80% or so of freight moved by the small trucking businesses.
80% or so of freight owned and brokered by a few major logistics companies. We are not "out numbered", we are "under represented" and "under organized"!
I'd also say "under educated".

 

It's not the speed, it's consistency, and mostly responsibility, makes "better time".

 

I was just quoting what I heard on the TV a few days ago. I believe the show is called American Trucker on discover or TLC.... good show, but it blew me away by the numbers they were saying between what INDEPENDANTS and COMPANY drivers are now.

And if you look at any load board you will see that most of them are all Landstar loads, Schneider Logistics and so on. When I was at SNI, I could go to a shipper and meet 5 guys who were running their own authority picking up the same thing, hauling for Schneider, but they used a outside broker to get the load. They weren't happy when they found out it was contracted thru SNI but the rate must have been good enough to tempt them in.

 

I suppose that this is what Maverick, US Xpress, JB Hunt and a few others mean when they say they need a "level playing field."

 

We are indeed under represented. The only voice we have is OODIA. There really isn't another organization that we could belong to other than the ATA. And the American Trucking Association is expensive to belong to and it doesn't represent the best interests of the smaller carriers and certainly NOT the independents. In order to join the ATA you must first join your state truckers association. Most state associations cost $400/year to join. If you want to join the ATA, then you need to come up with an additional $400+, depending on the size of your company. That is a lot of money for smaller carriers and independents to come up with in addition to the other costs we must pay. It would be great if we had an organization that would lobby stronger for interests geared specifically toward the independents and small carriers. The EOBR and speed limiter legislation is designed for nothing less than to limit competition. The EOBR bill was written by the major members of the ATA. They are the ones who will benefit most, but the rest of us will need to absorb the brunt of the costs.

 

I think as small operator with 1 paid-for truck and 1 paid-for trailer, and no employees, you only need 1 or 2 DIRECT shippers in your local area to do well. A large company needs hundreds of loads a day to sustain their operation. Look at the retail market: you can buy stuff cheaper at Wal-Mart but 'convenience stores' with higher prices are everywhere because they offer a benefit of closer location or smaller line-up or something else.

 

Exactly, as you stated in a different post, they want a "level playing field" but won't pass on their savings to the little guy to actually make it LEVEL. They want to dominate and if things go their way, they will!

 

I've been hearing all "this sky is falling" crap since I started in the '70's and it's become laughable. With the exception of two years, I have been operating under my own authority since '96. When freight got slow in '08 I leased to Langer and Quality Carriers. That pretty much sucked. I have done fairly well on my own and continue to do so. I will still br running my business when Quality Carriers goes belly up. I would also like to add, I have found working broker loads is more profitable and satisfying than having direct shippers. Those of you that have vast experience working brokers (and in a way, certain brokers become our customers) and understand rates, supply and demand, lanes, so on and so forth, know what I'm talking about. For those of you who have not experienced this end of the business, it is too detailed to explain. One more thing. I will always be able to operate more efficiently than the big boys and they will never purchase fuel $2.00 a gallon cheaper than me or anyone else. With all this being said, this is not my opinion but my experience.

 

What kind of a trailer are you pulling, moe?

 

I have had others tell me how cheap broker freight is for years. I have gotten some of my best paying loads from brokers. Some direct shippers really try to push the rate down since they want to cut the broker out. There is cheap broker freight, but no one twists anyone's arm to haul it. If one broker doesn't have anything worthwhile, then go to the next one. I look at the situation as brokers competing to get me to haul their load. It is much easier to work around whatever comes along when you are a small operator. We cannot buy fuel as cheap, but I have sources where I can get tires and mechanic work as cheap or for less than some of the big carriers would pay unless they use their own shop.

The biggest advantage of a small carrier over a mega carrier is experience and flexibility. Many of those who currently run major carriers don't have any experience in the industry. They are basically bean counters, for lack of a better word. They understand the bottom line, but are not able to respond quickly when the market forces change. And they don't really understand this industry. That should be obvious since they want to level the playing field so that they can compete with the small carriers. As you stated, a single truck only needs 1 load whereas a major carrier may need 500 loads to keep the doors open. It is much easier to find one load than 500 or even 50. In some respects, our overhead is much less. Large carriers must have accounting, safety, recruiting, billing, dispatch, drivers and operations. And don't forget sales. A single truck has everything in one person. The larger the operation the greater the need to keep your trucks moving. A single truck can afford to sit a day or two or deadhead to a better area. A large carrier may not want to bounce a truck several hundred miles to pick up a load. They would prefer to have the driver sit. If the truck isn't moving it isn't costing them much money.