Companies closed their doors overnight.

[Magard]

I keep waiting for some of these big trucking companies to fail. You can’t go hire rookie drivers and have them go out and crash your equipment all day and stay afloat. There’s just not those kind of profits in this business to cover up all that destruction.

[Evotrucker]

I work local/intermodal at the ports here in stlouois and man.... has it slowed down! the ports are loaded but freight isnt moving! not sure what the hell is going on.

When i checked out some lanes on DAT, freight rates have gone up since last quarter. I havent worked a full week in over a month now and im starting to feel it financially.

I'd like to move to another company but that's a risk of its own. dont feel like moving only to find a bigger pile of shi#t to sit on, so i'm going to hold of as long as i can. It's hard to find a decent company now a days when the entire industry is full of shi#t, they all brag about miles and pay but fail to deliver 95% of the time.

[Volvo8873]

(04-29-2019 )ynot Wrote:  These "sudden" closures of companies are usually far from sudden, waterloo's situation sounds a bit different then the usual we've gone bankrupt stories.

The closures are a work in progress for a couple years Bill's start pulling up fuel cards not working a day here an there or even constantly switching back an forth between fuel stops,maintenance on the trucks starts slowing down. On the road breakdowns take long too get fixed. A "smart" company will always make sure too keep the drivers paid cause as long as they're getting paid most of them notice the little signs of disaster brewing in the background.

When a company suddenly closes its doors it's usually cause they lost the battle on securing more financing extensions on loans ect. An the lawyers have told them it's over shut em down. I'm not defending these companies when I say this but they don't tell the drivers what's going on an try an keep thing going business as usual up an tell the last minute while they look for money hilding out hope it's not over, so they can stop everybody from jumping ship cause as we all know without us drivers their company is done for anyway.

I think when I gets too that point ya may as well go out gracefully get everybody home pay em shut the doors, cause if they do find some influx of cash it's only gonna stem the bleeding for a couple more months, very very few trucking companies if any ever manage too get back out that kinda hole.

Yep this is exactly how is usually goes down. In the end the ones in charge pocket as much money before the cash flow ends, That is how greed affects people. They do anything for the almighty dollar!

[Chamberpains]

Ya, that's all very true with certain signs all along the way. But it's so hard to tell what is a sign of a belly up company and what is a company riding out a hard time.

Some sure signs of a troubled company that I've seen is a pay check that bounces and fuel cards that are shut off without warning or replacement. These are slaps in the face that the company cannot put fuel in the trucks and keep the drivers fed. The 2 absolute things that have to happen to move freight.

A good way to steer clear and or be prepared for these times is FLEXIBILITY. In the freight you'll haul, places you'll go, trailers you'll pull, how long you'll be out on the road. Remember your a truck driver, not a trailer puller. Your mind set should be, I'll drive anywhere with almost anything for my price.

I've met way too many guys that flat out say they are steel haulers or reefer drivers or home every night drivers or certain radius drivers. Well, the more strict you are in what and where you'll go the more likely you'll be shocked and up sh1t creek for way to long when something slows down or runs up or just ceases to be. Flexibility will allow you brush yourself off of a sudden firing or company closing and grab the next opportunity or company that will pay your price. Trucking and moving freight is a career that works even in the thinnest of times, trucking companies and companies in general are come and go. Always be planning on what's next after the present job is done. Have at least a plan B ready and how your going to get home or to the plan B already prepared. Don't ever be that poor sap in Florida with no money and no way to get home. He clearly could've made some better choices in life.

[Nilao]

I hear drivers all the time griping that the rates suck now...yet here I am on a 3 day run that pays me $3300.

When I talk to these "owners" why they say rates suck they are basically cutting there own throats. I get "I won't haul more than 30k" Or "I won't haul HazMat" And the all encompassing "cheap freight" yet not a single one can define cheap freight. Had one tell me $3/mile and below was cheap freight...to which I said only if its specialized. every bodies operation is different and ones persons cheap freight is another's good paying load.

I see that rates are down from last year and a lot of people who jumped in while things were good are struggling because they didn't plan for the downturn. I see a lot of low mileage repo's for sale in the near future. But if you compare the market now compared to 2016 then rates are up. You have to be able to put $ away in the booms so you can survive the lulls.

Just my .02 cents

[Chamberpains]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cdllife.com...loses/amp/

Here's the article I originally posted with a video link to see the actual interview.

I was wrong about the guy in Florida. It's backwards. He's stuck in austintown and can't get home to Florida. I think it's absolute crap that just because the lordstown plant closed, that they are out of business. There's no way in hell that plant supplied over 500 drivers steady work. It appears that the over 100 year old company was sold in 2017 to a bigger company. I'd say corporate greed ran that company into the toilet or just decided it was not profitable enough. Very sad to see.

Nilao, you are spot-on with what you said. These are better times in the trucking industry. It just so happens to maybe be a downturn from a very high point that we were at. It's still better now then it was 10 years ago. I'm doing fantastic for the last 2 years. in the meanwhile I've heard plenty of those "I won't do that" guys crying that they don't have work. I don't feel bad for them, not one damn bit. I'll keep scarfing up all the paying work I can get, while they sit around waiting for their cushy work to come back.

As Rawze preaches, how are you going to be competitive in a washed-out industry? A better question when it comes to freight rates might be, can I make this load profitable? Instead of that's just cheap and I won't pull it.

Know what your numbers are. and know how to run a calculator effectively and efficiently. Hell, go back to school and take a simple math course if you are not good at it.

Load price - operational costs + next load price - operational costs = continuing profit or loss... Repeated

I can make a fancy little algebraic equation with letters and brackets and squiggly lines that would be a lot more accurate but I think that would make most guys eyeballs glaze over.

Point being is you have to look past just the load in front of you. Just because this one sucks doesn't mean the next one at your destination isn't going to make up for the bad load rate. Again, flexibility is key.

[Volvo8873]

I know of a former O/O that complained about cheap freight (3.00 a mile and under) He was paying on a brand new decked out Peterbilt. He was so gung ho on not taking “cheap freight” that it was thanksgiving week and he was 300 miles away from home. He refused a 20,000 pound easy load to get back to home because it “paid like shi#t” I think he told me 1.90 a mile it paid.

Here this f’ing guy was so stuck on operating per mile and would absolutely not drive the truck unless it was paid! He missed out with his wife at the time and children that thanksgiving.

Fast forward today this guy is a company driver and is divorced. He lost his truck... Have not talk to him since that day years ago and do not care too but I guarantee he still complaining about cheap freight and telling everybody not too own your own truck just like he told me in that conversation we had. I thought the guy was a complete imbecile and should have just stayed a company driver in the first place! This was before I even owned a truck!!!

[Waterloo]

Wow, just saw that link, Falcon closed their doors. I worked for them around 29 years ago. They did service the GM Lordstown plant, and I could see where that would be a big hit, but to close up entirely, I doubt anyone saw that coming. But, auto freight is terrible right now, incredibly slow, and cheap. And when I say cheap I mean pennies on the dollar cheap. Many of these outfits are struggling as there is an over abundance of trucks and little work up this way if you are strictly automotive. Many guys jumped in, and agree with Chamberpains in regards to many new low mileage trucks coming on the market.

Myself, I have some medical issues, getting those sorted out, but had time to look for a company that is a little more broad in the freight they run. I think we found them, rates seem to be good and from the random settlements we were able to pick through, the work looks like it is there. At least for now.

[Waterloo]

(04-29-2019 )Nilao Wrote:  I hear drivers all the time griping that the rates suck now...yet here I am on a 3 day run that pays me $3300.

When I talk to these "owners" why they say rates suck they are basically cutting there own throats. I get "I won't haul more than 30k" Or "I won't haul HazMat" And the all encompassing "cheap freight" yet not a single one can define cheap freight. Had one tell me $3/mile and below was cheap freight...to which I said only if its specialized. every bodies operation is different and ones persons cheap freight is another's good paying load.

I see that rates are down from last year and a lot of people who jumped in while things were good are struggling because they didn't plan for the downturn. I see a lot of low mileage repo's for sale in the near future. But if you compare the market now compared to 2016 then rates are up. You have to be able to put $ away in the booms so you can survive the lulls.

Just my .02 cents

We were talking about this last year, that this would be one of those terrible years, at least in Automotive freight. The writing was on the wall. My old company, the guy that ran us, was trying to diversify, the new owner was not into that and took the easy way out and closed the doors. None of us saw that coming, and we had the wherewithal to haul just about anything they through at us. As far as cheap freight, we were spoiled there, but we found this new company, much more diversified, and freight is up around the $2 a mile mark. They try to keep it above $1.70 to the truck. I can work with that, as long as there is consistency, they have an Amazon account, so I think we are good. And that freight is actually not paying that bad. Drop and hook, light loads, out and back. Right up my alley.

And to add... The only reason we have been able to hold out, is that the equipment is paid for. The bank accounts are now empty, but we still have our trucks and homes. I never want to have a truck payment, not if I can help it.

I also went and obtained HazMat and a TWIC card, just in case. I'm now able to to go just about anywhere with anything.