Reefer Trailers buying frenzy

[iceroadtrucker]

I got a text 2 weeks ago From a Friend who is Went to Land Star telling me that Land Star received shipment of 45 Thermo King Reefer Trailers and were waiting on the delivery of 140 more. Any one here about it. Good Golly if this is true then what was said not more than 10 months ago is being put into place. The Expedited Reefer War Begins.

 

[ATeam]

Landstar has been running reefer trailers for years. That purchase of 45 may be nothing more than them cycling out old for new.

 

[LDB]

Is that Landstar Express America where it might impact expediting or another division?

 

[usafk9]

Express doesn't have trailers.

 

[highway star]

A truckload fleet with thousands and thousands of contractors gets a couple hundred new trailers. Is MSNBC covering this breaking news?

 

[Bruno]

With the new regulations on how medical products are transported. The reefer market will have an increase in refrigerated shipments. Most drugs will have to be kept at a certain temperature during transportation, even Advil from what I was told. I haven't confirmed that one yet, but I will try to.

 

[JoeS]

I was told by a good friend of mine that is a Landstar BCO, that a few months ago Landstar put out a message that they were looking for more trucks to pull their reefer trailers and there would be a percentage increase to 80% for those that did.

 

[Moot]

The state of Colorado experienced a reefer buying frenzy in the first few months of 2014.

 

[Ragman]

The state of Colorado experienced a reefer buying frenzy in the first few months of 2014.

A new business for those vans sitting,

 

[Mark Chase]

I am a Landstar BCO. Been driving reefer for them for over a year now and I can say positively with 100% accuracy that Landstar has never and never will buy any reefer trailers. All reefers in the fleet are BCO-owned. Out of the over 10,000 owner operators we have, there are only 82 reefer trailers in our fleet. 24 are operated by teams and 58 are solos. I did a load search this morning and there are more than 500 reefer loads available on our board, but two-thirds of it is crap you wouldn't want to run.

There is a huge opportunity for enterprising individuals in the reefer arena with Landstar. The best paying reefer freight never hits the load board. The agents want late model trucks and low hour reefers to run their high value and hazmat reefer freight. I have a 2016 Cascadia and a 2017 Great Dane/Carrier reefer trailer and I get all the $3.50 per mile freight I can handle. Now I have been called crazy by many a BCO for spending $147K on a brand new truck and $80K on a brand new reefer trailer. I run temperature controlled protect from freeze hazmat freight from November until May and then produce out of Laredo to wherever in the warm months.

Run the numbers. While they are schlepping $1.90 per mile dry freight in Landstar trailers and throwing Landstar 35% of that, I make up to $4 and $5 per mile sometimes ($3.71 average) and I only have to throw Landstar 25%. I don't run cold storage crap so those 3:30am deliveries are out (my beagle Jackson and I cherish our sleep}, and I only run about 9,500 miles per month. Easy on me and easy on my equipment. I'll sell my truck in 4 years for $67K and the trailer for $55K meaning my truck will have cost me $20K per year and my trailer $6K per year, but I gross $421K, I net 299K after Landstar's cut, and I put in my pocket after all expenses $130-140K ($143,500 last year because of lower fuel costs).

I have no debt and I live in a paid off 5 bedroom house on 5 acres with a pool and a little waterfall. I own 4 paid off rental properties (shout out to Dave Ramsey) and I will retire at 57 in 4 years. I don't give a flip whether or not social security will be around when I turn 65. Oh and I almost never break down, agents call me, and I turn down more freight than I book.

This is not difficult people. The easy part is the driving. The hard part for most people is running your business smart and efficiently and getting control of your chaotic life, which includes doing whatever it takes to get out of debt. Debt is such a killer and impediment to success. I know. 15 or so years ago I was a personal mess.

Landstar has really been good for me. Maybe it could be for you too.

Good luck.

 

[CedarMike]

lol . Land star agents do indeed own reefer trailers. A few have tried to rent them to me

 

[CedarMike]

And what's with the Dave Ramsey name drop? 500 bucks for a course on how to not to file bankruptcy and get as many jobs as you can without running up credit cards ? Genius

 

[tknight]

There's something funny there about using the name Colorado and refer in the same sentence!

 

[BigStickJr]

And what's with the Dave Ramsey name drop? 500 bucks for a course on how to not to file bankruptcy and get as many jobs as you can without running up credit cards ? Genius

Mike, you evidently don't understand the whole Dave Ramsey concept.
Go to the library and check out the Total Money Makeover.
There's life changing concepts in there that if you weren't taught elsewhere can be a total game changer for you and your family.

 

[Mark Chase]

Cedar, never said Landstar agents don't own reefer trailers. I said Landstar doesn't own any reefer trailers. Landstar is asset-light. Agents can own anything they want and Landstar agents can book freight outside the Landstar network of drivers. Hell they can own ice cream stores and laundromats too. We are talking about Landstar corporate in Jacksonville, FL.

Focus.

 

[Mark Chase]

As far as Dave Ramsey goes, trust me you didn't want to be me 13 years ago. I arrived at 40 with a negative net worth, a chaotic life-style mainly from pizzing away money in a million different unintelligent ways, chasing broads, buying toys I didn't need and never paying stuff off. I did not file bankruptcy as my income was always enough to get me out of short-term trouble, while never addressing the long-term. I just needed a long-term game plan but mostly will power and a desire to stop letting my situation make me miserable. I was literally sick and tired of being sick and tired, as Ramsey calls it. I read his book and decided to change my life. It may not work for you or others. But you need to hit rock bottom financially like I did. Then you have to say goodbye to the chaos and the debt first. There, just saved you $20 on his book.

Ain't endorsing anything and couldn't care less if anyone buys his book or course. Just telling my story. And Landstar is a big part of that story for me.

 

[brokcanadian]

Thanks for posting numbers on refer freight. I've been curious for a long time. Had to stop listening to Ramsey I don't like the stocks game but the way you did it I agree 100%.

Now in Canada bankruptcy erases tax debt . . . if you prove you don't owe but they take it anyway, it's an easy painless solution . . . stupid CRA...

 

[CedarMike]

Thanks , Stick , think I'll do it the old fashioned way . Like a heathen . Have fun on the way . Money is just paper and you can't take it with you

 

[CedarMike]

As far as Dave Ramsey goes, trust me you didn't want to be me 13 years ago. I arrived at 40 with a negative net worth, a chaotic life-style mainly from pizzing away money in a million different unintelligent ways, chasing broads, buying toys I didn't need and never paying stuff off. I did not file bankruptcy as my income was always enough to get me out of short-term trouble, while never addressing the long-term. I just needed a long-term game plan but mostly will power and a desire to stop letting my situation make me miserable. I was literally sick and tired of being sick and tired, as Ramsey calls it. I read his book and decided to change my life. It may not work for you or others. But you need to hit rock bottom financially like I did. Then you have to say goodbye to the chaos and the debt first. There, just saved you $20 on his book.

Ain't endorsing anything and couldn't care less if anyone buys his book or course. Just telling my story. And Landstar is a big part of that story for me.

Right . We get it . You're a land star cheer leader . Now go help out the ten thousand other BCO's who can't make more than a dollar twenty a mile thank you

 

[Mark Chase]

You're making a buck twenty because of your negativity and lack of a plan to make things better for yourself. Quit complaining. There's no crying in trucking. Improve yourself. Read. Study. Educate. The problem with most truckers is we all think we know every darn thing. For every ten of us we have 14 different opinions. Only you can improve your lot in life. Listen to the tone of your posts. You are angry, miserable, and negative. You can change that. I was you 13 years ago. I had to admit I didn't know every darn thing. Once I was at peace with that I searched for help finding a solution to my financial problems. I devised a plan. Then I worked the plan...... hard. Real hard. Nothing was easy. And nothing was handed to me. Landstar didn't fix me. I fixed me.

You can take my story to heart. You can disregard it. Or you can disagree with it and stay negative. But with regards to the 3rd one, I've got no more time to respond to that garbage. Life's good now. It wasn't back then. My story is not exceptional. It is possible.

Off to Boston with one of the last protect from freeze hazmat loads of this season. Produce season is ramping up and the produce agents are already calling.

Good luck all.