Rate Cuts

[CharlesD]

The only vehicle that can run for .85 and come out even remotely ok is a cargo van with a low payment. I don't see how anyone could even think of running a straight for that rate with the fuel economy those things get. I get pretty good mileage in my Sprinter, but if I find something for that rate, I'm shopping around for another LTL to put with it. I didn't get into this business to just break even on my operating costs and tour the country.

 

[Oilerman1957]

A friend of my that works for Bolt called, 750 mile run, pay is 560.00 dollars inc fsc. getting cheap fellows. Oh, he drives a cargo van.

 

[jmore1276]

I understand the supply and demand thing. I understand cutting the rate a little to try to be competitive, but i don't how or why anyone can run for $.85/mile. Whether you bought a $20k or $100k truck, you can't survive on $.85-$1.00/mile. By the time you pay the truck payment, insurance, maintenance, truck washes, tags, tires, an occasional break down, and food on the road, you're left with $.00/mile. I had an o/o that had a $10k breakdown in waco a couple of months ago, and fortunately he had some money in the bank and a couple of credit cards with a little available credit left on them. But it took everything he had. If anything else breaks down, he is done! You can't survive this kind of breakdown running for $.85/mile. We don't run for this kind of money. My o/o's would get out of the bus. Before they would except a load for that kind of rate, unless it was coming home.

I know you are all gonna hate me...but this is why we need regulation in some industries. Like min wage...otherwise it's slave labor. The Fuel Surcharge should be solid set by the gov...not negotiated with the costumer. And the carriers should have to pay a min rate per mile. Then they get costumers by their performance and not by cutting our throats. And they get reliable drivers by offering a little more per mile or with performance (on time delivery) Bonuses. I don't like gov intervention as a rule but again...if they don't step in it's one O/O after another going Bankrupt and the carriers just keep replacing them til they bankrupt the next poor soul who doesn't realize til after they made a huge investment to better themselves. It kills the spirit of entrepraneurship. :-(

 

[BillChaffey]

The Cargo Van from Bolt went 750 miles, fuel should have been less the $85.00 trip should have been less then 15 hours. That's $32.00 per hour at the least. Seems pretty good to me.

 

[chefdennis]

I just ran 794 miles from litchville mich to emporia ks, paid my van $674.90. Thats .85 a mile. I'll run that all day every day and make a good profit. I owe nobody nothing for my fixed assets, when i want a new truck, ill write a check from another company to get it so there is no factoring in the cost of a new truck into my expenses. Everything that i use for this business is paid for each month nothing is carried from one month to another.

So again, I'll run for whatever I feel like , when i feel like it. If you ain't makin enough to suit you, quit, just for freight for those that stick around....

 

[Tennesseahawk]

I know you are all gonna hate me...but this is why we need regulation in some industries. Like min wage...otherwise it's slave labor. The Fuel Surcharge should be solid set by the gov...not negotiated with the costumer. And the carriers should have to pay a min rate per mile. Then they get costumers by their performance and not by cutting our throats. And they get reliable drivers by offering a little more per mile or with performance (on time delivery) Bonuses. I don't like gov intervention as a rule but again...if they don't step in it's one O/O after another going Bankrupt and the carriers just keep replacing them til they bankrupt the next poor soul who doesn't realize til after they made a huge investment to better themselves. It kills the spirit of entrepraneurship. :-(

Actually, your solutions are what kills entrepreneurship. The free market, with minor regulation, is what will keep the industry going. The ones who can handle the weather will be kings when the economy recovers. Most of who fails were never meant to be in business. Others who fail will be marginal business folk who have had extremely bad luck.

When you have the government throwing wrenches in the works in order to make everything "fair", you destroy the basic fundamentals that makes a business flourish: risk, determination, savvy, and pride, among others. Why would you want government sponsored stagnation over the chance to succeed or fail on your own merits? Do you have so little faith in your own abilities to keep your ship afloat?

 

[iceroadtrucker]

When I started in this business,the company was called Roberts Express,and everyone knows the rest of the story,but Roberts had a dicount program to their customers.Any customer that shipped 5 loads or more a week,could get a 15% discount on there shippments.Since all the new expedite companies have formed,and are vying for the same freight,these discounts have gotten out of hand.Some of the paying parties dont care one way or another about the service,they are just looking for a truck,and to keep the owners moving,these loads are getting booked,more so than not.If you think once a company drops the rate ,they will ever increase it,your living in a dream world.Bottom line is,if you can survive with the rate you are getting fine,if not,its time to move on.Just remember one thing in life,no matter where you work,what ever type of job,the grass isnt going to be greener some where else.what you may get from one other than the other,will always end up basically the same

Well Hello and your right the Grass may look greener and maybe it is so to speak in perspective but so is the water bill. Far as carriers go you as always have driven the spike through the Rail Road Tie. With one Mighty Blow!!
Bravo Zulu!!!

 

[blizzard2014]

I just ran 794 miles from litchville mich to emporia ks, paid my van $674.90. Thats .85 a mile.

So again, I'll run for whatever I feel like , when i feel like it. If you ain't makin enough to suit you, quit, just for freight for those that stick around....

I used to run for the same amount of money at Arrow Freight Systems. The only difference was that I was usually the only driver that they had in any given area and I did not have to pay qualcomm fees, personal injury insurance, nor escrow fees. Whatever I made that week was simply paid to me on the following week, and taking two weeks off for a sabbatical did not cost me any fixed operating expenses. Bolt is a great company, but they need to get rid of the qualcomms and the unnecessary personal injury insurance. Just my personal opinion.

 

[rodeehos]

The $.85/mile that I'm talking about is for S/T's. A lot of carriers are paying there O/O $.70/mile for cargo vans. I know fuel was quite a bit more expensive back in the summer, but I was getting a FSC close to what these are getting per mile now.
Point is, no one can survive the long haul running for these kind of rates. You will keep the wheels turning for a while, but when that tranny or motor goes down with major problems, you're DONE!

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I just ran 794 miles from litchville mich to emporia ks, paid my van $674.90. Thats .85 a mile. I'll run that all day every day and make a good profit. I owe nobody nothing for my fixed assets, when i want a new truck, ill write a check from another company to get it so there is no factoring in the cost of a new truck into my expenses. Everything that i use for this business is paid for each month nothing is carried from one month to another.

So again, I'll run for whatever I feel like , when i feel like it. If you ain't makin enough to suit you, quit, just for freight for those that stick around....

I own my Sprinter and I am with you..in my personal situation....I'd do the same....that 750 miler that was quoted would have paid about .75 cents/mile....for a C/V thats the going rate anyhow....

 

[SBBExpress]

Do those of you willing to run cheap freight actually know what it's costing you to run? I mean it goes far beyond the .23 or whatever a mile it costs you for fuel.

I run a 33k GVW reefer truck, last year it cost me .97 a mile (thats all miles by the way, loaded and empty) to run my business. That doesn't take into consideration driver pay for my wife and I. What's a team worth? I've been driving for over 26 years, with that kind of experience I should be able to pull about .47 a mile as a company driver for JB. As a team I think it's not unreasonable to expect .50 a mile.

I don't know about you, but I'm not doing this just for something to do, I'm out here to make a living, and you used to be able to make a GOOD living in expedited. Expedited used to be an elite job. Teams running specialized items from a to b straight through, providing special care and handling. Instead it's turned into just another LTL freight system.

My bottom line on my little "CR" unit is $1.50 a mile, ALL MILES! I have a right to make a living! If people keep hauling expedited freight for cheap, the rates will continue to decline. SAY NO TO CHEAP FREIGHT!!

Know your bottom line and stick to it. If these companies want there critical freight moved for JB Schneider rates, then let them call them, lets stop driving the expedited industry into the ground!

 

[aristotle]

SBB, I feel your pain. The next shipper to want his freight moved cheaply should be met by a motorcycle with a sidecar.

 

[CharlesD]

That was a darn good post for your first. If people stopped taking cheap loads, then the rates wouldn't be that low.

People need to realize that miles cost the same to run, whether they're headed away from or toward your house.

 

[timothy_flood]

AMEN!! Supply and demand. If the shipper needs exclusive use of a truck, they should be willing to pay. Expedite used to be the "limo" service. Seems to be turning into cab service nowdays. Times are slow and tough, but things still have to be made and shipped and who does it better than the expediters out here.

 

[fastrod]

Everyone thinks it is the shippers causing the low rates but it is not. The carriers are the ones that keep under bidding each other to get loads and after they take there cut there is not alot left for the O/O. The other problem is the carriers know that they will always find someone to run for the low rates they offer. These people use the same lame excuses for hauling this cheap freight, [1] it gets me to a better area, [2] it takes me home [3] maybe after I drop the next load will be a homerun. So do not blame the shippers because the blame rests directly with the people running these cheap freight loads and the carriers that are trying to underbid each other.

 

[aristotle]

Fastrod has captured the very essence of this problem.

 

[miguy1957]

Couldn't of said it better.
________
Laguna Heights Condos Wong Amat

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Couldn't of said it better.

finally they see the light....a shipper puts it out there and watches the dog fight..as carriers scramble to outbid each other.... there is a break point when winning is really a losing cause.......We don't need to win that badly....

 

[aristotle]

The Law of Diminishing Returns is having its day. I wonder if we'll see a corresponding rate cut for QC's, insurance, escrow demands, etc? Or are owner/ops gonna carry this load alone?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

The Law of Diminishing Returns is having its day. I wonder if we'll see a corresponding rate cut for QC's, insurance, escrow demands, etc? Or are owner/ops gonna carry this load alone?

you already know the answer to that one.....

Us O/O's will suck it up and get down and dirty and make it work if even a remote chance...we are survivors....a rare breed of hard nose git-r-done SOB's....