A few questions about Landstar:

1) How does one become an agent with them ? Can one be an agent & o/o with them concurrently ?

2) Would owning a curtain-side give an o/o the flexibilty of pulling dry van as well as decks, when one is signed on with Landstar ?

3) Do their loads to Canada pay well ? If one were to be signed on with them, which places in the US would have the most outbound and inbound loads to / from Canada ?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, there are some agents who run their own trucks. I believe the process is about the same for both: You have to apply. I do know that the agents have to go through some classes within Landstar prior to being approved.

The answer is maybe. Curtainside trailers allow you to haul some van freight, and [/b]some[/b] flatbed freight.

It all depends upon the agent, the area of the country, the type of equipment, the load itself, etc. etc. etc. I've seen some nice paying dry van freight heading to Canada from the upper midwest and northeast, but I've also seen some lousy rates.

Landstar usually wants agents to bring trucks and shippers with them. At one time they did not want people who owned their own trucks due to a conflict of interest. However, I have known of several who own their own trucks. If you plan on driving the truck yourself it will be difficult to be an successful agent. During the last year most freight coming into and out of Canada seems to pay about the same as domestic freight. Canadian bound freight is available in most regions of the U.S. I would say that you would find most Canadian freight coming out of the rust belt (Midwest) and Northeast. There is also Canadian freight coming out of the Northwest. One thing to keep in mind when hauling freight into Canada is that there may not be anything coming out that pays well. For instance, freight coming out of Alberta is sparse and cheap.

Thank you most kindly, gentlemen. Your opinions are quite informative, as always. Cheers !!

The lady i drive for has 5-trucks, she is an agent, and the trucks are leased to landstar. I am guessing that being an agent you control your freight better than an OO just taking whatever is on the board. We get some really gravy runs that pay pretty awesome. Not sure of all the technicalities, but my understanding is that is our freight through her being an agent.

Some of the Landstar agents work together to move freight back and forth. They have about 5 agents who handle tires. They will sometimes work together to get trucks back to their counterpart in another part of the country. Some of them are just very competitive, especially within the same market.