The paradox of deadheading to a "good rate area"
 

I've been sitting in Idaho since Monday Nov-29th, right.. Tanks 1/4 full; 20 bucks in the pocket. All loads to Canada were going north into Alberta, Sasketchewan, some to Manitoba; while I'm trying to get back home in Ontario. There was one load from Nevada to Northern Ontario but it hardly paid anything and the shipper was delayed by the bad weather ... So finally - after my payday on Wednesday - I got fueled up, then gave it another day and headed south on I-15, then east on I-84, and finally east on I-80 - towards Rockford, IL where I have to take a safety class at Landstar Orientation Center. I shut down at Little America, WY (just west of Green River) and then logged on to the Internet to update my "available for a load" status. Did a quick load search and guess what? Those loads out of Nevada to Ontario are now back on the board and the shipper even increased the price! Darn. Just my luck ... But to get to the shipper I"d have to go back WEST on I-80 375 miles plus they promised snow tomorrow in Salt Lake City, UT, so ... no - I'd rather keep driving further EAST. Sooner or later, I should hit that magic "good rate area" Gman always deadheads to, right? :)

Hopefully, you can find something before you reach Illinois, Tracer. I can understand why you would not want to deadhead that far back to Nevada, especially into a snow storm. If it weren't for the snow storm, it would only take about 60 gallons of fuel to get back to that other load.

That's not a "paradox", it's misconception on your part. The good rule of tumb is;-The truck goes where the money is! Not where you want to go. Especially since you are being limited to and from Canada loads only. And one other thing;-Once you've made a decision, don't look back. Look what you got now. You've wasted 3 days, and going nowhere...That's not a good game plan!

yeah, financially speaking it'd make sense to go back especially since they increased the rate per loaded mile to $2.50 from the original $2.15. the snow storm moving in from the west was probably the main reason I kept going east. I'm in Little America WY now and there's hardly any snow here and the temp was 35-40 F :) I see now loads in NE and IA up ahead. I hope to catch something there ...

I had to sit in Idaho till Wednesday anyway because I needed money to buy fuel. I'm thinking of trying a new strategy: stay closer to my home in ON next time (1,500 to 2,000 mile radius)... and only go as far west as NE, IA, IL stuff like that. I learned that it's easy to get a good paying load going to Western Canada (BC, Alberta) or Western US but then you're stuck in the west and there's nothing going east. Which makes sense from the standpoint of manufacturers and shippers: if they work in Washington State, they want to trade with Canadians in BC and AB, not Ontario and Quebec. Many Ontario trucking companies by the way have a policy of "staying east of the Mississippi river".

You mean you didn't have credit card? I also have a Comdata card, limit i believe $900 in 24 hours period, but i rarely use it anyway. Can't believe that Landstar is that cheap.....

We keep our flatbeds east of the Mississippi as well. We will run our reefers west, but know we will get cheap freight coming back.

We do allot of deadheading. Many of our loads will come back to Chicago or Detroit, then we deadhead 350 miles back north, to get home. I know the only reason we even bother going out west, is we have accounts with Sara Lee, and local Fruit Processors that ship to the west coast, and on occasion, I'll have to sit out there for several days to find a load back. I don't do the numbers, but I'm sure my boss has to figure the averages.

The brokers know they can get trucks to haul back east cheap. It's supply and demand. The longer a load sits, the higher the rate will go. Someone is always going to haul just to cover costs. That's a big problem right there. That's what sets the low rates.

They really have Ontario trucks by the short hairs. I think your new plan will be allot less stressful, if not average out better for you.

Cheap rates for reefers off the west coast? Maybe they need to hire some new load planners. Van and reefer rates are just the opposite of flats; money moving east, garbage coming back. Good paying reefer freight headed west out of ON should make you a killing on the round.

We're a small O/O hauling out of N. Michigan.
I agree with you about the load planning, and maybe my boss just has better east coast connections. If we're out there, when there are allot of reefers looking for a load, the rates aren't as good. Our contract loads going out pays pretty good, and we do get some good paying loads coming back, but it's not consistent.

I guess what it comes down to, is not so much freight per mile, but revenue per mile.
Besides the competition at times, our fuel and equipment costs are higher, and seems our rigs get beat up more with the mountains, winter storms, and our deadheading is higher. West coast runs for us is borderline. Our more profitable lanes are to the eastern seaboard and back.

I have a friend who ran the west coast for years. He is now running a shorter radius staying in the Midwest and Northeast. He is making more money and getting home every week. I don't think that he has crossed the Mississippi in a couple of years. I like running the west, but the money isn't there, for the most part. You can make decent rates if you stay in the west, but heading east is difficult and rates are usually cheap, at least with a flat or step. If you run out of the east coast, it is usually more profitable to keep east of the Mississippi.

This is a hard part of the business to master, I second guess myself a lot but my decisions always seem to work out.

Tracer, maybe there's more details than you posted but if you have to wait until you get a check to be able to buy fuel, you need to make some changes in your business plan. Something is not right.

Something else too Tracer, does Landstar have a "Hot States" feature on their board? Something you can look at to determine if you should go to certain areas.

I'm telling you Tracer, the money is in the Midwest. There are a ton of loads going from IL/IN/OH/KY to ON everyday on Landstar's board. Just keep a peek on them and you will see. You will get home more and make about the same money in the long run. I was doing MN to FL loads for them and making a killing, but always had to dh out of FL about 450 miles. Then, I started running short-haul stuff from Chicago to OH and back and made close to the same amount as the longer run and I got to be home on the weekends.

Sure, you will have to cross the border everytime and maybe 5-6 times a week, but that's the hand your delt when you live in 1 country and come to another. I still think you should contemplate buying a Condo or something in the US and switching over to our side. At least you can make lots more $$$ and have WAAAAY more options. Just a thought, we aren't that bad LOL

Having ran for Landstar for a year, and almost going bankrupt I have figured out there "HOT STATES"......... which is everything north of TN, East of IA, and west of GA. So basically IN, IL, MI, OH, KY, MO, and sometimes PA.

As for Camada loads, MI is the hot spot and it's easiest for him too. GM/Chrysler/Ford all use Landstar to run their stuff to ON, unfortunatley this is all VAN freight. I did a few FOMOCO loads and they paid $800-$900 to p/u in Woodhaven, MI and drive 35miles across the border. I just didn't get my passport so I quit going.

For some strange reason the Comdata fuel card they give out to drivers is a DEBIT card: it only works when you have money on it. Caught me by surprise first couple of trips. I hate it. All the cards I used before were CREDIT cards, so at least I didn't have to worry about getting fuel.

I did have a slight cash flow problem which I"m going to correct with Solution #1: I should stop taking freight that pays $2/mi gross to Landstar (posted rate) because then I only have $1.44/mi to the truck. Solution #2: stay within Mid-West US (closer to my home in ON).

They have something called "Load count" on the Search Window. I never tried it. I guess it tells you how many loads are in the area you specify. Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out.

Landstar has a list of all US states subdivided into groups when you do a load search (West, South-West, Mid-West, Mid-Atlantic, New England) and just as Steel Horse Cowboy says 'hot states' are pretty much all the states included in the Mid-West group. I figure if I do 2 trips a week only I can make the same amount of money I make now doing circles aroung the entire North America: Trip 1 from Ontario Canada to Mid-West; Trip 2: from Mid-West back to Ontario or QC (then I'd deadhead from QC to Toronto). Then shut down for 2 days and watch TV. If I do 2 trips per week, I'll only be crossing the border 2 times a week.

Mid-West: IL IN IA KS MI MN MO NE ND OH SD WI

PA is a part of the "Mid-Atlantic" group, according to Landstar.

The Midwest would probably work well for you, tracer. I would suggest that before you take a load that you check Landstar's loadboard and freight availability in the area where you are considering taking a load. It would give you a better idea of what is going on in that area. I would also start talking to different agents. Keep a list of those who offer better paying loads. When you are going to an area where you have a contact, give them a call before you get to the area so that they might find you something. Once agents find how you run and that you are dependable, they should start to call you with their loads, especially if you run the same lanes as where they have freight. At one time Landstar gave new BCO's a book with all of their agents. It made it much easier to establish contacts. I don't believe that they do that any more. You may already be aware of it but agents often have freight in other parts of the country other than where they are headquartered.

Thanks Gman. No, they still have the book with Agents' Listings. They gave us 2 booklets at signing: one for fuel stations and LCAPP programs, and the other for Agents. I try to use the online Directory because you can quickly search by "City" and "State". Agents admit 70% of all freight is still posted online to the Landstar board.

I am glad to hear that they still offer the agent books. That 30% is likely the better paying loads. I used to make notes in my agent book as to where various agents had freight. That was before laptops. It is much easier when you can search online. Some agents have fairly regular freight out of a particular area and they will sometimes work with other agents to keep you moving back to their freight.

Tracer...I think it might be time to get those loads in Ghent. :)

I quit MacKinnon in August 2010. Ghent is out of my reach now. But if you want, I can help you get on board. I know the lady in Recruiting... They'll be happy to load those garbage bins on your truck for $1/mi.

My empty road trip ended today - Monday, Dec 06th. I did the safety training in Rockford, IL and an easy machinery load - no tarp - came up on the Landstar board. I'm heading to Quebec, Canada for $2 per mile TO THE TRUCK on ALL miles with a 33,000 lb load. The trip will take me right past my home in ON, so I'll be able to empty my mail box after being away for 5 weeks :)

.....

All I did was van freight with Landstar so I dont how the flat works, but I got on a dedicated run with an agent doing Fed-Ex freight and it was nice. $500 a trip to the truck, loaded from 1 terminal to another terminal 185miles away and I was home everyday. Of course Fed-Ex took the route back when things got slow and I left. But just see what's out there, they may be some agents with steady freight and want you to dedicate a lane for them.

Also, the best paying loads I did for Landstar were NEVER on the board. 1 agent had freight at at $10 mile but he didn't post them cuz he said his phone would never stop ringing if he did. He just called available trucks and he also had a set of guys he knew would do them.

It takes time and patience to find the agents who have the better paying freight. There are a lot of owners who don't like to deal with the hassle of crossing the border. I feel confident that you will find some agents who can keep you rolling.

Too bad I didn't know you were in town, I would have popped out and grabbed a bite with you.

where in QC and when are you empty?

I"m delivering in Montreal QC tomorrow (12/09/2010) and will start looking for a new load in the morning.

I miss the Expos and their funny little design logo.

Yep I miss Canada's team too. I used to call them the best minor league team in the majors.

I've beating the boards trying to find some northbound freight and I came across a few southbound LS loads out of Le Belle Province. Thought I would ask so if I came across anything, I'd let ya know.

Too late... The place in Montreal where I dropped the 33,000 lb front-end loader has some kind of a grader going back to Stoney Creek, ON. Too bad I drove away all the way to the Flying J, now I have to do the same 36 km in the opposite direction :)

Hope it's a nice day for a drive. Today is quiet, but we've had some strong winds, and heavy lake effect snow. Major whiteout and drifting.
It's going to start up again tonight, and by Sunday 50 mph gusts. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l236/Leland10/wtf.gif

It will be after my battery starts charging again. Left the Flying J and noticed the needle on the battery gauge was at ... 9.5 V. What the heck? Drove 36 km to the shipper and it went all the way to 0. I stopped by the Peterbilt, opened the hood and just as I thought, the alternator belt broke and was hanging loose. Peterbilt didn't have the proper belt and they were all booked. So now I'm at the International dealer 1 mi away from the shipper having the belt replaced :( At least it wasn't the alternator. That would be scary. But in Quebec prices on alternator belts are probably close to those for alternators. This is one expensive province. The fact that the International put my truck right in, while Peterbilt said they MIGHT start working on the truck in 3 hours (if they had had the belt) says something about these 2 truck makes: either Peterbilt trucks break down more often than Internationals or Quebec drivers are crazy about Peterbilts. I'm not sure which.

I experience the complete opposite here in the states. I can always get in at the Peterbilt dealers, its the IH and FTL dealers who have the 3 day to 2 week waits.......... odd

That would have been nice.

I know! But when I tried calling Agents myself, I yet have to score a single load. 90% of the freight I get is from the board and the rest - from Agents who call. I hope in the future the ratio would change - like you said they don't bother posting good freight. Actually, that what happened today - I brought a loader to Montreal and the SAME agent called me after I unloaded and offered a load going back to Ontario. I took because it paid almost 3 bucks per mile to Landstar. Too bad the trip is only 385 miles long.