In percentage terms, how much too many trucks are there on the road?
 

haha Trouble squeezing the title into a one-liner.

We all know there are too many trucks on the road. What kind of reduction in the number of trucks would it take for you to be making the same money (indexed to inflation of course) as you were making, say, 10 years ago. 10%? 20%? 50%?

It's not the quantity, that concerns me, it's quality!

It isn't the number of trucks at this point. It is the rates. I see plenty of freight coming out of my area, but rates are all over the place. In order for income to come up we need to either better educate the owners of these trucks or get them out of the business. It is the cheap freight haulers that are the problem. We have always had cheap freight haulers. They will stay with us as long as we have a trucking industry. I am still getting decent rates, but I also have to work a little harder to find them. I don't run that hard any more. My equipment is paid off so I don't have the pressure to run to make payments. Since I usually get good rates when I do run I can afford to sit until I find something with a decent rate. In reality, I probably do as well or better than many who run harder for cheap rates.

You don't see it as a supply and demand question? Too much supply of trucks making people desperate?

The truck is in control of the rates right now. The truck owner/dispatcher/salesman or whoever negotiates the rates has to stand by the rate they need and not take cheap freight. I target shippers with loads out of low paying bad freight areas. I send trucks into those areas with great rates and we can load out with cheaper loads, but no broker cut. I dont like that steel from CT to IN pays less than steel from IN to CT, but it does. People arent desperate to haul cheap freight and Cheap freight for one company may be okay freight for another company. I get cursed out about some of my loads daily. I post the rate, seldom negotiate. If they call, they really want the load, but their pride is hurt when I wont negotiate.

I get what you're saying about standing by your rate and not taking cheap freight but you lost me just a little bit too. What do you mean by "The truck is in control of the rates right now"? Supply and demand is on the side of the O/O? It seems with rates low it would be the opposite. But I'm kinda new and I'm just trying to figure stuff out.

What I am seeing are fewer loads being offered by some of my regular sources. One has about half the loads that they had only a couple of months ago. I seem to see fewer trucks on the road. You could make a case for supply and demand, but that is often used as an excuse for those who are willing to haul for cheap rates. Some of us would rather sit than take something that we can't make a profit.

First off, I've noticed fewer trucks on the road too and I agree with you there.

As for supply and demand, can't we pretend that it's pre-1980 and we still hold science in high regard? :) Supply and demand are like the physics of the business world. Sure some truck owners are going to be idiots and give their services away for almost nothing but supply and demand are forces to be reckoned with. If the number of O/Os bidding on loads was magically cut by a huge percentage tomorrow morning you can bet loads would magically pay a whole lot more.

But maybe my basic premise is way off. Are there too many trucks on the road? Are you making less than you were say 10 years ago?

That's fair deal IMHO if you've posted the rates. I also agree about "trucks in control"! How many times you've heard;- You don't want it? Well somebody else will! And i didn't see any contradiction with the "supply and demand" law. It's endless supply of unprofessionals!

Definitely a lot of unprofessionals out there! I had a guy call on one of me FEMA loads yesterday and he couldnt tell me his MC number. He said "my wife handles that". I dont say "if you wont take it someone will" I offer better rates than my competitors and hate to miss a load, but I dont have a truck empty in ME or MA or FL without a plan to get it out. Sometimes I wonder if they went into these bad areas for a low-ball rate.