deep dixie blue said:
Quote:
|
Things have been getting slower and slower on the load boards but this week it appears as though the bottom has completely fallen out... During the summer this search would have produced at least 600 loads.
|
The bottom is still much lower. Things will get worse before they get better. This summer was BEFORE the credit "freeze" on WALL Street. Companies cannot get credit to purchase raw materials for production. Other companies cannot get credit to BUY the finished product. Consumers can't get credit to buy products, so manufacturing and therefore shipping slows down. Thousands of retail outlets have shut down reducing the demand for products AND for shipping.
Quote:
|
The loads I've been calling about are all paying a dollar a mile, some of them less and the brokers are not negotiating at all on them (and don't appear to be having any trouble moving them).
|
NO, they will have no trouble finding a hungry carrier or O/O to move them, so there is no need to "negotiate" shipping rates. The fall in diesel prices only gives them more reason to lower rates and put more burden on you/us.
Quote:
|
I did a nationwide search on GetLoaded and there were only 3200 loads posted nationwide, while they advertise 140,000 loads per day. On their freight map 42 of the 48 states were shown in red, meaning there were significantly more trucks posted than loads in those states.
|
There has always been MORE trucks than needed (more capacity,) but it was equalled out in a strong economy when much was being moved. Higher demand supported higher shipping rates for those who could move the product. With little demand (credit to buy) the product, shippers can pick and choose the slower but cheaper haulers.
I'm no expert in the shipping/trucking business. I stay OFF this forum out of respect for those who know much more than I. I am only here at this time to offer my opinions. I hope they will be accepted in the manner and with the respect they are offered.
Banditscousin, and all HHG carriers are suffering right now due to the lack of home sales. People aren't moving because people aren't buying homes...new or existing. The numbers are at all time lows. People can't get credit to buy a house, and in many cases, jobs are not there to impell them to move.
RANK says brokers aren't posting their loads. Of course not. If loads are scarce, they will hoard them for the carriers that offer them more than just a few trucks. This is one disadvantage to being an O/O or a small fleet operator. You should have known this going in.
Which is why HeavyHaulers is absolutely correct that O/O's.... especially NEW ones who are not well established... should get by on the least expensive equipment they can. The truck is not an asset as much as it is an employee. Get it as cheap as you can, and pay it as little as you can. When times are good, and the truck is still working, WORK it... and save your money for the downtimes if you want to survive. This is certainly no time for chicken lights and chrome!
Lowrange mentioned the "ease" of bankruptcy. Not anymore! New laws have made it more difficult to qualify, AND protected creditors more than ever before. It is no longer a "fresh start" as much as it is "buying time" to repay what you owe and dig yourself out. Of course that is hard to do when freight is slow and hauling freight is your ONLY "product" or "service."
BigDiesel, of course, jumps in with his usual condemnation of anyone who works off the boards and not by contract. But, if you put all your eggs in that one contract basket, where are you today? Let's see.... maybe BigD's "nursery" businesses are all indoors, and won't be frozen out by the current weather conditions in the N.W. (where he has limited himself to.) Maybe, they won't be affected by the housing/real estate crisis that has reduced the demand for landscaping products. I would not have liked to be an orange hauler during a few freezes in Florida that I remember.
Solo379 has planned ahead and has his equipment paid off. As well, I expect his house and cars. SOME on here are sporting late model SUV's as if they were growing on trees. Payments must be high... and insurance. I hope the market doesn't "catch a frosty cold."
Lowrange suggests he/she will "follow the harvest." Does anyone else see the similarity of this to the movie "grapes of wrath?" Sure, it is honorable to do what must be done, but it does sound as if the basic tenets of "ownership" and independence are being sacrificed, along with hometime. (Although, it does sound as if lowrange can afford to take time off to work on the house.)
Walking Eagle, too, seems to have taken the route of paying off equipment and housing so that he can weather the snows. He is a wise man. Most here seem to be, and I applaud you all. But, there are many who live beyond their means, based on contracts and projections and historical events. This will no longer work in the trucking business.... at least for the short term.
I heard an analyst explain it as a type of sine wave, where there have always been dips, but countered by rebounds. THIS TIME, the second and deepest dip occurred before the rebound had reached the median level above the previous dip. Plunging DEEPER than ever before without the restorative high. In this scenario, those who were just "hanging" on, no longer had the salvation of a good phase. If they weren't prepared, they were plunged into lows they had never imagined nor planned for, and it was the death of many of them.
Someone said they thought pulling reefers would save them, as people had to eat. Not necessarily so. MANY O/O's or small fleets bought reefer trailers but preferred to haul dry freight to cut diesel and maintenance costs (and perhaps got higher rates.) Now that those loads are drying up, they are in a postion to haul reefer loads for the brokers they are in good with.
Someone else prayed for enough cheap freight to keep them moving. But, I can't help believing that it is cheap freight that gets some people in the "Just in TIme" position they are in with truck payments, house payments, car payments, etc. Living beyond our means is the problem.
The common theme in this thread is that times can get tough, even due simply to weather. A successful O/O must plan ahead for this and know that in good times, one must be making the money to carry them through the bad times. If that means a smaller house or an older vehicle, these are "investments" of ..... yes.... conservative nature, that will see one through the trying times, and ensure one's success.
Like I said. I didn't come here to preach. I have alot of respect for this subforum and those who post here. I have learned MUCH from these threads, and I only wanted to offer an overview and opinion. Perhaps, when times are better, and I have worked my way into a postion to give it a try, I will have something of value to say. But, if I do, I will know that I learned it HERE.
My best wishes for a successful New Year to all who have embarked on this strident and noble course of life. I sincerely hope that MY candidate of choice is able to make a difference soon enough to protect your way of life and to increase your bounty.... and mine. You are the backbone not only of our economy, but also our industry. It would be my highest honor to SOMEDAY join your rank and file.
Hang in there y'all! And Merry Christmas.
Hobo
