That is great news, Merrick. You can make money out West if you want to run North and South. There was a lot of freight which ran mostly I-5. It is coming East that is the problem. If you want to stay out West and run up and down I-5, you can probably still do fairly well.

 

<When you look on the Internet TruckStop you can click on load density for a particular area of the U.S. and it will breakdown the data like the number of flatbed loads going into Boston and the number of flatbed loads going out. It does the same for Vans, refers and other equipment.

So, if a broker calls and says he has a great paying load from Boston Seattle Washington you could click on the load density for the state of Washington and see the number of loads leaving is like 17 then say, OH CRAP, can't go there unless he gives me an extra $500 to deadhead out.

Or, you can just take any load to Ohio and get a load in 2.3 seconds.>

Steve,

It may take me more than 2.3 seconds to book a load but I have never had to sit a day to wait for a better paying load. I won't go into an area that will cause me to sit for 2 or 3 three days so that I can get a better paying load and make a profit. I have bills to pay like everybody else that is why it is so important that I make the right decision upfront -- whether it takes me 1 min or 1 hour.

If I choose to go in a bad area then the rate that I will accept will be my cost times 2 or 3.

 

Getloaded also has Truck to Load ratio which is a little better than Internet Truckstop load density feature. I don't understand why anybody would go into an area with 100 loads and 800 trucks. This automatically equals low rate - a simple supply & demand concept (Economics).

 

I have to say that Gman represents a school of thought on trucking but not the definitive answer
What one may call "running for fuel" I call preserving the good rate.
If you got 2.50 per mile to a bad area and head back empty you are running for 1.25 per mile until you back in to your next load.
To the guys who go back empty
I say a heartfelt
"thanks"

 

I am one and you should say thanks.

LOL thats funny.

 

Ping!

Thanks !

Ping!

 

Those who haul these fuel money loads are keeping the prices down. Some people need to take a stand. It may not make much, if any difference if I pass on a fuel money only load. However, if enough stood their ground the rates would come up. I understand what you are saying, Sonny. There are others who feel the same way as you. You can get a good deal on their truck. :wink: You assume that because you go into an area for $2.50 that you are going to deadhead all the way back to the point of origin. That is not the way it works, at least with me. I only deadhead far enough to get a decent paying load. If you haul these cheap loads you have no room to complain about them. If you want to take them, then just be happy with your decision and don't sweat it. By the way, were it not for those of us who do deadhead out you may have to haul a load for $0.75 instead of $1.25.

 

I appreciate that
I am far from a cheap player though
And I am able to support a suburban NJ family from my earnings
Bergen County no less
with my stupid truck and reefer
I specilize in ltl
frozen ltl
I am buying a 53 foot reefer in two weeks
I am renting one now to see if its worth the switch from 48 to 53 (it is)
And I am home just about every night
I am home now and will be finished at noon tomorro
and will play with my 5 dogs (three Carolina dogs, 1 Catahoula Leopard Dog and a Beagle)
and ride my Craftsman mower
I pay almnost 5k in car insurance
property tax? you don't want to know
Sat I will be in Ithaca NY looking at Cornell and Ithaca College with #3 son
# 1 Son is at Temple Universityfor his Masters
Who pays for all this ?
Dear old dad
(# 2 is in the middle east USAF) but "bought" "'(ha!) a new Dodge Ram volunteer fireman special pick up truck
Who winds up paying? D-O-D!!!!
Mon I will start around 8am
I have no idea what a Road King card does
and eat in a truckstop only when I get an oil change
never in 30 years took a shower in a truckstop
If I need a shower
I need a motel
That should give people an idea where I'm coming from and my credibility
and my philosophy on trucking





So, in a nut shell my theory on trucking is as valid as any
and my advice credible

 

If you can pay your bills, send the kids to college, buy the toys and pay cash, then you are probably doing well. If you are heavily mortgaged to get by, then that may be another story. I have had brokers to literally laugh at those who haul their cheap loads. One shipper called me about one of their loads coming out of Florida. He wanted to pay $0.90/mile. I had been getting $2 or better hauling the same freight out of a different area. Once he understood that I would not put anything that cheap on my truck, he just laughed and told me that he didn't understand how these people can afford to haul his freight that cheap. This is not the first time this type of thing has happened to me. These shippers and brokers will only pay what is necessary to move their freight. If they can get you or someone else to haul it for $0.90/mile, there is not need to pay someone like me a decent rate to haul it. I don't argue about it. I just run my business as I see fit.

 

Well I am not exactly heavily mortgaged but I am mortgaged thats for sure. It is very expensive to live here and the day I stop working is also the day I have to put the for sale sign on the house
I dont really figure by the mile anyway
I figure how much I clear by the day
I try to compare how much a teamster would get doing the same job that day
If I beat the number I feel good