How low?

[tknight]

Just how low are you willing to go to get the heck out of dodge? I've never been willing to go below my min per mile but it's getting harder every day to hook the minnows even . I never had trouble getting loads at 2.00 pm but after the 8 months down with that blown motor and coming back in again it's been way harder . My stubborn streak is beginning to soften I'm afraid and may be the reason I'm having a hard time getting loads other than the fact idiots are are plentiful out there. I still think doing hrs of deadhead is stupid and won't do it , just takes hrs out of what could be a lucrative load , glad it's ballet season and shows need to travel !

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Just how low are you willing to go to get the heck out of dodge? I've never been willing to go below my min per mile but it's getting harder every day to hook the minnows even . I never had trouble getting loads at 2.00 pm but after the 8 months down with that blown motor and coming back in again it's been way harder . My stubborn streak is beginning to soften I'm afraid and may be the reason I'm having a hard time getting loads other than the fact idiots are are plentiful out there. I still think doing hrs of deadhead is stupid and won't do it , just takes hrs out of what could be a lucrative load , glad it's ballet season and shows need to travel !

are you adjusting for the lower FSC?.....some guys are still thinking like its 4 bucks a gallon still......the FSC is almost non existent now leaving the just the linehaul rate exposed....

In my case....that low end price 2 years ago had to be adjusted for the over 50% drop in fuel.
my bottom number looks like cheap azz freight numbers...LOL
Many members have only been around in high fuel day like $4 range with uber high FSC, now they are seeing closer to what is really the true price...

 

[tknight]

The lower fuel price only drops my rate by most .20 cents tolls and maintenance as well as insurance and wear and tear have steadily gone skyward on the average fuel savings has maybe gone down average .15 per mile just because Ohio is 2.40 pa is still 2.60+ and my is even higher

A friend of mine just paid 2400 for steer tires alignment and pm on his truck at a service center where labor was 140 an hr he told me the sprinter rate was 160 and rv rates were even higher which I understand it's their way of saying take it elsewhere we don't want to work on it!!!

 

[OntarioVanMan]

The lower fuel price only drops my rate by most .20 cents tolls and maintenance as well as insurance and wear and tear have steadily gone skyward on the average fuel savings has maybe gone down average .15 per mile just because Ohio is 2.40 pa is still 2.60+ and my is even higher

Unfortunately brokers don't care what our insurance rates are or our wear and tear...and thats what is killing us out here.....most brokers or carriers just don't know what it cost to run a unit out here or they just don't care....or they wouldn't offer such cheap crap....there is no carrier exempt to this from what I've seen...none!

 

[Ragman]

Unfortunately brokers don't care what your insurance rates are or your wear and tear...and thats what is killing us out here.....most brokers or carriers just don't know what it cost to run a unit out here and they just don't care....or they wouldn't offer such cheap crap....there is no carrier exempt to this from what I've seen...none!

Playing devil's advocate....... Why should a broker care?.....it's not their job.... Their job is to find a freight mover..,...... Ours is to do the moving.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Playing devil's advocate....... Why should a broker care?.....it's not their job.... Their job is to find a freight mover..,...... Ours is to do the moving.

Playing devils advocate as well.....why should a carrier care?....I've seen them play the high roller image while pushing their cheap stuff thru their brokerage division....they have to move their customers freight in the price range that customer is willing to pay....

 

[coalminer]

I feel your pain on the rates and lack of loads, they just can't bid them low enough to get anything off the load boards. I delivered in New Jersey Monday morning, had to deadhead back to Cleveland because my seat broke, and have not had anything since.

I think I am going to park my truck and go back to Florida and go to the local truck driving school to get my class a.

 

[tknight]

I feel your pain on the rates and lack of loads, they just can't bid them low enough to get anything off the load boards. I delivered in New Jersey Monday morning, had to deadhead back to Cleveland because my seat broke, and have not had anything since.

I think I am going to park my truck and go back to Florida and go to the local truck driving school to get my class a.

Need an air ride seat ?

 

[coalminer]

Need an air ride seat ?

I was able to fix it, was a spring ride (my truck has hydraulic brakes) there was 2 bolts that hold a rod that the springs attach to, one of them broke off, once I pulled it all apart and extracted the old one, put 2 new ones in and it was good to go.

You don't know how much those springs do until you have to drive without it, boy was I in pain by the time I got back home....

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Just how low are you willing to go to get the heck out of dodge? I've never been willing to go below my min per mile but it's getting harder every day to hook the minnows even . I never had trouble getting loads at 2.00 pm but after the 8 months down with that blown motor and coming back in again it's been way harder . My stubborn streak is beginning to soften I'm afraid and may be the reason I'm having a hard time getting loads other than the fact idiots are are plentiful out there. I still think doing hrs of deadhead is stupid and won't do it , just takes hrs out of what could be a lucrative load , glad it's ballet season and shows need to travel !

Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water.

As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly.
The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature...

Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore...

At that point the frog decides to jump out...

The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature...

Very soon the frog dies.

What killed the frog?

Many of us would say the boiling water...

But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.

We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to confront/face.

There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action...

If we allow people to exploit us mentally and financially, they will continue to do so...

We have to decide when to jump.

Let us jump while we still have the strength.

Think on It !!

 

[tknight]

What time is dinner ready you've made me hungry, thanks!!!!!

 

[JohnWC]

True true true problem is the top half is still making the same as before
They want us to adjust our prices so they can still make the same

 

[neilblack]

I feel your pain on the rates and lack of loads, they just can't bid them low enough to get anything off the load boards. I delivered in New Jersey Monday morning, had to deadhead back to Cleveland because my seat broke, and have not had anything since.

I think I am going to park my truck and go back to Florida and go to the local truck driving school to get my class a.

And to what end would a class A do for you?

 

[Worn Out Manager]

Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water.

As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly.
The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature...

Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore...

At that point the frog decides to jump out...

The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature...

Very soon the frog dies.

What killed the frog?

Many of us would say the boiling water...

But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.

We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to confront/face.

There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action...

If we allow people to exploit us mentally and financially, they will continue to do so...

We have to decide when to jump.

Let us jump while we still have the strength.

Think on It !!

WOW! That is a super good response. I had to check because I thought it was Turtle posting


And to answer the question that started this post, my carrier has offered .50 to .65¢ with no FSC to get back out of the dead zone, which sucks - but (IMHO) is better than sitting. Are they pocketing the difference or finding cheap loads to get me back in the game? Either way, I move closer where I can get a load at full price.

 

[Turtle]

WOW! That is a super good response. I had to check because I thought it was Turtle posting.

Turtle would not use the boiling frog metaphor, because, being an amphibian himself, he knows the frog would jump out as soon as he became uncomfortably warm, and that the boiling frog myth originated in 19th century junk science.

Turtle would be much more likely to use the metaphor of shock absorbers wearing out so gradually that by the time they're completely shot, your butt doesn't know the difference.

 

[Ragman]

 

[blizzard2014]

lol Turtle is Google! His brain is an endless computer database full of information!

 

[blizzard2014]

True true true problem is the top half is still making the same as before
They want us to adjust our prices so they can still make the same

This isn't always the case. I worked for a smaller carrier in 2008 when the recession hit and they used to pay 60 percent of the gross load pay. After the recession hit and they had to bid lower to win loads, they changed the pay split to 70/30. They had to downsize from a very nice office at the Willow Run Air Port in Ypsilanti. They also had to cut some of their staff in order to remain competitive. This is a company that has 20 tractors and maybe 15 cargo vans and sprinters. I have gotten loads from Express 1 out of Nogales where they claimed they only made five bucks off the load while paying me my 70 cents per mile with preferred customer FSC. They didn't have a percentage there. They paid 70 CPM for NLM loads plus fuel surcharge and 80 cents per mile plus FSC for other customers. I think everyone is hurting right now. That's why you see carriers buying up 3PL's and you see expedite carriers like Bolt and Tristate getting into the regular trucking industry. The expedite loads just don't pay what they used to these days. I don't think it is going to get any better either. It's like the taxi industry now. Low pay and high turnover!

 

[Worn Out Manager]

This isn't always the case. I worked for a smaller carrier in 2008 when the recession hit and they used to pay 60 percent of the gross load pay. After the recession hit and they had to bid lower to win loads, they changed the pay split to 70/30. They had to downsize from a very nice office at the Willow Run Air Port in Ypsilanti. They also had to cut some of their staff in order to remain competitive. This is a company that has 20 tractors and maybe 15 cargo vans and sprinters. I have gotten loads from Express 1 out of Nogales where they claimed they only made five bucks off the load while paying me my 70 cents per mile with preferred customer FSC. They didn't have a percentage there. They paid 70 CPM for NLM loads plus fuel surcharge and 80 cents per mile plus FSC for other customers. I think everyone is hurting right now. That's why you see carriers buying up 3PL's and you see expedite carriers like Bolt and Tristate getting into the regular trucking industry. The expedite loads just don't pay what they used to these days. I don't think it is going to get any better either. It's like the taxi industry now. Low pay and high turnover!

Oh what a thought. Think about what Uber has done to the Taxi industry. It is only a matter of time until an APP arrives for our industry that posts freight available and EVERY driver see's it and the first one that bites gets it! No Bolt, no TriState, no Panther - Think shark feeding frenzy. Think 5 times the number of expediters supplementing there "day job" income with freight runs. Our full time jobs will be the scraps that are left behind. WOW, now even I am depressed!

 

[Worn Out Manager]

Oh, and sorry BLIZZARD, there won't be dispatchers any more.