How can anybody run for sub $2.00 per mile?

That is absolutely correct. It all starts when the person you see in the mirror decides to quit subsidizing some else's profit and starts looking out for your own, regardless of what the next person is doing. If not hauling cheap freight means you will go broke, then most likely you are already in serious trouble.

Damn Art, have you had too much caffeine today? That's a little strong.😂😂 Look out everybody, Art is in the house with guns a blazing!😳😂😂

That's the way I figure it as well. The price of fuel per mile times 4 to be profitable and make a decent income.

I hope that is $3.42 for all miles and not just loaded miles. If your $3.42 is loaded miles only, I think you are selling yourself short. What if you can't load back, or get stuck out waiting to unload and can't get detention? Your $3.42 quickly becomes $1.71. I know no one wants to pay hoppers, but in my opinion, they are specialized. You can't load them on every corner like a dry van, reefer, or open deck, and you surely can't unload everywhere either. Your rate should be good enough to get you home empty and still make a profit. It seems to me EVERY hopper load is a backhaul rate, and I don't even believe in the whope backhaul concept. I had a fertilizer company tell me "this isn't an out and back rate, even though I know you will run empty one way". Guess what happened next? Your rate should not be based on the any other load, period, this isn't the dry van market. And yes, I've had too much coffee this morning.

Tell me this why is Bulkloads letting all these load brokers post that cheap low ball **** ?? And also where is all the direct shippers that supposed to be on Bulkloads?? All I see is the same old ******** *** brokers putting the same old $2-$3.00 a miles crap on the Bord’s .I have haul some $6-$10 a mile direct customer freight, and I don’t mean haul a 1or 2 hundred mile $6-$10 a mile freight. That’s how I got a good understanding of what the brokers was doing. Keeping $7-$8 dollar’s after they pay us 2-3$ a mile. If you think I am lying call some of these shippers and ask for traffic some of them will tell you. Or just book a load with them then you will see just how bad a broker has been doing you !!

It sounds like you think that's good, and it might be for you. What was your loaded to empty ratio? Were you loaded most of the time? How many miles did you run for the $3.65. Finally, how did you do for the nine months prior to that? The problem is, EVERYBODY in the hopper segment, shippers brokers, and carriers, know the rates are too low, however, they will also tell you, as long as people are willing to haul it, the rates will stay low. Brokers tell me all the time, we (carriers) are our own worst enemy because we just keep coming back for more. Just because you can run for $3.75 should you? Are you not worth a real profit just like everybody else we deal with in this industry who makes real money? There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting more than scraping by. It's my opinion, hopper freight going any direction to any location should be in the $5.50 a mile range PLUS a fuel surcharge, washout, and detention, EVERY TIME. One load should never subsidize another, and you should make enough money to go back to where you started empty to get another load. If you decide to load back, that is your decision, and it shouldn't be any cheaper than the first. Your expenses are the same both ways. I'm tired of the cheapest guy on the road setting the rate for everyone else. Before anyone says hopper freight doesn't have enough value to command freight rates that high, to you I say this; is toilet paper more valuable than grain? Because without grain, you won't need much toilet paper. If everyone else in the loop can post record profits, who's shitting who here? I'm sorry to go off on a rant, but this shi.. no, stuff makes me crazy. Every one of us in this business is worth more than this. We just need to realize it. I'm gonna have a cocktail. Have a great evening everyone😉

It's a balancing act. We all know that where we have direct customers, we get higher paying loads. For me to think that I am going to do well out of Georgia when I am a North Dakota carrier over a Georgia carrier is probably not attainable. I do have Marlene Doar that I work with down there when I get in that area and we do good out of there but not nearly what we go down there for. To me, the key is to stay loaded as much as possible. Keep those bounce miles down and at the end of the week if you average a minimum of 2.50/mile on every mile you put on, you will not go broke. Most weeks are better and some are a penny or two below but you will remain viable and in business for as long as you want to be. Now for the balance, you must have your direct customers and keep them happy so you remain busy and can make money. I honestly think that if you plan on making 4-10 dollars for all miles, you are not living in reality. Will that statement remain true? I have no clue but I would think that if fuel and operating cost keep rising that we will see higher rates, BUT with higher rates, we will see inflation on our cost of living. It is a vicious circle that just keeps going.

I guess my final question is how do we juggle with wanting to make 4-10 dollars per mile when our break even is in the lower 2's while knowing that the cost of living for our families as well as others who are not in the transportation field go up. We all know that added costs for freight are going to be passed on to the consumer.

Have a great weekend and stay safe and profitable!

Keith

I drove empty all the way from Temple TX, no load paying decent rate, I wish no one haul for them, my MC is 6 month old and they are offering to me half of what other carriers make, no way it will cost me the same amount of money and time to get the load from point A to point B, I'm willing to sacrifice myself not making money than working for almost free and hurting other truckers, please say no to low, low rates, Brickers making more money jus sitting on a chair. That's B S.

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Because they think it is way cheaper to go back empty. Tires last a lot longer when not loaded and fuel economy is double They have been thru marketing school and are thought to keep rates just above poverty. And there are enough "new truckers" that need to make payments

Is $2.00 per loaded mile, or total miles?