Cargo Van How real is the "second-month slowdown"?

[Wolfhouse]

Hey everyone, just wanted to chime back in with an update. In the first month, I got 7000 miles. Which at .60 a mile (60% of .80/mile + .14/mile fsc), is a good amount of income. Ok. Lots of lessons learned on the road in the first month, and Im sure many many more to come. However, I have read in previous threads that many companies will throw a majority of the loads to newbies (<1 month) to keep them on the hook and by the second month, it will decrease drastically.

I'm writing this thread because I feel I may have fallen victim to this and, if not, I don't know what I'm doing wrong, even after strategizing with my fleet owner for the past week.

Background: Went almost every day in September with at least 1 load offer (5 days none, mostly weekends/wednesdays). After my one month, got a decent offer for 700+ miles to NC. Following that drop-off, got an offer that turned into a dry run. Since then, which was 4 days ago (a Monday), I haven't received a single offer on a very active board with a first-out. Now, I know my company does not assign based on board position, but 4 straight days of inactivity in an active area is new to me. Is this the norm after the first month, or should I be doing something different?

(More stats: Been active non-stop for over 4 weeks (I know, I know, it might sound like child's play to veterans, but that's every day since I've been able), 100% load acceptance with 100% on time).

 

[Living the dream]

Depends on the company you are leased to. I've been very busy. I own 3 transit an a 1 straight truck an they sit no longer then 2 days. Should be busy like this until xmas. Then you be lucky if u get 10 loads a month from January to February. Match gets very crazy. Like I said it depends on who you are lease to.

 

[Solar]

It’s really important to stay active with your dispatch. Everyone has their own style, so no matter how you word it, you need to make sure that they know you’re sitting too long, and it’s not kosher.

I know you have stressed that the area that you’re in is “active”, but think about it, they only make money if you’re moving. They want you to be moving loads.

There are situations where you can bring a load in on a Thursday night to Friday morning and miss a weekend load, have a Monday be some bs government holiday/day off, and miss on a Tuesday and you’re staring at sitting an amount of time like 4-5 days. It’s just a sucky part of the business, I know, I went through exactly that, and wondered if I’d ever get a load again, lol.

Communication, Communication, and more Communication.

 

[JerzyVan79]

I have definitely heard about this slow time but, luckily my dispatcher keeps my wheels a rollin' and, I have so far not seen this mythical "Second Month Slow Down" monster many drivers have reported witnessing


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[Treadmill]

Been doing this biz for the last 20 yrs. Have seen many different scenarios develop. One must remember this job is cyclical and things can change instantly. It happens to the best of us. Just pay attention to where the freight comes available for your company and make a mental note for next time.

 

[Turtle]

You need to keep in mind that it doesn't benefit any carrier or broker to intentionally leave their trucks sitting there empty. There is simply no incentive to do so. Yet people will sometimes have a good first month out of the gate and then a not-as-good of a second month and think that's what's going on.

Another one to keep in mind is, we've seen just as many people have a really crappy first month, and then quit before they've seen a second month. But they're not around 3 or 4 months later to complain about it.