[Turtle]

The average expedited load, team or solo, is about 300 miles. That's it. And since there are far fewer really long runs in the first place, that should tell you that there are a snotload of short runs. That being said, if you keep getting offered short runs, mini's in particular, then you're in an area that has mostly short runs. Leave. Get out. Go. Or that's all you'll get.

If you accept a lot of minis, trust me, dispatchers know that, and they'll start throwing mini after mini your way until you refuse more than they can throw at you. I've seen it time and time again, and in rare moments when dispatch supervisors have let their guard down they have said as much.

You used to run 1200-2500 miles a week as a solo, or so you said. Well, you didn't do that by accepting nothing but short runs, nor did you do it by sitting in an area that is bloated with short runs. You'll get the loads that come up, team or solo, and if you're in an area that's loaded with mini's, that's what you'll get. Did you not notice any of this the whole time you were a solo driver?

One of the problems with most minis is, as you have noticed, they come out of an area that is loaded with minis, and go a short distance to yet another area loaded with minis. Or not even minis, just short runs. Wooster to Chilicothe, deadhead to wait a day, or two, then Dayton to Defiance, wait a day, or two, then Van Wert to Bucyrus, then wait a day or two... pretty soon the weeks' gone and you've got like 800 miles to show for it. But, they're all right there in those precious "freight lanes" that they talk about in orientation and over the phone. Got to get back to those freight lanes, many drivers say. Yeah, there are a bazillion vans sitting there, right smack dab in the middle of the freight lanes, all complaining about only getting one short run a day or every other day. Well, duh. That's why I don't much like Detroit, as I mostly get offered minis, or worse, minis across the border. Oh, sure, you get a First Out after one of those, then you can sit there along side of 17 others who got First Outs after their mini, too.

Or, you can do like I do, and maybe take one of them, cause the loads gotta be covered and all that jazz, plus you do get the First Out, which you don't lose when you turn down another mini, and then turn down load after load after load, Acceptance Rate being a non-issue, until I get a load offer that I like. I've turned down 8 in one day before. Several times. I don't care. I'm neither a cherry picker, nor a fool, as both will eventually get you into trouble. I like that my acceptance is usually in the 90-100% range, but my Acceptance Rate is was down on the list of things to worry about. Profitable or not is the main thing. If they load's not profitable, or isn't a means to get me to a place where I can be profitable, I'll refuse it.

There are places where you can run several minis in one day, though, if you're the only one around. Provided the loads are there to begin with, of course. You can't do that in the midwest where you'll deliver and then sit for two more days just to get another mini, or drop to the bottom of the board looking up at #11 on a 3-a-day board. No thanks. Get me outta Dodge.

You know that bullseye? Stay out of it.

People say there are too many vans and Panther should quit hiring. Well, that's not really the case. Part of the problem is Panther's insane mentality of promoting fleet owners for cargo vans, cause if you're on a 60/40 split in a cargo van, anything less than about 500 miles isn't worth getting out of bed for, especially if it's one that you'll deliver and then have to sit another day or two before you get the next load. A solo that owns his own van can afford to take a 200 mile run, but if you drive for someone else, you can't.

There's too many vans, not enough freight! Yeah, that's true, in the freight lanes. Part of the glut of vans is because there are too many of them for the freight in certain areas. People luv those freight lanes, cause they're close to home, I guess, and there is always lots of loads there. You can look at the boards, and people see 8 a day - 16 vans, next closest board is 6 a day - 11 vans, the list goes on and one, most of them showing twice as many vans as there are loads. People say there are too many vans. Well, yeah, people are turning down loads at a rate that they need twice as many vans to cover half as many loads.

People who rarely get out of the freight lanes see that, nothing but that, and think there are too many vans. But, you get away from all that and see boards with 3 a day - 0 vans, 2 a day - 1 van, 2 a day - 0 vans. That list goes on and on, too.

It's like Leo says, be in the right place at the right time. Lost in the middle of that bullseye is rarely the right place, regardless of the time. There are simply too many people who live there, are sitting at home in-service, waiting on a load.