Just finished landing a new contract.

So it has taken me almost two weeks to lock down this new contract. I pays far greater than anything that I have been seeing posted here or anywhere else for that matter. It is round trip money, five days a week, 52 weeks out of the year. Loads only weigh 10,000 - 15,000, and the customer will have the trailer preloaded for us to pick up each day. Is there a broker involved? Yes there is. They called me last Thursday and we met last Friday, we hashed out the rates so that our companies could all make the money that we needed to and still service the shipper as well. There were concessions from all parties, but in the end we shook hands, got the paperwork done. I went out to run the route personally yesterday with the other driver that was quitting after that day. It is actually an easy gig and I will be training my other driver on it Sunday night, I forgot to mention it was a night time gig didn't I. My driver is a night runner so this is perfect for him.

In the mean time, the broker felt that I was a little brash, I then informed him that if being honest is being brash then I am guilty as charged. I reminded him that it was he that called me to solve the problem for him and his customer. I have solved the problem and therefor expect to be compensated for such. I told him that it is better to make a little bit off of a lot vs. trying to get rich off of one deal. He agreed and said he would have to change his way of thinking and try mine for a change. I told him that having the best carriers to do the best work for you will bring you the best customers.

I am now working on two more contracts and they will most likely take me another month or two to lock down. I am very selective on the contracts that we perform, but right now with the dishonorable brokers and the dishonorable truckers failing to fulfil their obligations. Shit this is getting easier by the day. I am glad that I have been patient and have spent more time fishing instead of taking the drug (miles). To the rest of you that are doing like me, there are contracts out there for you to get just be picky about the ones you get. There will still be plenty of the $1.50 or less freight for the other guys to run, they seem to like that stuff, there will be plenty of shippers and brokers that just want the cheapest truck. They don't care about quality.

I have started a new thing personally, I figure if the shipper wants the cheapest truck then they most likely use the cheapest products in their widgets, I have decided to quit buying their widgets. I then in turn tell my freinds and family about the shipper and my theory and they all seem to agree. So far I have told over 300 people personally about a certain widget that we all can just turn on our faucett and get. I can buy a brita filter, and put that widget in my own bottles and never have to haul that widget again.

Last year when I hauled that widget out of Dallas - St Louis, it paid $2500.00 for 631 miles. I saw it posted here in another forum post for it looked to be $550.00 for 431 miles, Dallas to Laredo I believe it was. Now I know that I have not been the owner of my own trucking company for 25 years, I also know that I don't own more than four trucks right now. I saw people jumping all over that widget load like it was gold or something. I am thinkiing maybe you should take a lesson from the Mega Carriers, they have been parking trucks and letting drivers go for over eight months now, they knew that Independent Carriers would be hurting and have been leasing them on or offering them Power Only gigs for quite a while. Many of us with multiple trucks have just parked at least half our fleet and have only kept our good hands working. I have trucks and trailers sitting, and am getting calls from others that want to lease on to me every day. I have to look at the selection of freight and see if I can do the individual justice, if I can't then I will not lease them on. Bigger is not always better, but if you are not able to weather the storm out and just have to run, run, run, you would be better off to lease on with a Mega or do the Power Only gig, they have better fuel discounts, drop and hook accounts, and steady freight. If you want to run for $1.27 per mile or less you might as well do it with them.

For the rest of us that are waiting the storm out and are being called brash, assholes, haters, stupid, and a whole multitude of words. Well many of us have gotten together and are willing to work together and understand that we are going to recapture our Freedom with Integrity though the Independent Carrier Group. We all are hurting right now, but remember that if it does not kill you it will make your stronger.

Let us members of the Independent Carrier Group start taking the moral high road here. We don't need to call others stupid, dumb ass, just because they are doing what they believe to be best by themselves, their families, and their drivers. They will either make it or they will not!!!! We are only looking for the cream of the crop, the ones that know that by working together that we can change our industry. There are many that have attempeted to join us but after we reviewed their SAFER we could not with good conscience allow them to join. If our board is reviewing a carriers SAFER and we can tell who is who by OOS and the DOT reports, don't you think the shipper/broker can do the same?

When you run your truck down the road at break even then you will fail at keeping your equipment in good repair. Within the next six months we will indeed have a capacity shortage again. I am sure many like me are eyeballing the bargins at the auctions and the dealerships. I got an email from a Mega offering to sell me 20 trucks for under $250 K, they likewise are trying to dump inventory that they have already depreciated out. Nope I still have not bought any, I think I will be able to pick them up even more cost effective. These trucks only had 400 K on them, when they get down to $7500.00 each then I will buy.