greg334
Veteran Expediter
Appearances are deceiving.
A lot of "successful" drivers are solo and that is based on what success is - not some misconceive notion that many believe qualifies as success defined by others but what an individual defines success as.
I'm very successful, not because I make the "BIG" bucks even though I make above the average at this point but because I learned and continue to learn about this business but more importantly I choose to do what I want when I want to while having direct input on my work.
A lot of those who are led to believe that success is being well "company" qualified to make the "BIG" bucks while at the same time have the super duper truck that they think attract attention and more business.
There are a few solos who actually make more than teams and many more who make it a success in this business than teams. They are not uncommon but again they are also not thinking life begins and ends with the qualcomm beep.
As Cheri pointed out, solos have to work harder but in reality team members as individuals who follow the FMCSA logging rules, also are in the same boat. There really isn't a bit of difference, I've been on a team and thought it was just as much work, so I prefer being a solo because of some of the "hassles" involved with being a team.
The reality is not that teams can keep the truck moving, the reality it is the company who wants to keep the capacity available so they can "capture" revenue by locating a load through a bid board or some partner agreement. Ones with actually customers seem not to care either way, the freight gets there and everyone is happy. The other half of this (those who "are in the know" can dispute it but know its true) that most freight is not time sensitive so teams are not an actual "requirement" to get it there "on time". As I said in another thread, the idea that freight is time sensitive comes from three distinct parts of this work, the shipper, the consignee and/or the carrier and most of the work we actually get has one of those three deciding on how "hot" the freight is. I learned an important lesson dispatching - some of this freight comes from bidding on it and the carrier will make it 'HOT' because of the lag in the time line during the bidding process. A lot of that freight is LTL stuff that needs to get off the dock and moved. One company, the one that is sinking, puts the time sensitive stamp on EVERYTHING to make it easier for their hired office help to deal with other matters, so everything there has to be done yesterday.