" Want Higher Rates ?? "

I can't for the life of me understand why people are hauling these commodity loads around for these cheap rates. We hooked up to reefers because the loads are half the weight we haul with hoppers, detention pay is paid without question from about $70.00 to $135.00 an hour and the the reefer rates are a strong $3.25 to $6.75 a mile averageing 2600 to 2700 miles a week and home every weekend with $8,000.00 to $9,000.00 a week in revenue. We can actually live like a human being with out struggling every week 24/7 to pay our fuel bill.

we dropped our hopper trailers and rented the reefer trailers and yes we use several different brokers. It sure is crazy that we can affoed to rent reefers, make payments on the hopper trailers sitting in the yard and still come out much better than pulling our hoppers and making payments on them.

Right now I am watching local tow truck companies, put their trucks to work pulling other people's freight in the area. That should tell people something about how bad the capacity crunch is in the market. And Now there are construction projects, being forced to shut down becuase they are running out of material. Yet, there are folks running around cutting rates, and acting like it's still 2008?

Your not going to find good paying loads on a load board weather its this load board or any other load board. Usually the reason something is on a load board is because its a cheap load. It takes a lot more work than that to get good loads. first you need a great CSA score, and good credit listed on things like Dunn and Brad. and make phone calls and setting up many contracts with not so much just the shipping comanys but with other real good trucking companys working with those shippers and provide them with a good image and referances of provideing quality work and dependability. This type of senerio works well and shipping companys get great services this way with everything going smoothly and they know there logistics will be taken care of on time with no excuses.

Yup. I parked my dump for a rented flatbed. General freight is near record breaking rates, and some bulk commodities brokers are still offering $1.75/Mile freight. Kinda ridiculous.

If you want lower rates, form a SUPER PAC, and get the ELD thrown out. You shippers have far more money and influence than the ATA.

I have no problem informing the forum readers about the rate differance in the industries.

Are the other loads really that high?? Refers, vans, flatbed ect? I talked to a friend that pulls a refer. His rates are not stellar. Maybe it's because he chooses to stay more local. Talked to a couple who pull a tanker, they had a good rate, but not stellar. So are their rates just more consistent? Because a brand new van or refer are pretty affordable, so my question is why isn't everybody switching if the rates are that great? Are those loads a pain compared to hopper loads? Traffic, lots of stops ect?

Thanks

We are killing it with the reefers. The fact is we own all the hoppers and work with many brokers and shippers in the hopper industry and i cant even come close to the income pulling hoppers as what we are doing with the reefers rite now and we are renting the reefers. I just cant see sitting in line all day for a hopper load for even $2.75 a mile when we are making this kind of money with a reefer. My guys love pulling hoppers but there bottom line matters most when it comes down to paying the bills. We do have some of our hoppers on the road to every day to keep customes happy that we work with a lot but the money just cant be made like the reefers are.