Wtf?
 

RATES ARE BRUTAL !:pissedoff::moon:

you ain't kiddin.

You're kidding, right? Rates are great. I'm thinking of trading my step for a 48 ft flat.

I'll try to translate an old russian proverb;-"Whatever kid does, as long as he is not crying....."

Freebrd, I was just thinking the same thing. How can one afford to make any money @ these rates with diesel over $3.50 a gallon.. I'm confused here. This thing needs a serious overhaul...

Just for the hell of it, what are the rates right now? I run leased to a company for a set rate so I am out of the loop. But what i do know is we are getting .47cpm on our fsc

hey tracer! your a idiot! just kidding! NOT!
"You're kidding, right? Rates are great. I'm thinking of trading my step for a 48 ft flat." Dont think tracer! i got a couple flats here! bring that step on over!
REALLY! Tho, go with the muvall!!
DID SOMEONE SAY 4-DOLLAR A MILE FREIGHT ??
I smell something burning !
OH! And dont listen to GMAN he's CRAZY...;)

what are the rates right now?
easy! get on a load board an punch in a city! or ask tracer he nos were the good freight is!
TRACER, ARENT U FRON CANADA? That means you can haul into us but can only haul out going to canada!

I know. Maybe that's why the rates I see (from US to Canada) are pretty good.

Very true. I know when i was at LS I did some stuff from FL and OH that paid well over $4 a mile going to ON and Montreal in a VAN!!!! Mainly because US drivers won't go into Canada, but this was before the speed limiting and passport issue

How do I get onto a load board if I am not a memeber of any??? seriously, I'd like to know so i can see how things are moving.

I'm in the same boat as Tracer so I can't help you out with the US to US rates SHCboy. BTW, I don't disagree with Tracer. I have seen worse rates headed north. They must be pathetic going south in order to justify the northbound.

I know this is beating a dead horse, and I know that I am preaching to the choir, but this over regulation is starting to show up in higher rates for some lanes. Add up the affects of ACE, TWIC, waiting at the ports, gaining access to the ports (eModal), speed limiters in parts of Canada, high insurance for CDN carriers that run the US, mandatory QC business license required for deliveries into QC......CDN rates aren't bad. The problem is the DH southbound. I really think there is an opportunity for the right guy to run some higher priced freight into Canada and just DH back unto the US.

I feel the same way. I know when I was at LS, I could p/u a load in Chicago at 5am, deliver in Tecumseh, ON or Sarnia and deadhead home all in 1 day. Load paid $5.50 a mile and it was a drop-n-hook on both ends.

Free 30-day trial its or get loaded .

Thanks, I'll check it out, tho i may not want to since it seems to have you all depressed.

Also, wouldn't you get better rates if you DIDN'T use a load board? Cut out the middleman and get your own customers

What are you guys smoking? $3.50 per gallon? I just fueled up at TA X.5 I-81 in PA and the CASH price is 3.92. Landstar price: 3.72.

It's $3.50 northern MA. Plus a rebate from IFTA if you drive in NH or ME.

Well, at least I don't pay tolls here. I was running close to empty, no choice but fuel. Checked the price at the Carlisle Petro - it was pretty much the same as here :(

Holy smokes. I just came through there yesterday and I swear it was ~$3.75. Maybe that was at the Loves on I-80, just west of 81.

I've been off all week, but unleaded here went from $3.05 on Monday to $3.65 today!!!!

Tracer, thats even worst. I run out west on i-40 avg price is about $3.50 @ least that was last week. I have to figure something out here very soon....

Last week I bought fuel in Florence, KY (near Cincinnati) and it was 3.60 at the pump and I paid 3.30/gal. It's been going up ever since. Soon it might be cheaper to buy diesel in Calgary, AB. Last week it was $1.05 per liter or $3.96/US gal at Esso.

huh wow i hope not buti am on another forum and the owner of the forum asked a poll question it was if you will see $4.00 for gas for the car and i said to my self it is almost $4.00 per gallon for diesel here in iowa make me wonder if i was to get into the otr driving or not

In 2008 it was toping $5 a gallon. My best year ever! So i guess it's not just a price of diesel....

Yeah, at $5 a gallon, I get close to $2 per mile for my FSC

drive at or below 60 in an aerodynamic truck and you'd be okay. guys that drive trucks with big square hoods at 70 MPH might have to quit smoking when diesel passes $4/gal mark ;)

What you talking about, all that machinery you are pulling doesn't help much with your aerodynamics..... a 379 pete and a van trailer are better off than your 9400 and a skyjacker LOL

Also, wouldn't you get better rates if you DIDN'T use a load board? Cut out the middleman and get your own customers.

HMM! NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT ONE BEFORE!
SOUNDS EASY DONT IT!

HELP ME OUT STEELHORSE! GIVE ME A COUPLE OF YOUR DIRECT SHIPPERS.

I LIKE HOW PEOPLE CAN COME ON A FORUM DO SOME READING AND THINK THEY GOT IT ALL FIGURED OUT! WIHOUT EVER DOING IT THEMSELVES ! JUST QUOTING SOME FAMILIAR THEME THEY READ ABOUT!

I OFTEN WONDER HOW MANY O/OPS THERE ARE ON THIS FORUM.

ALSO I DO HAVE SOME DIRECT JUST NOT EVERYWERE! LOTS OF VARIABLES ..

BOTTOM LINE RATES IN MOST OF THE COUNTRY ARE FLAT!

MOST OF THE GOOD STUFF IS ALLREADY SPOKEN FOR!

MOSTLY S--T LOADS ARE THE ONES THAT MAKE IT TO THE LOADBOARDS!!

SO HERES A DOSE OF REALITY FELLAS!

A typical VAN driver weighs 250 lbs. You burn more fuel to pull that extra weight ;)

I guess your'e referring to something like this that I looked up on our Landstar board in YOUR AREA. As Canadian I cannot move this load, but you can.

Origin: Alabama
Destination: Louisianna
Trailer required: FLAT
Weight: 44,000 lbs
Loaded miles: 306
Revenue: $1,872
Rate per mile: $6.12/mi

Damn! I'm 85 lb short!

No need to be a dick, I was just asking a question. I don't have direct shippers, I run leased to a company and make plenty of money. I'm not the one on here whinning about not making any cash. I too had thought about going out with my own authority, but as I see it, i make just as much as the rest of them, if not more, without any of the headaches. I clear over $12k to the truck each month, and don't have to worry about repairs ot the trailer, or all the insurance issues. I know where my load is and where it goes and it's always there...... I wasn't trying to quote anything I read, i was just trying to figure out your game plan since it seems you have none and rely on load boards and brokers. I just figured there had to be an easier way. Soon it won't matter because if all the big companies have it their way, you guys will be out of a job due to speed limited trucks and EOBR. you won't be able to compete with their rates, fuel discounts and cheap driver pay. It's a damn shame but it's been a long time coming. All the IND drivers want $4+ per mile to run loads that the large companies will do for $2 per mile.

As I read your blog, I don't see how you can keep skinny with all the damn coffee shops you sit at all the time LOL!!!

Coffee doesn't kill people; doughnuts do ;)

You MIGHT be qualified to pull a flat or step ;)

I think there will still be room for the little guy. Get some specialized equipment and get some kind of an edge over the competition. Large companies have a ton of overhead, a single independent can actually afford to haul something cheaper. Plus as a one-man company you're much more flexible and easier to deal with (less redtape etc.).

Did that for almost 18 years, back to our motherland.....

Roger that, Major. Понял Вас, товарищ майор :)

The small operator does have more flexibility. The larger the company the more layers of bureaucracy you have and the more difficult it becomes for them to respond quickly to rapidly changing market conditions. The small company doesn't have to worry about getting the board or a committee together to make a decision or do a study before making a decision or taking action. Larger companies do find it easier to fund their business than a small company. On the other hand, the small operator learns to do more with less while keeping debt low. There are advantages to both types of operations.

I understand that, but here is what I'm saying..... lets say Swift, CRE, SNI, Werner and the rest of them get their way in the govt laws:

All trucks will be goverened to 67mph so now you won't be able to make better time than the other companies

EOBR will track you and your hours so now you can't "make more time" to get a load somewhere earlier than the other companies

You will still be paying say $3.50 per gallon for fuel, while the large compaines get it for $2.00 a gallon or less

You need to make set amount of $ to stay in business, pay your bills and maintain your truck, while the larger companies can pay drivers .35cpm, maintian their trucks and pay their bills due to the LARGE amount of loads they pull at a meager rate which would put the smaller guys out of business.....

I'm not saying it will happen anytime soon, but in 30yrs I doubt there will be many of the independants left. Hell, look at 30yrs ago most of the trucking industry was Independant drivers, say 70%, and now it's down to more like 30%

I don't want it to happen, but unfortunatley we are out numbered and we don't have the funds to lobby in DC and grease the palms that need to be