We O/O's have to MAKE a profit

[OntarioVanMan]

Celadon Group Hauls Less Freight, Doubles Profit | Journal of Commerce

From the article above:

As truckload capacity tightens, carriers such as Celadon increasingly are dedicating their equipment to the most profitable shipments or “cherry picking” freight. That’s contributed to a solid increase in profitability at truckload carriers such as Heartland Express, Werner Enterprises and J.B. Hunt Transport Services.

A note to dispatchers in expedite.......Some loads deserve to be left on the dock....all loads are NOT good loads....a load is NOT just a load....We O/O's have to MAKE a profit as well...

 

[ATeam]

Yes, we owner-operators have to make a profit, but notice how the companies mentioned in the article did it: Cost cutting and improved freight selection.

They did not have the option to improve freight selection during the Great Recession. They do now as truck capacity tightens.

This is the strategy summed up in the word of some here on EO when they say "Drive less, make more."

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

Considering "some "vanners" weren't always "vanners"
Maybe lowly vanners know more then the "dumb" truck driver types...eh?...

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Yes, we owner-operators have to make a profit, but notice how the companies mentioned in the article did it: Cost cutting and improved freight selection.

They did not have the option to improve freight selection during the Great Recession. They do now as truck capacity tightens.

This is the strategy summed up in the word of some here on EO when they say "Drive less, make more."

I am NOT big on complicated numbers Phil...but a cursory overview of my numbers indicate..less miles, more profit...

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Once a vanner, always a vanner...

Oh, and it's "than", not "then"..Welcome to America, now speak proper English...



Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

Oh great another grammar cop.....

 

[greg334]

Well that would be all great, making more money is but until the rates gain some in this market, many still accept that $1.60 is a good thing.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Well that would be all great, making more money is but until the rates gain some in this market, many still accept that $1.60 is a good thing.

Greg...You remember what 4-5 yrs ago in here guys would not even consider turning the key for that much.....now they are talking $1.25 - 1.40 is a good rate...

 

[greg334]

Yeah I know but it seems that the money is there and will be there but the carriers don't want to put the effort into getting it.

The other night I had one guy over the house who works for one of these expediting companies and he was all giddy that he got an offer for $1.45 a mile for the load I turned down two hours earlier for $1.90 a mile, I turned it down because I was already booked. They could not find anyone to take the load so they put it out on one of the boards and this company won the bid but didn't have a truck for it until they called him. Same load, same pick up number and same everything except the rate. I know the customer and know what they get charged but what can you do if the company doesn't want to work.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Yeah I know but it seems that the money is there and will be there but the carriers don't want to put the effort into getting it.

The other night I had one guy over the house who works for one of these expediting companies and he was all giddy that he got an offer for $1.45 a mile for the load I turned down two hours earlier for $1.90 a mile, I turned it down because I was already booked. They could not find anyone to take the load so they put it out on one of the boards and this company won the bid but didn't have a truck for it until they called him. Same load, same pick up number and same everything except the rate. I know the customer and know what they get charged but what can you do if the company doesn't want to work.

I too have seen the money Greg....some of the rates I've gotten compared to flat rate are..well off the chart...
.20 - .30 cents a mile on average, in itself doesn't sound like a lot...but over the year really makes a difference.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I'm still curious as to what you consider to be a reasonable profit for a vanner, especially with all the competition you've got.



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All this competition is because it is just too easy to get into a van....and carriers have been well...just under valuating vans...IMO $1.20 - $1.25 would be a much better rate. There is very little wiggle room at $1.00 or less. Some carriers IMO treat us as throw aways....

 

[chefdennis]

Well as i said in another thread, my last run was less then my avg in the last 6 months, and it was for $1.28 all miles and it was for 791 total miles.....in my lowly CV..

So yea, I'll continue to "Vacation" on over a $1.30 a mile in a CV.... Well over a $1.30...and the numbers are on the Fleet vision to be seen, just stop by...since I am "Driving Less and making more"...i shouldn't be hard to find....well unless i am at a football game or race or a little league baseball game..one has to have a good time while on VAcation"....

 

[OntarioVanMan]

So Expediting in a van is not a real job?

 

[tenntrucker]

So Expediting in a van is not a real job?

Is this a revelation you just had?

Sent from my DROID X2

 

[Brisco]

Considering "some "vanners" weren't always "vanners"
Maybe lowly vanners know more then the "dumb" truck driver types...eh?...

All this competition is because it is just too easy to get into a van....and carriers have been well...just under valuating vans...IMO $1.20 - $1.25 would be a much better rate. There is very little wiggle room at $1.00 or less. Some carriers IMO treat us as throw aways....

If "lowly vanners" did know more than the "dumb truck driver" types, then what are they doing in a "Van"??

Yes OVM, you are a "throw away" contract driver, plain and simple. It is much easier for a Carrier to replace a Cargo Van than it is for them to replace ST's and 18 wheelers. Less restrictions, less paperwork, lower costs to both them and the CV owners, and so on. CV's are a dime a dozen out there. If you don't want to accept their .72 cents a mile plus .12 cent surcharge rate, they could have you replaced within 3 days out of a pool of dozens of other "CV Owners" from all over the country that are willing to accept that rate.

This also relates to the "Courier-Delivery" type of services that are abundant here in heavily populated areas like DFW and such. Courier companies advertise looking for all types of vehicles. They are always looking for Economy Cars up to 28ft Box Trucks. They have a whole gammit of people applying for courier positions. Out of 50 applicants, 40 of 'em will be Economy Car drivers, thus leading to higher % percentage rates and better load offers to the ones that have the Cargo Vans, the little Box Trucks, and the big 28ft Box Trucks just so that they don't have to keep replacing them.

Same logic applies to trucking overall. There's more money to be made with larger load carrying vehicles, IE-Straight Trucks and TT's. So again, Cargo Vans in general are a dime a dozen. And if anyone thinks they "deserve" bigger truck rates, well....that's just ridiculous.

 

[sassy_1210]

Exactly, almost all the vanners I know are vanners because they're unemployed and cant find a real job. There's a big surplus now and carriers know it.



Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

I am not a "vanner" because I was unemployed.
I was in a job that wasn't going anywhere, (a customer service representative for Verizon Wireless). I have received a couple job offers back home since being on the road. But I enjoy what I do out here and make more money than I could at home.


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[chefdennis]

Yeap, just a umemployed van driver here...well retired, still own 3 businesses and driving what some would consider a RV that will aul freight and enjoying my Vacation and getting ST rates for the most part in my lowly van driven by and unemployed bum....**** i am having a good time....

I wonder if the guy that is going to drive my "other" CV (starting next monday) when he parks the ST (this Friday) he is driving now thinks he can't make good money...i mean why else would he park a ST and get into a CV if not!?!?

I think I'll go to Logans Steak/Roadhouse for lunch to make myself feel better about being a low life CV driver....

Think I should shaven and put on a T-shirt that doesn't have 3 holes in the gut!?!?

 

[chefdennis]

if anyone thinks a Customer Service Rep (sales rep) at a company owned Verizon store is a "minimum wage job", you all need to get out of the truck for a while....LOL, thats just funny..

 

[60MPH]

If "lowly vanners" did know more than the "dumb truck driver" types, then what are they doing in a "Van"??

Yes OVM, you are a "throw away" contract driver, plain and simple. It is much easier for a Carrier to replace a Cargo Van than it is for them to replace ST's and 18 wheelers. Less restrictions, less paperwork, lower costs to both them and the CV owners, and so on. CV's are a dime a dozen out there. If you don't want to accept their .72 cents a mile plus .12 cent surcharge rate, they could have you replaced within 3 days out of a pool of dozens of other "CV Owners" from all over the country that are willing to accept that rate.

This also relates to the "Courier-Delivery" type of services that are abundant here in heavily populated areas like DFW and such. Courier companies advertise looking for all types of vehicles. They are always looking for Economy Cars up to 28ft Box Trucks. They have a whole gammit of people applying for courier positions. Out of 50 applicants, 40 of 'em will be Economy Car drivers, thus leading to higher % percentage rates and better load offers to the ones that have the Cargo Vans, the little Box Trucks, and the big 28ft Box Trucks just so that they don't have to keep replacing them.

Same logic applies to trucking overall. There's more money to be made with larger load carrying vehicles, IE-Straight Trucks and TT's. So again, Cargo Vans in general are a dime a dozen. And if anyone thinks they "deserve" bigger truck rates, well....that's just ridiculous.

I don't know about some of these other vanners, but I charge more to move my van than some of these D & E units get paid at some of these carriers. My minimum rate for a van is what a TL carrier charges to move there customers freight including FSC. If the customer wants it moved in a timely fashion (not ltl) then at minimum they are going to pay TL rate no mater what size the load actually is. The industry can bare these rates, the problem is some small carriers have no idea what they can really charge.

 

[The Enemy]

As one of those unemployed losers that became a van driver, I'll tell you abit about my self. I am college educated, have ran a business that my location netted over $5 mill a year, all my previous jobs since I was 20 yo have been above $20 an hour. The job I left to come out here on the road for was running the mailing department at a big printing company. Reason I left all that behind? So I can be my own boss and actually enjoy my life instead of being under the corporate thumb. I now make money and enjoy my life, and trust me its not at $0.84 per mile.

Oh and BTW. since you just joined last night it seems all you are trying to do is **** people off and belittle them.

 

[chefdennis]

LOL, "the sissy"!?!? LOL, reduced to calling names already...

Oh and you are right, neither of those jobs are "unskilled"..and they are both high paying....

The Enemy wrote:

Oh and BTW. since you just joined last night it seems all you are trying to do is **** people off and belittle them.

the same oldtired questions over and over again for a few weeks...it never fails, its like clock work...ban one, 3-5 more newbies with the same "stuff"....lol

Ever notice that after someone gets "banned", there is an "influx" of newbies doing exactly what Enemy stated above and also asking