Flat bed Trucking and Recession???

[Crunchyknees]

HI All

All you hear on the news today is that there is a recession and construction spending is slowing and it gonna get worse. I was kinda interesting in flatbedding. Is this slowdown starting to show up in your paychecks??

thanks

Crunch

[GMAN]

Rates are down in all segments of trucking. There still seems to be quite a bit of freight. I think some of these people are heavy into drugs for the rates they are offering. We are still staying busy, but must work harder to get decent rates. I am amazed that some of these druggies are trying to get freight moved for $1/mile. Then again, there must be a lot of owner operators who are also using drugs. No one in their right mind would take a load for less than it costs to operate. :shock:

[Walking Eagle]

You'r right Gman there are a lot of drugged up brokers out there. I've found that if you dig around, and know your costs (i.e. deadheading) you can still find good loads. I won't put anything on my trailer that doesn't pay at least $1.65 a mile for all miles run and stay plenty busy.

[steelhauler2007]

I drive for Maverick,as a company driver.I haven't seen any slow down in freight. I have hauled out of some new places,but plenty of miles.

[DaveP]

I drive for Maverick,as a company driver.I haven't seen any slow down in freight. I have hauled out of some new places,but plenty of miles.

Same at PGT.

I'm still as Fridaytired on Wednesday as I have been all year.

[harleypiper]

I truly think they use those recession words to hike up fuel prices and anything else they can use to bleed the AMERICAN working force to pay for the illegals benefits, higher education and everything else they feel they have a right to in this country.

[heavyhaulerss]

imo the recession has already started. by jan- march of 08 we will be in full recession mode. how severe or how long ? i dont know. i also hope i'm wrong about it too. i posted somewhere on here that oil prices would soon hit 100 dollars a barrel. it seems to be coming true quicker than even i thought. a lot of o/o with huge expensis will be forced out. this seems to happen every few years, weather be slow freight, fuel cost, or something else. one thing for sure this economy has done unbeleivably well considering the high cost of fuel. but thats kinda the point. you dont lower prices when demand keeps growing. only when we use less is when prices will drop & a recession will cause our country to use less & only then will prices come down & freight pick back up. although for me freight is still good.

[Evinrude]

You'r right Gman there are a lot of drugged up brokers out there. I've found that if you dig around, and know your costs (i.e. deadheading) you can still find good loads. I won't put anything on my trailer that doesn't pay at least $1.65 a mile for all miles run and stay plenty busy.

I won't budge unless its $1.64 a mile. lol

[Walking Eagle]

Damb you haul that cheap sh@@, 1 cent below me

[BigDiesel]

Since XMAS tree season is days away, this years rates will again allow me to take most of December and first half of January off.

[wanderingson]

HI All

All you hear on the news today is that there is a recession and construction spending is slowing and it gonna get worse. I was kinda interesting in flatbedding. Is this slowdown starting to show up in your paychecks??

thanks

Crunch

No, actually, this time of year picks up for certain flat loads, particularly for construction and mining equipment. I have been VERY busy hauling Caterpillar loads. (see pic) and it is getting to be more frequent. This pic was taken 2 weeks ago, on a nice fall day. This is a radiator used by CAT for their earth mover machines, I think. The piece is just a hair under 12 feet high.
I guess it depends upon the type of flatbed loads your company does, mine does everything from regular flats to double drops, like the one in my pic. Flatbedding is certainly more of a challenge in winter though! Tarping a load in below zero weather is no fun!

Freight does tend to slow a bit after the holidays, but if you are with a good company, you will still have plenty of work, flatbed or van.

[RostyC]

Commercial construction is still going strong at least.

[GMAN]

Most segments will slow during this time of year until at least mid January or the end of February. I always expect it since it usually happens every year. In fact, I usually take off from Christmas until after the first of the year. The main problem right now are the rates. We were recently offered one rate from a broker and another offered $1,000 less for the same load. Some of these brokers are literally trying to rape truckers during this time of year. They seem to be worse in some areas such as the West Coast and Northwest. It isn't necessarily that the shippers are paying less to move their goods, but some brokers are taking advantage of owner operators and carriers during these slower times. I think it would be great if shippers would put the rate that they are paying on the shipping papers. I know of one shipper who will take about 1/3 of the freight rate and stick it in his pocket. The receiver has no idea of what this guy is doing. There are others who will do the same thing. If an owner operator or carrier doesn't hold his ground then he could easily lose his shirt. You cannot haul at a loss for very long. I know of another shipper who would broker their own loads and take about 30% of the freight rate. One of their largest customers found out about it from a carrier. They lost that account which amounted to at least 20% of their business. I won't haul for a shipper who takes part of the rate. It is dishonest and unethical. Their customers don't know that they are doing this because it is hidden in the product costs. They don't separate it. The thing is that if you run your authority you need to establish a minimum haul rate. Unless you get that rate just don't haul the load. Don't worry too much about what the broker is making. If it meets your needs or rate, then take the load. If not, let it sit.

[steelhauler2007]

I am staying busy with Maverick.I live in Texas,getting into Texas with a load is no problem.Getting out of Texas can be a problem at times.They have to be creative at times.Am hauling some freight that I haven't hauled before.Whatever works.

[GMAN]

You can usually find a load, even during slow times. The trick is finding something which is profitable to haul. Sometimes it is more profitable to sit. :wink: