Could be...my thinking is pure opinion as is anyone's else's and doesn't really sit well with some. I feel we will never see the "busy" we've seen before.
Your thinking is clouded (or blinded) to some extent to automotive freight. Production line shortages are not everything that is carried on expedite trucks these days. In fact, the carriers with a more diverse freight base don't rely on it at all. It is an amazing realization when you actually see the difference. Those who have been in the automotive expedite arena for most of their career fully believe that everything revolves around automotive assembly lines. Those that know better couldn't care less about automotive assembly lines...to an extent. To the extent that as automotive slows, the competition for the non-auto freight increases...that's really about the only concern for a diversified company. I have been leased to both.Could be...my thinking is pure opinion as is anyone's else's and doesn't really sit well with some. I feel we will never see the "busy" we've seen before.
Your thinking is clouded (or blinded) to some extent to automotive freight. Production line shortages are not everything that is carried on expedite trucks these days. In fact, the carriers with a more diverse freight base don't rely on it at all. It is an amazing realization when you actually see the difference. Those who have been in the automotive expedite arena for most of their career fully believe that everything revolves around automotive assembly lines. Those that know better couldn't care less about automotive assembly lines...to an extent. To the extent that as automotive slows, the competition for the non-auto freight increases...that's really about the only concern for a diversified company. I have been leased to both.
I agree. But, that doesn't translate to slow freight for everyone from now on. I also think that our world may be changing soon. That's what I read into some of the changes being made anyway. Wishful thinking?So have I , my last carrier only did about 30% auto.. Unfortunately me, you or Xiggi are in a primary auto world for NOW,,,,
Or under a contract with an expedite carrier.I just heard from a little birdy that all of the Case New Holland loads that used to be on NLM are now being posted on another board.
Production line shortages are not everything that is carried on expedite trucks these days. In fact, the carriers with a more diverse freight base don't rely on it at all. It is an amazing realization when you actually see the difference. Those who have been in the automotive expedite arena for most of their career fully believe that everything revolves around automotive assembly lines. Those that know better couldn't care less about automotive assembly lines...to an extent. To the extent that as automotive slows, the competition for the non-auto freight increases...that's really about the only concern for a diversified company. I have been leased to both.
All Iam saying is IMO I don't think we will ever see the load volumes like in the past! Even if we do there are thousands of trucks more to compete with
I agree. But, that doesn't translate to slow freight for everyone from now on. I also think that our world may be changing soon. That's what I read into some of the changes being made anyway. Wishful thinking?
I don't think what we are seeing is slow automotive vs slow overall. Reading all the other carrier forums seems to me everyone is feeling it. I speak with a number of the execs at the different carriers and it is a broad base slowdown this last 45 days.
That mantra is long dead, down here at the sprinter level...I'm a firm believer that brokers and dispatchers don't drive, that or they are so stuck in the 70s and have no clue what it costs to run a truck on the road these days! Say no to cheap freight!!!!!
That mantra is long dead, down here at the sprinter level...
and yet carriers are trying to expand and keep putting on CV's & sprinters or some just maintaining fleet size when in fact they should be reducing....IMO
IF I were a betting man we have in excess of at least at a minimum a good 5,000 more vans competing for the same loads in a weak market then we did in 2006...
Just look at these boards and see who is running.....the cheaper, the busier....The Load 1 types are almost at a stop and the .80 - .90 guys are running...
I don't think what we are seeing is slow automotive vs slow overall. Reading all the other carrier forums seems to me everyone is feeling it. I speak with a number of the execs at the different carriers and it is a broad base slowdown this last 45 days.
So many scream about Capitalism and lost freedoms, too much competition, etc. until freight gets slow and rates go down! Then they want price supports. LOL.
I envy your vantage point. As a motor carrier with hundreds of trucks, you can see the big picture and statistical trends that are not readily visible to individual owner-operators. It's one thing to track what you do in your truck and compare it to previous months and years. I would love to have visibility into the entire carrier and even the entire expedite fleet to better understand the big picture.
LOL.....ain't that the truth....get out of my sandbox....
I think like a lot of business with easy points of entry (like the van market), when things are or were good the segment fills up to the point of capacity or over capacity. You see this less as the barriers to entry ($$$$) increase. Thus the straight truck and tractor market are better insulated from this.