Is Freight Slowing Down ?

I am still a "JAFRO", but my understanding is that we are now entering the busy season. We should be going full blast.

But, last few weeks I have had trouble getting loads on Friday thru Sunday. My leader claims freight has slowed and they are having issues keeping all of us moving. I see no reason for his statements to be bullsh#t as we haves good relationship and my performance has been excellent

So my question to you is "are you seeing a trend with your company that suggests freight is slowing down ?

I'm having the same problem. It should pick up soon. The last time I was listening to landline the only division that was doing really good was flatbed. It could have changed in the past 2 weeks tho.

Not as I can tell. Freight seems to be moving along just fine. Weekends can be tough of your dm doesn't have you loaded running through the weekend, many times the folks working weekend Dispatch won't look as hard for loads or are just overwhelmed by the number of drivers they have to attend to. The other thing to look at is your location. If your outside of your companies busy freight lanes, then it can be tough to get a load without having to deadhead you a bit, so there's also that to consider. Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and if you're headed down to Texas, don't plan on much going on tomorrow lol, it is what it is.

If anything I feel like it has pick up here in Shaffer I am in SC resetting due to running out of hrs, even though I am meticulous on how to use them so I don't have this problem, but I have been running hard the past 2 weeks, I already accepted my next load I'm just waiting on my clock, out

I am still a "JAFRO", but my understanding is that we are now entering the busy season. We should be going full blast.

But, last few weeks I have had trouble getting loads on Friday thru Sunday. My leader claims freight has slowed and they are having issues keeping all of us moving. I see no reason for his statements to be bullsh#t as we haves good relationship and my performance has been excellent

So my question to you is "are you seeing a trend with your company that suggests freight is slowing down ?

I've found that it just comes in waves, and you have to ride the valleys along with the peaks.

Like a couple of weeks ago, there was a period of a few days when I felt like there was no reason why I should be sitting for extended periods between loads.

Then this week it's been non-stop action.

I've also found that I seem to receive instant karma from dispatch, depending on whether I "rock-starred" my previous load or not. I'm not sure if this is intentional, but it sure feels like it!

Take yesterday for example: I got reloaded somewhat late in the day for an 800 mile trip, and they expected I would probably be delivering it at the very end of the day today (if not tomorrow) because of that. Instead, I delivered it this morning, causing them to scramble to find me something else: a short 200 mile run which will deliver tomorrow morning, (and about which I didn't complain), and now my karmic reward is that I'm preplanned on a 1900 mile run loading tomorrow, heading out to Portland, which will allow me to fully max out my 70 over the last 6.5 days, take a restart over the weekend, then deliver Monday morning with a nearly fresh set of hours. All because I went the extra mile to rock out my last load.

Phew, sorry for rambling there! The point is, just keep swinging for the fences on every pitch they give you, and you'll hit plenty of homers in the end.

I have been driving solo 5 months now. I have never waited for a load and I am pre planned 1-3 loads ahead of the current load every time. I am on a dedicated fleet. 5 days on 2 days off 2500-3000 miles per week.

Raz, are you doing dry van work?

There is no trend of slowing freight right now, but every once in a while your company may just have missed some bids or something along those lines that will make things slow down for just a few short weeks or so. Roll with it and don't let it give you those longing eyes for greener pastures. We all experience these things from time to time - they are temporary bumps in the road. I fully suspect that two weeks from the time you posted this you will be complaining that you can't keep up with all the stuff your driver manager is sending your way.

I've felt that freight has been soft (compared to last year) since Thanksgiving, although we're still getting decent miles. Recently spoke with another team at my company that felt the same. It's an election year, no telling what can happen.

Just had a 1,000 mile deadhead out of Seattle to get a load, but that's generally a tough area for us and quite the anomaly.

Some of my experience is running different lanes as well. A lot more coast to coast compared to mostly eastern runs when I was solo the previous year. This week is looking to be good, should get 7500+ miles in.