Ridge Runner, when I first started driving the minimum wage was about $1.25/hour and many people bought homes and earned a living at that rate. Long haul truckers were paid about $0.10/mile. New trucks could be purchased between $25-32,000. In the 1960's to early 1970's kerosene and diesel sold for $0.15-0.17/gallon around here and as much as $0.25/mile in other areas. Rates were higher and fixed before deregulation. Rates were the same for specific freight lanes. Things changed after deregulation. Before deregulation, it was not easy to get your own authority. In fact, your potential competitors could block you from getting your authority if they chose. It could possibly happen today, but is not likely. While rates have remained pretty much the same as then, fuel has gone up 20 fold. However, wages have gone up about 2-3 times what they were at that time. New trucks cost about 4-5 times today as then.
An owner operator is an independent businessman. Businesses can't go on strike. We can refuse to haul freight for less than a certain level, but that is left up to the individual businessman. We can share what our minimum haul rate is but cannot fix prices as a group. To do so is illegal. OPEC gets away with it because it is a collective of countries and not subject to U.S. law. As costs rise so should our minimum haul rates. Unfortnately, that doesn't happen with most owner operators.
As owner operators and independents you have the power to control your own rates. Refusing to haul for cheap rates will eventually cause rates to rise. I just turned down a load going to Long Island for about $2/mile. I told the broker that it was under our minimum for that area. I won't go to Long Island for less than $3/mile. There are $200 in tolls and likely a deadhead of about 200 miles or more to get out and find a decent load. That is the way I handle it. I have no doubt that someone will haul it for that rate. It is the free market at work. I have turned down more loads than I have hauled due to the cheap rate. Only last week I was offered a rate for about $0.76/mile. Gotta be drugs. While this time may be painful for most of us, it is also a naturally occuring business cycle. If it were not high fuel prices it would be something else. Most businesses are not perpetual. They have a life cycle. Those who control costs and debt can survive. Those who ignore their costs, have high debt and haul for cheap rates will not be able to survive. The silver lining to this is that when they go out of business capacity will be reduced and rates will rise to match market demands.
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