Why is it so hard to get decent paying jobs in Florida Texas

[charged]

Is it that there are few manufacturers or lots of truckers or what? My dad was in Dallas last week and he had to sit a day before he could get something out of there and when he did it only paid around $1.60/mi.
He is going to FL this next week and already I can see that loads coming out of the area where he will be are paying not much more than $1/mi. He's going to do some work on a rental house he has in the area so he had a good reason to go down there, but $1/mi really sucks.

[BanditsCousin]

$1 a mile is running for a loss.

Fl sucks, but I don't know why he had a hard time out of Texas.

[heavyhaulerss]

I took a good paying load to ft. lauderdale fl. 5 years ago. got out with #79990 lbs. & .80 cents a mile. I never went back. not even for vacation to me fl is an import state. everything goes in.. nothing goes out!

[charged]

$1 a mile is running for a loss.

Fl sucks, but I don't know why he had a hard time out of Texas.

Definately it's a loss. Why is it that brokers get away with paying so low of a rate?

As far as Texas I don't know why. I have noticed that there are not many loads from the Dallas area going to or through the Nashville area. It seemed most go North to OK or MO or East to LA or West.

[BanditsCousin]

Then pinball your (rather, your dad's) way home to the hopuse doing shorthauls. LH's are nice, but if it paid the greatest, everyone would be doing it

[Ridge Runner]

$1 a mile is running for a loss.

Fl sucks, but I don't know why he had a hard time out of Texas.

Definately it's a loss. Why is it that brokers get away with paying so low of a rate?

They get away with it because someone will do it for that amount. If drivers would quit hauling for that low of a price the rates would go up.

As far as Texas I don't know why. I have noticed that there are not many loads from the Dallas area going to or through the Nashville area. It seemed most go North to OK or MO or East to LA or West.

[BanditsCousin]

I hauled for $1 a mile once with a partial to get back to my agent for some good tonnage 8)

Only took like 8ft?

[GMAN]

Ridge Runner is right. The ONLY reason rates are so cheap in some areas is because people take them. There is absolutely NO reason for rates to be so cheap coming out of Florida or Texas other than owner operators and carriers who are willing to take them. Stop taking them, rates go up. Freight in Texas has been off for a couple of years. You can still get a good rate on occasion, but it usually takes work. When you go to bad freight areas, you may need to go to another better area to get where you actually want to go unless you want to deadhead.

[DD60]

Ridge Runner is right. The ONLY reason rates are so cheap in some areas is because people take them. There is absolutely NO reason for rates to be so cheap coming out of Florida or Texas other than owner operators and carriers who are willing to take them. Stop taking them, rates go up. Freight in Texas has been off for a couple of years. You can still get a good rate on occasion, but it usually takes work. When you go to bad freight areas, you may need to go to another better area to get where you actually want to go unless you want to deadhead.

EXACTLY. Who in their right mind would take a load paying 1.60 to go to FL?? The best way to get out of Dallas is to deadhead to AR. and grab a load paying 3-4 dollars a mile(yes,loads out of there do pay that much if you ask)OR take a load paying close to 3.00 a mile going into OK. Rates out of OK going west are not bad. Again,you have to firmly negotiate these loads as they don't just get offered into your lap.Earlier today a broker had a Fort Worth to AZ load for 1.80. I told him my rate was 2.50 since most likely I would have to deadhead to Ca. to get a decent rate from there. By the time he called me back to agree I had changed my mind about wanting to go in that direction. This was at around 4:30pm as that is when some brokers are really scrambling for a truck and are more easier to negotiate with. Unless you are putting partials together there is really no reason to sit in one area for more than one day. Get a good enough rate going to a bad area from the beginning and you can than afford to deadhead out if necessary.Sometimes you can still snag a decent one in a bad area.

[GMAN]

EXACTLY. Who in their right mind would take a load paying 1.60 to go to FL?? The best way to get out of Dallas is to deadhead to AR. and grab a load paying 3-4 dollars a mile(yes,loads out of there do pay that much if you ask)OR take a load paying close to 3.00 a mile going into OK. Rates out of OK going west are not bad. Again,you have to firmly negotiate these loads as they don't just get offered into your lap.

Better watch quoting those rates, DD60. NotSteve will accuse you of lying. After all, he knows, "for a fact," that no one gets those rates.

[lowrange]

$1 a mile is running for a loss.

Fl sucks, but I don't know why he had a hard time out of Texas.

Definately it's a loss. Why is it that brokers get away with paying so low of a rate?

As far as Texas I don't know why. I have noticed that there are not many loads from the Dallas area going to or through the Nashville area. It seemed most go North to OK or MO or East to LA or West.

Cut-it-out! You act as though you don't know anything about supply and demand! Why do loads coming out of Chicago pay much more than we need to be profitable!? How come no one ever asks that question?

Everyone knows freight is cheap coming out of Florida (everyone ought to know it's phat coming out of Chicago, too). Everyone should know that going in. You're going to 'get lucky' coming out; you're going to haul produce; You are going to take a rate that covers your variable costs; or, you are going to deadhead. That's about it for choices, it doesn't change, no one need be surprised when they take a load to Florida.

I'm not picking on you, it's just that guys often whine because they have to deal with some of the harsh realities of supply and demand, as if truckers are the only businesses that have to do that. Try to make $9 or $10/hour working at Walmart or McDonalds or even as a 'sales associate' at Elder Beerman or wherever- they'll tell you about supply and demand in both the products they sell and the wages they make.

Be happy! :wink:

[Orangetxguy]

Hey...Cam buddy....Did them Cheerios of yours get soaked by Fay or something?? :P :P :P :wink:

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Yup Charged...You and Dad are going to learn the hard way...there is no getting around it.

BROKERS....notice that you drop the "S" and all you have is Broker?

Drop the "RS" all you are is broke. :? :?

[lowrange]

I didn't mean to snap. It's just that we hear things like this all the time. Kevin Rutherford tried to get guys going on the subject, 'should there be a federal minimum freight rate?' He's a real libertarian, I knew his answer before it even started.

Florida is too low, Chicago is 'too high'. It's just supply and demand. Why don't we try to be fair about it and not always think, 'I want...!' 'I want...!'

As I write this, I'm broke down on the toll road. Mechanic got his $125, couldn't help me, his wrecker is out of town, and he was kind enough to advise me to call somebody else! :? I don't know how I'm going to get out of here. One thing I'm thinking about is parking the truck and taking a company job for awhile. That's one thing I'm thinking about.

The point is, we just have to deal with stuff. We like it when we go to buy things and all the manufacturers and retailers are dealing with cut throat competition- we like it because we can buy stuff cheaply. Freight is the same way. We ought to be honest about things, we ought to have a sense of fairness.

[Orangetxguy]

Oooooh....What broke?

[lowrange]

Oooooh....What broke?

I don't know. This is my second service failure due to a breakdown in two weeks. I'm telling you what, this is probably my second service failure due to a breakdown in three years! It was good before, but things just don't seem right now.

I can't get it to fire. It fired up this morning and then died, it never did that before. I can't get it to fire again. Well, it did for a moment after the mechanic shot a little starter fluid in there, but then it started showing other symptoms.

I don't know if you've had this experience before, you're someplace or you're in a relationship or you are doing a job or whatever...but, you sense that God wants you someplace else doing something else. I've been here before, and it kind of blows. You know that your life will never be right until you are in that place doing that thing that he wants you to do, but the process of moving from here to there...sometimes it just isn't fun!

I'm supposed to be in Kansas City doing I don't know what. I'll deal with this breakdown, the company is using their contacts, but I don't think I'm going to have any rest until I get to the right place doing the right thing.

[GMAN]

I am sorry to hear that you are having difficulties, lowrange. This can be a tough business. I don't think we need the government to step in and tell us what we need to be charging for our freight. That is what was going on in this business before rates were deregulated. You see, at one time rates were regulated. When we hear about this industry being deregulated, the only thing that was deregulated were our rates. Deregulation enabled anyone who wanted to buy a truck and get their authority to do so. They could charge what they wanted for their services. Carriers are free to give their services away or charge a decent rate. CARRIERS SET THE RATE!! They always have set their own rate. We don't need to blame brokers or shippers for lower rates. We need to blame the guy parked next to us or in the next lane of traffic. If you are hauling cheap freight, then looking in the mirror will tell you why rates are so low in some areas. There is a high demand for cheap freight. If there was not a high demand, rates would be higher. I don't want to point a finger at any one individual, but there are too many people who come into this business with no knowledge about what they are doing or how much they should charge for their services. They have limited funds to keep them going and little business savvy. They have no idea how to negotiate for the best rates. They also go to areas where rates are historically low. Most new businesses fail in the first year. Trucking is no exception. There are some who can start on a shoestring and make it work. Those are the exception. This is a capital intensive industry. It takes a lot of money to keep the wheels rolling. I don't think rates in Chicago are too high, lowrange. They are paying market rates for that area to get the trucks that they need. The market determines rates. The market in this case are the carriers and owner operators who haul the freight. I have always had a minimum haul rate. I won't go below that figure, even if I have to sit for a day or deadhead out of an area. I have a very simple philosophy. If the load isn't profitable, then I don't haul it.

[Orangetxguy]

Oooooh....What broke?

I don't know. This is my second service failure due to a breakdown in two weeks. I'm telling you what, this is probably my second service failure due to a breakdown in three years! It was good before, but things just don't seem right now.

I can't get it to fire. It fired up this morning and then died, it never did that before. I can't get it to fire again. Well, it did for a moment after the mechanic shot a little starter fluid in there, but then it started showing other symptoms.

I don't know if you've had this experience before, you're someplace or you're in a relationship or you are doing a job or whatever...but, you sense that God wants you someplace else doing something else. I've been here before, and it kind of blows. You know that your life will never be right until you are in that place doing that thing that he wants you to do, but the process of moving from here to there...sometimes it just isn't fun!

I'm supposed to be in Kansas City doing I don't know what. I'll deal with this breakdown, the company is using their contacts, but I don't think I'm going to have any rest until I get to the right place doing the right thing.

Well......as far as the "breakdown" with the truck...Actually sounds like the ECM has a problem. Most "road" mechanics know little to less about the ECM. When you get a real mechanic looking at it.....throw that out there and see what he / she, says.

As for the message "God" is sending you...well...at least your up there where it is nice and peaceful.

If you take a look at the NOA Hurricane website, he is sending a new message to New Orleans. I guess they scumbags didn't catch on to his last message he sent over there!

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

The southeast US isn't going to be a fun place next week.

ON the bright side..."God" is putting the brakes to the drought down this way!!


Chin up old boy...this is just "Truckin in America"!!

[lowrange]

Ah, that's a good reply! Yeah, I don't know if these guys are supposed to be able to come out on the road able to read codes or not, but this one wasn't.

Yeah, I'll keep my chin up! The good thing is I KNOW one of the spiritual giftings I have, I just can't find a place to use it. If it's important enough to God to let me be miserable out here in this truck, then it's important enough for me to get happy about it because I don't think he'll let me die here. Now I've just got to shoo the vultures away circling over my truck.

[Orangetxguy]

Ah, that's a good reply! Yeah, I don't know if these guys are supposed to be able to come out on the road able to read codes or not, but this one wasn't.

Yeah, I'll keep my chin up! The good thing is I KNOW one of the spiritual giftings I have, I just can't find a place to use it. If it's important enough to God to let me be miserable out here in this truck, then it's important enough for me to get happy about it because I don't think he'll let me die here. Now I've just got to shoo the vultures away circling over my truck.

Have you seen this website before Cam?? Might give it a try.

http://www.truckdown.com/

[mike3fan]

If you take a look at the NOA Hurricane website, he is sending a new message to New Orleans. I guess they scumbags didn't catch on to his last message he sent over there!

I am sitting in NOLA trying to get loaded,and the sky is falling!, the sky is falling! or atleast thats what the TV stations and Newspapers are saying..... :?