How's Everyone Doing? How Is Freight? Not Many Posts Lately

During that time I actually think the Owner/Operators are going to be the ones that make the killing because they will get the full profit from a load while all of us company drivers are going to probably get shafted a bit.

Steven, that makes no sense. Owner/Operators have huge expenses compared to company drivers. Have you noticed how many of them are protesting right now? Company drivers don't lose out during times of high demand. You will measure out your own success. It has nothing to do with who owns the truck. It's all about your ability to consistently produce positive results.

You're spending way too much time on Facebook and YouTube. It's starting to make you sound delusional. Stick to the facts. You're totally green. That's not the time to be a teacher. Be a sponge - just try to filter what you are sponging in.

During that time I actually think the Owner/Operators are going to be the ones that make the killing because they will get the full profit from a load while all of us company drivers are going to probably get shafted a bit.

Steven, that makes no sense. Owner/Operators have huge expenses compared to company drivers. Have you noticed how many of them are protesting right now? Company drivers don't lose out during times of high demand. You will measure out your own success. It has nothing to do with who owns the truck. It's all about your ability to consistently produce positive results.

You're spending way too much time on Facebook and YouTube. It's starting to make you sound delusional. Stick to the facts. You're totally green. That's not the time to be a teacher. Be a sponge - just try to filter what you are sponging in.

I'm just meaning that when things recover more than likely company people will be stuck with their current pay even if freight prices go up while people that own the truck will probably have the same costs as usual but will see better pay and more loads that they can take. I'm trying to just ask questions and learn but I just wanted to say that I think things will get better. Thats why I want to get in even though money is bad right now, when certain industries come back there should be a lot of work to be done.

Steven, drivers create their own demand. This is particularly relevant to OTR jobs. Did you notice in this conversation how many of us have been just as busy as ever during this time? Some of us are even making more money due to incentives that have been added for staying productive during a turbulent downturn. It's a critical lesson. You can have two drivers working for the same company at the same pay rate, and even sharing the same dispatcher , but their income could differ by tens of thousands of dollars.

What is the difference? It isn't the freight rates. Nor is it the amount of freight. It wouldn't even matter if one were company and the other were O/O. I have two friends on my dedicated account who are O/O's - we share the same dispatcher. They are amazed at my income which for the last three years has exceeded theirs by around 20,000 dollars. They call me Mr. Dale - that's what everybody here calls me. They say, "Damn Mr. Dale, how do you do it?"

You've just got to get it in your head early on - being productive is where the money comes from. That sounds simple, but the reality is that it's a complex blend of practices and discipline that gets you there. When you are the kind of driver that's bringing serious money into the company's coffers they will get behind you with a concerted effort to capitalize on your talents. Your ability to produce revenues effectively gives you what some deem as an unfair advantage. It only seems unfair to those who don't know the secrets of how you got in that position, or how you keep yourself in that position of being prioritized.

”Thats why I want to get in even though money is bad right now”

My money isn’t bad. I’m a company driver, dry van , southeast regional. Probably what many consider the lowest paid type of OTR driving. I’m still averaging 2,400-2,600 miles per week and getting home each week.

Some things are frustrating, like last week thinking I’d have to go home early. Then, voila! I get an 860 mile load, followed up by a 592 mile load.

Right now I’m waiting for my next assignment. But, as a company driver, someone else is stressing over finding & assigning loads. If I was an Owner/Op, I’d be the one stressed out.

Enjoy the ride!

The chemical side held in March but April has been very slow. Alot of our customers consuming latex cancelled a majority of loads. Glue loads have held steady as well as paper additive chemicals. I hauled 5 loads the entire month. The money on the five has been good, but really hurting my bottom line. Dispatch said the past 2 weeks have been espically crazy with scheduling. I have many contacts within the company and have been using all of them to stay ahead of the game.

My guess is everyone is going to want everything yesterday shortly. I think we are in for a lengthy roller coaster ride.

I've been furloughed for about 1.5 weeks and am told we will be back to work late this month/early next month. Cars are obviously extremely low demand right now and supply is extremely high. When we do come back production will be cut down to 80% as of right now(GM plant, spring hill, TN). We have a lot of drivers who have been furloughed for going on 4 weeks at different locations. Of those drivers many have been permanently laid off due to the forecasted reduced production.

I flirted with some local grocery hauling gigs while I'm furloughed but ultimately decided it would be best to wait considering I'll be back to work in about a month at the latest. Nevertheless, home improvement has been a full go!

Still furloughed. Haven't been given a call although last Friday it seemed like a lot of people had been probably only for that day.

The chemical side held in March but April has been very slow. Alot of our customers consuming latex cancelled a majority of loads. Glue loads have held steady as well as paper additive chemicals. I hauled 5 loads the entire month. The money on the five has been good, but really hurting my bottom line. Dispatch said the past 2 weeks have been espically crazy with scheduling. I have many contacts within the company and have been using all of them to stay ahead of the game.

My guess is everyone is going to want everything yesterday shortly. I think we are in for a lengthy roller coaster ride.

Thats what im betting on, most industries can only stay shutdown for as long as they could hold if they were under a strike so it wont be long. CRST just sent me an offer letter to get me in and training within the next month as a new driver so it seems like some of the big guys agree that there is going to be more loads than drivers very soon and its going to be a drivers market.

I had one good week two weeks ago. Last week I saw 930 miles. This week so far is 87 miles. Is anyone else seeing such dismal numbers? I am starting to get worried now. I really hope the economy opens up soon.

TCB I understand completely The entire month of April I pulled 5 loads. My dispatchers and planners said it was slowing about 4 weeks ago, but got really nutty 2 weeks ago. I’m just making the best of it