New Expediter Question

[swiftyexp]

Hello all fellow expediters, I started expediting back in April working for someone else. I received many miles throughout the summer. I had heard through others at truck stops etc. that this business slacks off in the fall-winter. I was getting 2000-3000 miles a week. Since November 1, 2006 I have received only one trip of 600 miles. My question is what is the average miles per week for this time of year. When I started I would get about 1500 miles but as I learned the system I seemed to get more miles. This is very frustrating since I was making good before. I could live with 1500 now but the week before that it was 900. I expect about that this week. I understand it is a waiting game but just wondering how bad this is gonna fall off. Is everyone saw decreases the last month.

Thanks

 

[terryandrene]

Swifty:
Welcome to the Forum.
You've been in this biz long enough to know that this is a hit or miss endeavor if you are leased as an independent contractor to a carrier, and rely solely on that carrier for all of your run opportunities. Expediting has historically been such a lucrative business that new companies seem to be appearing daily and at a pace greater than the market will support.

Competition for market share seems to have become so keen that the underbidding of loads has brought the tariffs back to late '80's early '90's levels. Many of the larger nationwide carriers have overhead that doesn't allow them to consistently take the cheap freight, so they let it go to the small independent operators with their own authority. These latter folks are cutting out the middle-man and showing a profit by keeping all the money. They are also departing from the dedicated use policies of the big guys, taking two or more LTL loads on one truck, and thereby creating a limitation of opportunities for other drivers.

All the above is purely speculation on my part, of course, but I think that it partially explains why this historically very busy time of year is now in the doldrums for many of us. Either that ,or the lack of freight is caused by the effects of El Nino.

 

[swiftyexp]

Yea, I know it is usually hit or miss. I work with a contractor of a pretty good size company. I have had bad weeks like everybody just seems way off last six weeks. Didn't know if election day or season or I am just in a panic. I have not worked during winter before, an was just curious. Since Nov 1st I ran a 450 miler and 200 miler and that was today. I got back in first postion, but with Christmas coming up, No time to slack way off. Well I will just sit here paitently and wait. Thanks for the imput

Swifty

 

[Jefferson3000]

Let's just say that nothing have been typical at all about 2006. Period. Just hang tough.


Drive Safe!

Jeff

 

[davekc]

Terry,
I would say your analysis is alittle closer to reality than speculation.



Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Yep... I'd say Terry hit the nail. Underbidding does nothing but drive down the prices for the rest of us. But who cares about anyone but #1?

"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas

 

[chuckwagon]

That is why we should all join OOIDA and go through them to set a standard minimum rate that WE WOULD all abide by - at least that way there is some agreement within 'our family of drivers' we would not be uncutting each other.

If the others are going to screw us and drive down the prices maybe if we with the OOIDA would stand beside each other we could maybe curtail the falling prices which hurts us all.

 

[RichM]

Chuck this horse has been beat to death many times. You can join all ofthe organizations you want to but the fact is the companies are going to pay what they feel like. There are always people waiting in the wings to take a trip at a lower rate.
Do you actually think all of the expedite drivers would walk off for weeks to drive up rates. You think too much like a union guy. It simply won't work,as THawk said you control your destiny. Do you think that companies care about OOIDA and their agenda. Of course not.

The problem is that expediting is a niche market that presently has capacity greater then the market can return.


Having said all that I agree that rates being offered to the trucks these days are in some cases less that what was offered 12-20 years ago.

 

[highway star]

Well said Rich. I worked for a company that had 4 plants, only one of which was unionized. These people went on strike for the better part of 2 months for a nickel! 6 months later the plant closed and they opened a second one in Mississippi. The unionized plant was consistantly the least productive plant.