For the folks that have their own authority....

[GMAN]

Merrick, sometimes you can run intrastate in Florida and make good money. I have known of a few people who live in the state who do pretty well. Many good paying loads never make it to the loadboards. Brokers and shippers will go to those with whom they have previously done business and only go to the loadboards if they can't book it first. Also, keep in mind that things are always especially slow during certain holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. You just need to plan for those holidays accordingly. Sometimes you can put LTL's together out of bad areas and do well. Remember, when you pull a reefer you can also haul dry van freight.

[LOAD IT]

Merrick- Be careful what you listen to.... someone with so much experience wouldnt be using the load board as his only resource then just deadheading out. Someone with so much experience would make some phone calls and load the wagon, or make some calls get nothing, check boards get nothing then make a decision to move the truck and suck it up!! He could have loaded pallets out of Jax, he could have gone to Savannah, Lake City, Up into Macon/Atlanta, he could have loaded something and went through the house with it. Be careful what you listen to......

[GMAN]

You can usually find something to put on a truck, even in a bad area. It is usually a matter of whether you want to haul for the rate offered. When I go into Florida, I always expect to deadhead out. If I find something that pays decent, fine, if not I stick with my plan. It isn't that freight isn't available, in most cases, but the rate is too cheap for me to load it on my truck. There are those who will load those cheap loads. Whether to load cheap out of a bad area or not is a personal business decision. I deadhead out. Others feel that they will cover their costs by taking the cheap load. There are those who will load out of Florida and drive 800 miles or more for $1/mile or less. Again, that is your decision.

[GMAN]

I'm assuming my stickers are at home Rank. I ordered them a while ago. I'm not sure if my cab card needs to be updated with Canada but will check on that when I go home. I need to have Alaska put on also.

Steve, you usually renew your cabcard with all the states and Canada at the same time.

[Dejanh]

Merrick- Be careful what you listen to.... someone with so much experience wouldnt be using the load board as his only resource then just deadheading out. Someone with so much experience would make some phone calls and load the wagon, or make some calls get nothing, check boards get nothing then make a decision to move the truck and suck it up!! He could have loaded pallets out of Jax, he could have gone to Savannah, Lake City, Up into Macon/Atlanta, he could have loaded something and went through the house with it. Be careful what you listen to......

Aint you something....

First of all sir, i did, in fact deadhead out to Atlanta on couple of occasions before but this particular time I had to go home, as i was out almost 3 weeks.

I could have loaded pallets out of Jax , what pallets. $50 a piece and even so, THERE WAS NOT ANY to load. I do not have contacts in Florida like you succesefull millionares do. If i wanted to get out to anywhere I could, but not to my home in Charlotte. And any ,,getting out'' is CHEAP which i refuse to do.



You're gonna tell me that I could LTL out, when LTL is all I do from Chicago and East and I know it pretty well.

PS
I went to a Schneider's website, checked their rate out of Miami to Charlotte, its $1.01 cpm, but am sure you have bigger contacts that National ever did down there...

I run dry van, and Florida had nothing worth looking at !!

[LOAD IT]

Aint you something....

I TRY!!!! :wink:

contacts in Florida like you succesefull millionares do.

Dont tell my wife that I have made Millionaire status :wink: :wink:

You're gonna tell me that I could LTL out, when LTL is all I do from Chicago and East and I know it pretty well.

but am sure you have bigger contacts that National ever did down there...

Which ever National you run for should pay you better, then you wouldnt have to come here complaining to TRUE o/o's (like Merrick) who load their own wagons. You could drop in Florida and head on home to Charlotte without looking for a cheap load that National is going to take their cut from and leave you what's left. How many companies have you been with in the last year? I thought you were with Fedex, then I thought you ran your own authority, now you mention National. Merrick...be careful who you listen to.

Steve, you usually renew your cabcard with all the states and Canada at the same time.

I realize that but it won't be for a while to that's due again. I have it made in NH though. It's a friendly office environment and you get to sit at a nice ladies desk and she does everything for you with a smile. If you forgot something at home she overlooks it and tells you to fax it or send it in. I would like to get this out of the way and be done with it.

[GMAN]

I wish all states were as friendly and helpful as New Hampshire. My state has gotten better, but there are so many trucking companies headquartered in Tennessee. I suppose it takes it's toll on the employees. Averitt, U.S. Express, Covenant, Star, Nationwide, Big G Express, are some of the larger carriers who base in my home state. There are many more mid to smaller carriers. That is a lot of cabcards. :shock:

[dteam270]

I wish that I has a computer in my truck G-man maybe you could ve got me something out of Nashville Friday. I sat all day Thursday and Friday I had enough and dead head home. :sad:

[GMAN]

Funny you mentioned something in Nashville, dteam. I got a call Thursday about a load about 30 miles from Nashville. They really needed a truck. I didn't have a truck close enough without a deadhead.

[rank]

However I've been looking around since I've been home and seems like there are a lot of produce shippers or middlemen around here. I always wondered why there is no freight coming out of here if Florida is the gateway to Latin America and all the produce down there. Now they are talking about expanding the port in Ft. Lauderdale.

Come to find out there are large produce warehouses all around me; even a building I've driven past 1,000 times that I never paid attention to had a sign that it was a tomatoe place that had now moved 15 minutes up the road.

I went over to the State Farmers Market the other day and seemed like a lot of stuff going on. And today I called a broker and got a load out to the Midwest for about $1.30 a mile. (I booked early and am hoping to hell it doesn't get cancelled.). And to be honest I asked for more after she told me the rate.

And then as I wrote earlier I called a shipper direct and seemed like he was going to give me a load. Mind you I checked the load boards and there was nothing but I don't think the loads down here make it to the boards.

chuckle chuckle. I like the way you think Merrick. You'll do fine as a carrier.

[merrick4]

chuckle chuckle. I like the way you think Merrick. You'll do fine as a carrier.

I appreciate that Rank. I know I overthink everything and second guess it all but I was thinking today that I only hauled my first load as an O/O just over 4 months ago and a year ago today I was in a truck with a trainer. So things are moving along but still I am only at the beginning and have a LONG road ahead. But they say it's not the destination but the journey that matters. Thanks again though I appreciate it.

[GMAN]

Don't be so hard on yourself, Merrick. It takes time to learn any business.

[LOAD IT]

chuckle chuckle. I like the way you think Merrick. You'll do fine as a carrier.

I appreciate that Rank. I know I overthink everything and second guess it all but I was thinking today that I only hauled my first load as an O/O just over 4 months ago and a year ago today I was in a truck with a trainer. So things are moving along but still I am only at the beginning and have a LONG road ahead. But they say it's not the destination but the journey that matters. Thanks again though I appreciate it.

Merrick- you have done what some drivers never do in life, take the plunge to be totally independent in trucking. My hat goes off to you. Who is the tomato warehouse near your home?

[GMAN]

It takes time to contact and build shipper relationships. Once you get a foot in the door, it is important to build on that relationship. Most shippers with whom I talk prefer doing business directly with a carrier. If you find a shipper who is willing to work with you, then you could find that you will be able to maintain that relationship even if they are currently doing most of their business through one or more brokers. I find that some shippers feel that brokers with whom they deal are ripping them and carriers off. If a broker asks you to not discuss the rate you get from them, there is a good chance the broker is ripping you off and keeping a much larger share of the revenue than he really should. He doesn't want the shipper to know how much money he is making. Most business is about relationships. A lower price may sway some, but if there is a strong personal relationship and shippers know they can rely on you then they may stay with you even though a broker promises a cheaper price.

I had a shipper to stay with me because they found that a broker with whom they dealt was taking 30% or more of the rate. The only way they would do business with that broker is if they had a shipment that absolutely had to move and I or another carrier couldn't move it for them. Most of the time the shipper would put off the receiver until I could take the load. I usually got $2.50-3.00 mile to haul for this shipper. I had a broker offer me a similar load for $1.50 coming out of the same area.