observation

[beachbum20714]

hi,i am a newbie.not yet driving in the expedite biss.still looking after 2yrs.put in apps with some carriers.excepted no problem.just about all i read in here is ''i'm not making any money'',''i have been sitting for 2,3 or more days''.ok,why are you in this biss?where do you live?do you have a home?if you are not making any money doing this ,how do you live?i am looking to get into this biss but all i seem to here is - things.i live in the WASH,DC area,where work is not a problem.i know what you are thinking,''why don't you just stay there''.MONEY.i have been driving for a long time,but know one wants to pay you for what you are worth.they rather hire a SPANISH person to drive for them.$10 an hour is alot to these people.i work with a company that has about 90% spanish working for them.I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SPANISH PEOPLE.i have many spanish friends.the come over my house we hang out.good friends are hard to come by.i am looking to make money plain an simple.i work hard,play hard,etc...i like the open road,not having someone standing over my back.but,i also need to make money.i;m looking to make around $900 or so a week after everything is said and done,fuel,food,showers,tolls if any.is this possible?i have a CDl class b.i drive a 28' box truck 6 sp now.i am certified thru RYDER TRUCK RENTALS to drive a 24' str trk,8 sp split shift w/air brakes.can i mke this money driving a cargo can,or str trk?i'm willing to stay out 2 wks at a time.sorry this post is -,but just want to find out why you guys do this if there is no money to be made.i know from what i have read that some people do make money,and others don't,is it LOAD EXCEPTANCE,ON TIME DEL,WHAT?or is it all you are doing is waiting for a good load.thanks,

 

[ATeam]

Success and satisfaction in expediting has some to do with the state of the industry, but more to do with the choices you make and expectations you have. Jeff Jensen recently wrote a driver profile on Walter Dyksinski, a highly successful and very happy solo driver with FedEx Custom Critical. His story may be of interest to you.

Link to story: http://www.expeditersonline.com/artman/publish/owner-operators-expediting-snapshot.html

There are a lot of happy and successful people in expediting. Sadly, the prevailing norm on internet forums of any kind, trucking and all other topics, tends toward the negative. It's OK to read the complaints and moans of expediters. Some would even say it is instructive. Just be sure to get the whole story, which includes the happy and successful expediters too.

 

[davekc]

$900 a week net average is possible in a straight or a tractor. It might be a bit of a stretch in a van. Even more so with the requirement of a return to D.C. every other week.
You are smart to keep your expectations realistic.
Keep in mind the profile EO story listed above is from a seasoned individual rather than someone just starting.
It is not a career I would jump into with the sense that it is a winning lottery ticket.
You would serve yourself better to pursue a SS or TT rather than a van to meet your income and hometime requirements.
Not really positive or negative, it is what it is.





Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[bryan]

HI
You made a comment on negative posts.Which posts are you talking about?If your talking about when we post weve been sitting someplace for 2 or 3 days.These are posted more to help each other out and to try to find a better boards to sit on.If somebody post that they sat 3 days in Detriot without a load then I don't sit in Detriot and I surely wouldn't bounce out of Toronto to Detriot especially if New York is busy.
Last year I pulled into the J in W. Memphis to sleep, there were 4 new vans sitting there.#1 guy had been there for 3 days, #2 and #3 had been there for 2 days.When I told them that one of our customers was ordering 10 vans a day out of a town 200 miles away they thought I was try to steal there board positions.Nope just don't want to lose a 10 load a day customer or see them lose thier trucks.I left just as soon as I woke up from a 13 hour nap(I was burnt out)
There are weeks that I don't make any money.It's just that simple.It doesn't mean Im not making money for the year.There is no guarrenteed money in this business.Have a great week this week then a bad week the next.You have to conform to the business and not expect it to conform to your needs.If your expecting to make x amount of $ every week with x amount of days off this isn't for you.It's not a job it's a lifestyle.
Just remember what a recruitor is ( a salesman)his job is to sell you a career.Now don't get me wrong if it wasn't for recruiters most of us wouldn't be in this business.They provide a great service to the industry.But if they sat down and told your all the bad stuff that can and has happened there wouldn't be anybody here.This is not a cake walk you will earn your money.
I've met people who have turned down 11 loads in one day and I've met people who never turn down loads and they are both making the same amount of money.As for inservice % that just seems to matter with where you live.A guy living in a busy area is going to have to take himself out of service to get time off where as a guy living in a slow area can usually just stay on the board and not worry about getting called out on the weekends.So if dispatchers are using these # as a guide to decide who gets a load and who doesn't they are doing thier boss a great diservice.A good o/o can have low # and still be an asset to the company.As for late deliveries, this just isn't tolerated in this industry and people who do it are usually gone pretty quick. So if somebody is telling you most of us are just plain lazy they are full of @#$%%.

 

[beachbum20714]

bryan,not calling anybody lazy.i'm lazy myself sometimes.just do not understand someone sitting for days on end waiting for a load.they must not have anything better to do.i'm not out there i know,but it seems to me that they need to calling their dispatcher and seeing whats up.i can understand waiting for a day,but 2,3,come on.if you sit 2,3 days a week,you are not making any money.i'm talking to FED EX CC now.want to start out in a van if poss,but from what you told me there isn't that much money in that.i can drive the wheels off a str trk.yes,i would like to be home every 2 weeks,day or 2 off who wouldn't.i'm told by o/os,and recruiter that getting home wouldn't be hard.i work in the WASH,DC METRO AREA.i see FED EX CC trks all the time on 95/495.i'm just trying to compile info before i jump in with both feet.bryan any more info would be helpful.thanks,

 

[bryan]

HI
First let me apologize for being abrasive.I get to grumbling like a sleepy bear sometimes.

Sometimes you just have to sit.It's the nature of the business.We can't force the shipper to give us freight.Expedited freight carriers charge premium rates, so shippers don't want to call us unless they have to.We're expensive where as ltl and milk run trucks are alot cheaper and can haul more freight at one time.
A shipper that expedites alot of freight can run a profitable business into bankruptcy.Universities have classes that help businesses keep from having to use our services.

Reading the home page article today about what it's like being a dispatcher can really add some light to this subject.He says it slow for a Friday,seeing loads but doesn't have the right trucks in the right areas,and driver calling to ask when thier going to get a load.It's like this every day.
The driver can only hope that he's positioning himself to get a load.There is no guarantee.Even if dispatch tells him they are seeing alot of loads out of an area.By the time he gets to that area those loads can be gone.

Also there are alot of expedited carriers bidding on the same freight.So not only are you competeing against the other vehicles with your company you have to compete with the vehicles from other companies.And then there is the topsy turvy freight, which is where more loads than normal are going to an area but the same or fewer loads are coming out.It's like a bottle neck.All the trucks are stuck down south where there is no freight and there are no trucks left in the north.

I have yet to see any way to over come this.Some people are alot better at positioning them selves than I am.I consider myself average at it.