The trucking industry.....How's it affecting the owners?

[Good to Go]

I never said that was fact, I just said that is what I thought.

It is also not set in stone, but a reccomendation, LIKE the IRS mileage reimbursment rate. Employers do not HAVE to pay this but use it as a base. Some pay more, others pay less.

Oh, I didn't perceive you as stating it as fact, I was wondering about the thought process to why one would think that it might be so..

The mileage rate from the IRS is set in stone... for deductions. An employer could reimburse an employee driving their own personal car any amount they want, but no doubt, many defer to the tax rate out of simplicity.

 

[IMSICK]

I understand where the carriers are coming from, Heck when the wife and I opened this business up 11 yrs ago, all we had to do was post, or state a rate and the load was covered, no surcharge, no price gouging, no BS. Now days we are now getting "BIDS" from carriers and letting the shippers/recievers authorize it. It's just funny how one truck needs $4.00 p/mile to run and the next call can run the same load for $2.00. I won't name names but there are carriers that are taking advantage of the current fuel issues, and think they are more important than the next truck in line.

Getting to be a pretty cut-throat bussiness.

Prime example of not asking before loading..... I had a truck show up yesterday hauling equipment to a lease for me, attached to the bottom was a 46% fuel surcharge.

If that isn't taking advantage of current fuel issues....

 

[cek]

I'm am completely ignorant about the trucking industry, so hopefully you could help with my question. Why don't truckers just charge more to cover they're costs (fuel,maintanence, tires, labor). If a shipper doesn't want to buck up and pay what it costs to ship his stuff, let it sit on the loading dock. Is the trucking industry so cutthroat that people are willing to take losses just to drive a truck? I wouldn't do any job if the balance sheet didn't tip to my advantage!

It is starting to change but there is always a guy who want's to get home and will try and do it cheap. They just aren't there consistantly for the most part. Like I said before, If we don't make money at it we don't do it. It's cheaper to let a truck sit than take a loss.

 

[cek]

Prime example of not asking before loading..... I had a truck show up yesterday hauling equipment to a lease for me, attached to the bottom was a 46% fuel surcharge.

If that isn't taking advantage of current fuel issues....

It depens on the rate. If the base rate was dirt cheap he's making it up on the fuel surcharge. Happens all of the time. A guy gets bids and two come back at 2 grand and the other comes back at 1500 plus fuel. You take the 1500 and then find out he has a 40% fuel surcharge andand ends up at 2100.
Very common. You need a rate "with fuel". That's the only wany to know your total cost before hand.

 

[AkMike]

Most of the $$ problems on my end is that I'm a 3rd tier contractor doing road work. The prime contractor hasn't bothered to add a fuel surcharge to the contract.. Just a placed yardage amount. Flat rate! Then the truck pimps/ brokers/ minorities come ibn and contract the trucking .. Then they call me... Everyone gets a slice and I'm stuck sucking hind teat.. I need to be able to raise my rates at least $1 per $0.10 the fuel goes up. The current rate is a whole $5 more than last years hourly rate. Whoppee..
But the fuel rate is up over $9 per hour.. So once again the trucks(mostly one horse O/O's) that actually do the dirt work are getting skrewed again.
I have all my iron paid off free and clear so I'm in better shape than many others.. I can afford to sit and wait for a decent paying job.
I figured out that I can go broke slower by sitting at home rather that funding the other guys mistake.

 

[Trukker]

Well now here's a topic I can say I know 2 maybe three..four things about.Trucking right now for us has never been better!!When there is crisis there`s also opportunity.We haul Pipe from CDA......Alberta to TX for drilling...Then we haul pipe from Houston back to where we hauled from.We have both Leased Ops and company trucks but I broker 80% of what we can handle.Yeh you pass on the FSC but there is also opportunity.Comes down to managing your biz boys.

 

[Trukker]

It depens on the rate. If the base rate was dirt cheap he's making it up on the fuel surcharge. Happens all of the time. A guy gets bids and two come back at 2 grand and the other comes back at 1500 plus fuel. You take the 1500 and then find out he has a 40% fuel surcharge andand ends up at 2100.
Very common. You need a rate "with fuel". That's the only wany to know your total cost before hand.

Bro I always rate base rate plus FSC.The way fuel is going up every week......that way i got it covered.

 

[bullfrog123]

One thing to think about AkMike, is sometimes us brokers/pimps do the leg work for you. As in what my wife and I do, is set loading and delivery appointments, get loading PO#s, del #'s, directions to shipper/recievers, etc., and when weather or chit happens we do it all over again for you. Thus saving the carrier valuable time and cell phone bills. That alone can add up to big $ in the end.

Yes I am taking my slice of the pie, but WHEN you can find someone to go the extra mile for you it's worth it in the long run.

I feel for the owner/ op's out there or the independents, as they are taking the hardest hit in this industry. The BIG co's, (Swift, CR England, May, Central Ref, etc), have the capital to absorb the cheap loads. Thing is with them they get fuel/gov "kickbacks" for offering to be a so called "Driving School" to teach future truckers. That is how they are able to haul $1.10-$1.25 p/mile freight, thus keeping the rates so low. Shippers realize this and know they may have to sit on a load for a couple weeks, but know they will come around and take it. They aren't dumb to this trend. This is where it is getting soooo competitive. I (and other brokers) are just trying to make a living too, along with the carriers.

I just feel for the small fish in the pond at the end of the day. Guess I still hold the old fashioned beliefs that my father, and grand-father hold on to.

 

[Trukker]

Bullfrog........I here ya when i say Biz is good it's not without lots of grief...I spend morning till night hammering the phone puttin up with customs clearance......paperwork.chit like customer "A" won't load that kind of trl or driver can only handle 43000 lbs on and on.She's a stressfull biz to say the least.

 

[AkMike]

Froggy,
I've been blowing black smoke for 35 years this summer and 28 of that as an O/O.
I'm not in freight I do dirt only. I know only what the pimps do to us here on this end.
3-5% is a fair amount to skim off the top for the paperwork end. But some of them here are taking alot more than that the lying to the truckers about the amounts and withholding the coins for several months.. It's hard to operate without getting paid on time.
This is no reflection on you or others.. Just my views of the industry from this end.

 

[bullfrog123]

Gotcha Ak, that is why our company works on the policy of the truck did it's job and he get's paid 30 days from reciept, wheather we have been paid or not. If no claims, shortages, and all paperwork is in order YOU get paid before I do. Sometimes I hate this policy, but that's what makes repeat carriers, and personal/bussiness friendships. And after 11 yrs here I know a crook by the sound of their voice.

Wish others out there could go back to "old skool" word of mouth, and such. This industry wouldn't be hurting so bad.

 

[Trukker]

Froggy,
I've been blowing black smoke for 35 years this summer and 28 of that as an O/O.
I'm not in freight I do dirt only. I know only what the pimps do to us here on this end.
3-5% is a fair amount to skim off the top for the paperwork end. But some of them here are taking alot more than that the lying to the truckers about the amounts and withholding the coins for several months.. It's hard to operate without getting paid on time.
This is no reflection on you or others.. Just my views of the industry from this end.

Don't kid yourself 15-30%

 

[AkMike]

Nope 15-30% is a rip off in this section of the industry... 3-5 is a fair wage. Unless they want to slide under and grease the trucks too..

 

[H2SNOW]

speaking of trucking ....gott a head back down the road !!

 

[SNOW JW]

In the dirt end of things 3-5% is pleny fair like Mike said.

 

[bullfrog123]

Dangit, I need to find a way to up my %'s and still help the carrier. I just don't think that 12-15% for what I do is worth it, (even tho I sure could use that extra $). But charging that high %, just makes my phone bill go up each month thus costing me more to be in business, because of the extra calls made every day to cover a load. So that alone comes into play at the end of the month when the bills come in.

Don't know about dirt work, but the cross country freight is so amazing day to day. With the current economy I have noticed a decline in full loads, some recievers are now opting to go LTL, and when those few pallets of product sell they will order more, and so on. It's hard for a owner to sit on a particular product hoping it will sell, vs. buying when the need is justified.

This trend is making it harder and harder to fill the trucks and cover freight from day to day. Cuz, as all of you know LTL is pretty cheap these days.

 

[Jeff C]

bull frog:

I am suprised you didn't do this to the picture as you looked at it!

 

[bullfrog123]

HAHAHAHA, Let's just say it was close a couple times lol.

Yea I'm a sick sick individual, hehe

 

[flatlander_99]

i can also add another perspective to this. i work in the transportation department of a well known u.s. frozen food company. our carriers submit rates for specific lanes and we add fsc on top of that. our fsc is based on the national average & figured per mile. i think its around 71 cents right now. a few years ago it was only 2 cents! all of our carriers have been expressing their concerns & issues these days with the industry. we are also taking it in the shorts. thank god my family got out of the trucking industry a few years ago or it would hit even closer to home. we also just dropped one of our carriers & when i talked to him yesterday he said he was going to be selling one of his trucks (small oo with 2 trucks) but can't right now because so many owner operators are selling theirs & going to work for other people too.
no matter how you look at it, right now the economy is hitting everyone hard!

 

[portgrinder]

.....nobody would move a triple with the box intact .......course I don't knpw wtf I"m talkin bout

Actually, we get em hauled in all the time in one shot... D's and F's. Thats how all of them leave for McMurray these days.