Does home base location matter?

paragon · May 31, 2003

Hi guys,

I'm totally new to this expediting business but i'm thinking of giving it a go. i'm based out of Eastern PA in Bethlehem and wondered if this location would be any good. i won't mind being away from home for a couple of weeks at a time and am thinking of going solo with a Cargo Van.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

teacel · May 31, 2003

You and about 500 others are wanting to do the same thing. Read the other threads on this site, then ask yourself the same question. How much work, do all you guys/girls think is out there to deliver, with vans? If you want to deliver one load a week or maybe less, the van is the way to go. If every one that had this thought, wanted to run vans we wouldn’t need and big trucks to deliver the freight, We could just have a convoy of vans delivering all the freight. What a deal!!! There is a need for E units and the D units more so than the vans. I have to say you would be better off in a D unit or an E unit than in a van. GOOD LUCK.

There are well over 2000 topics on this forum and maybe another 3000 replies or more. I would love to know the count of this same question being asked, only for us to give the very same answers to it.

paragon · May 31, 2003

your'e probably right about a C or D unit and I haven't decided not to with one of them. My main concern is my home location and if i will get back home evry 3 weeks and then pick up loads nearby.

thanks for the help

RobZip · May 31, 2003

To some extent home location does matter. There are some areas of the country that are known dead spots, others that have a reputation for being quite active.

Best advice is to talk to drivers in your area and see how they size your area up. Even the best of areas run hot and cold. My home town usually sees 2 B unit dispatches a day - sometimes more. When it goes cold I may not see a dispatch for 3 or 4 days here.

For a long time I was getting a lot of shorty runs - 250 miles or less and mostly severely discounted A loads. Suddenly I've gotten a rash of very good A and B loads ranging from 500 miles to 740+ miles.
Right now expedited freight is trying to rebound but it isn't consistent yet.

teacel · May 31, 2003

I blew right past that part of your question. I run the Philly a lot, and I always see trucks going and coming. My guess is they go in and out of the big apple. I think you are in a fairly good location, and shouldn’t have a problem getting home.

paragon · May 31, 2003

Thanks for the input.

Anyone else out there have knowledge of how busy the loads can be into and out of the Allentown area?

TIA

Larry · May 31, 2003

We need a site for FAQ's. And then list all of the questions with edited answers for newbies and others to see. In the past two years we have seen this questions one hundred times in one form or another: "I am thinking about getting into this business, what do I need to know.?" Rather than go through the history in this site, people will just sit back and wait for someone to give them the answers they are hoping for. I am willing to bet the house that over half the people that get into expediting do not last one year and loose their truck &/or their good credit rating!! If you do not think this is true, go back 18 months or more and pull the handles of people that were frequently active on this site. Then send out a call to see how many are still around. Many of them came right out and said their good-by's to the rest of us.

Drive Safe

paragon · May 31, 2003

in reply to Larry,

I have made a search of all postings including archived for information on loads into or out of Allentown. I got 4 hits, none of which gave me any useful information. It appears i have upset some of the regular contributors to this forum, that was not my intention and i apologize to anyone that i offended.

I merely want to find out if Allentown, PA is a good or bad place to br based. Thats it.

Again, thanks in advance.

Weave · Jun 1, 2003

Yes, home base matters if you like to get back there.
I get a ton of D loads out of western PA, mostly in the hills where the wimpy trucks don't like to go. Warren, Corry, St Marys, etc. They are usually heavy loads of powdered metal that go to casting plants. Western PA is a good place for expedited freight for D and E units, I don't know about vans there though.
-Weave-

Larry · Jun 1, 2003

Paragon:
I didn't mean to suggest your question was not important (i.e. homebase). But rather I was referring to Tony's comment about 2000 postings and the redundancy of so many of the questions. In particular the questions from new or potential expeditors that do not take the time to read earlier postings. There is a lot of really good material out there, if people would just read it.

Good luck and Drive Safe

teacel · Jun 4, 2003

Thanks Larry for the support, and that great idea. Just in case it was over looked I will pass that info onto the right people.

Paragon, There wasn’t the need for an apology, for you didn’t rouse any feathers. I sometimes put the wrong wording, or expressions in these posts. At times my timing may also be off. I was just making a general statement to all the forum members, and not just you. Most of the time when I respond to a thread, I generalize that reply for the entire community. When a member asks a question, 20 or 30 others may have wanted to ask the very same thing, but didn’t. We have a lot of members that will read the boards every day hoping someone ask their question. I think the only dumb question is the one not ask. In all honesty I don’t really care if 100 members, ask the same question 100 times. I may :censoredsign:

and moan, but will no doubt answer all 100. If you or anyone else on the forum, asks a question, that pisses me off, OH WELL!!! I guess I’ll just have to get over it.

prescat · Jun 4, 2003

Paragon, I live near you and run a "D" unit as a team. (Actually about 40 miles East of A-town). There is a lot of freight here and, it seems like NOT a lot of expeditors that live around here in NJ/NE Pennsylvania! When I started expediting over a year ago, they always
tried to sell me on the fact that "I live in a great area for getting home!" That's great for me except I have no burning desire to get home (I stay out 6 to 8 weeks usually), and every time I swing in, the company calls and begs me to do a run since I'm the only one sitting here. (Besides, I'm from here and can't stand it). I realize my circumstances are different, (unfortunately, my kid is almost 22) but I saw two things in your original post that concerned me. First of all Teacel is right on target! If you want to make some real money, get the ball rolling in a D Unit. In a D, you can always take a b load, but not the other way. Second of all, if you need to be home "every couple of weeks", you're either not gonna be happy or you're not going to make money. That's not a dig, it's just that for the aggravation of staying out and being away from your girlfriend/ friends/family, 2 weeks won't make you the money. You might be better off with a regional dedicated van/box truck run. The advertise a lot of them in the Newark Star-Ledger/Morning Call ETC. Good luck with whatever you decide. It's a nice business and most expeditors are great people. We've made some great friends!

PRESCAT

vernon946 · Jun 5, 2003

Paragon, we live in VA but find our C Truck in Allentown frequently. Our only complaint with the area is that we seldom get to sit more that a few hours.

We have found it to be just as good sitting in the Phillipsburg area or in Allentown proper. Most of our runs from the area have been team C loads.

If your plan is to be home every few weeks, plan on your expenses being higher than necessary and your income less. About 3 weeks out gives you time to maybe get a natural swing back to your area instead of deadheading home from MO.

Vernon

paragon · Jun 5, 2003

Thanks to everyone for the input, it's really helpfull. I've been thinking a D unit would be right and i guess you guys have confirmed that. i just have to decide who to lease on with.

Thanks again.

msdelaware · Jun 5, 2003

Well, I beleive that some companies seem to do a lot better in the East than others. So I guess it may matter who you run for. The company I'm leased to does not do alot of freight out this area, but we sure bring it in. Friends of mine leased to other companies get about 3 offers a day. It's all luck sometimes. Right place, right time ect.....

geo · Jun 12, 2003

allentown is a good area as you are able to hit about 6 express center
and if you have a c/d unit is better than a van if you have a load on
you don't have to sleep with the load as some van drives do
besides allentown , your are close to philly, harrisburg, wilk baar,
trenton, newark, and a few others

Youngin · Jun 16, 2003

Just throwing in my 2 cents from the peanut gallery..if you REALLY want to live in a great express center, Move to Chicago and base out of Elk Grove Village. Anyone that has gone there will tell you it is a fantastic expres center. I don't get to go there very often, but when I do i Always get great loads out of there. Just a thought!}>