and not waste the fuel, spend money at the truck stop for a few days

2. Take a lesser load (a non expedite load, or an expedite for a smaller size truck) and relocate to a good frieght area where the O/O can get back in the loop and make some money?

The cheap freight mostly applies to the tractor trailers anyway. The company may be getting a cheaper rate, but how they pay the truck during those circumstances is the key. Are they rigid or do they work with the O/Ops to move the truck to a better area?

What would you guys do?

 

[highway star]

This is some form of a catch 22. We all hate cheap freight, and we all hate to sit. How often should we empty move because we beleive in our principles?

 

[Vinnie T]

We have to describe what cheap frieght is.

A D unit running C, or a E running a D load is not running cheap freight. In fact it is servicing the expedite customer and creating more frieght oppotunity down the road for your company.

A company that has tractor trailers and hauls DAT or CH Robinson loads because they are not disiplined to handle expediting is that really hurting the expedite market?

Broker / Carriers that broker out thier automtive moves loads 1.10 a mile for a E unit (which I have seen many many times) is what hurts the expedite industry!

The economy is soft and frieght is slow, it is easy to sit there and say "No cheap loads" if you have money in the bank and are caught up on your truck payment, and your other bills are caught up. There is a reason why a lot of O/O are going bankrupt, it's not all because of cheap loads. Rates have been consistant fot the last 6-7 years..it's the cost of doing business like fuel, insurance, repairs etc that have gone up, and throw in a very soft economy..YIKES

x(

 

[davekc]

I quess what I fail to see is how you pay for a reefer unit running $1.15 freight???? There is LTL reefer freight out of the SE that pays better than that.
I would hope one isn't running that with any frequency and has a $150,000 reefer truck they are paying on.








Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[Vinnie T]

You have to consider the circumstances here. What is the posters dispatch doing? Maybe he/she has thier own authority. I'm not big into reefers but maybe it'svery slow out of NC for produce. IMO if you haul one of these "repositioning" loads after sitting for 3 days a couple times a month then it may be better in the long run to do so. But again, what is the dispatch doing?

 

[Doggie Daddy]

Vinnie I do not think that cowboyz bought that expensive T-val unit to haul produce with.And as to your question on what dispatch is doing?It doesn't sound like they are doing much.

 

[Vinnie T]

>Vinnie I do not think that cowboyz bought that expensive
>T-val unit to haul produce with.And as to your question on
>what dispatch is doing?It doesn't sound like they are doing
>much.

I hear ya there! None of us spend 20k for an expedite van to 150k for a big rig to sit on our butts and not make money!

 

[wheeljam]

How many dispatchers are actually looking for loads, or are they just sitting around waiting to be called ???

 

[Vinnie T]

>How many dispatchers are actually looking for loads, or are
>they just sitting around waiting to be called ???


I can tell you with certainty a VAST majority of expedite firms do not plan thier trucks, but wait for the phone to ring or a load to pop up on the internet to bid on. Then again with such a selective customer base that expedites frieght there isn't many other alternatives unless your company hauls some non-expedite moves as well. Sitting a a must in this biz!