Two Points Of Light
"Owner-operators are back and they're better than ever. Too bad there aren't more of them." Fleet Owner, August 2003, pg. 23.
"A mile is a mile is a mile." Me.
Wednesday morning, Sept. 8, 2004: My first ten calls, staccato-like...bam, bam, bam, bam...were from produce shippers and brokers looking for trucks--each shipper giving me a little jab, as if it is my fault there aren't any trucks around........
Mike: "I need two. One for Baltimore/Philly and one for Brooklyn. What have you got?"
Me: "I'll see what I can do, Mike," knowing I couldn't do much.
Bam.
Chuck: "How about an Atlanta?" spoken as if I should have one in my back pocket. "And don't go hauling apples with my trucks!"
Me: "Apples haven't started yet, Chuck." I lied. Mike is an apple guy.
Chuck: "We going to be all right this winter? I'm going to need some trucks?"
Me: "Yeah, we'll be fine." I am hoping.
Bam.
Walt: "Charlotte and Jacksonville. Two trucks. Today is it. If they don't go out today, then forget it. They won't want shit from me."
Bam!
Tom: "I need everything you can give me and one more!"
Bam!
Tim: "I'm looking for a Philly/Jersey split today. They want it in Philly by 8 tonight because it was supposed to have been there yesterday."
Me: "I'll see what I can do, but I know I can't get one in there that early."
Tim: "See what you can do, but don't let the truck go if you get one."
Bam!
Rob: "Hey, Gary. This is Rob. I'm looking for a truck out of Elba for Baltimore."
Me: "What's the rate?"
Rob: "I want to pay nine hundred, but if I have to go a grand I'll do it...And the unloading is fifty. I'll pay that too. Figure ten fifty to you."
Bam!
Dave: "Got a load of bin pumpkins for the Bronx. Can you help me out?"
Me: "No."
Bam!
Chuck (again): "How about a Boston?" spoken as if I should have one in my back pocket.
Me: "That's a tough one." And not just because I'm a Yankees fan. It's a hard area to backhaul from.
Chuck: "Where are all the trucks?"
BAM!
Steve: "You got that truck in Elba for me?"
Me: "He's still unloading. He's got stops and it's slow going today." I lied. I switched the truck to a better load from a faster paying customer.
Steve: "Is he going to make it?"
Me: "I hope so."
Steve: "I need those red onions."
ME: "I'll check on him."
Steve: "Man, this is getting too tough for me. Where are all these trucks?"
Me: "Steve, right now there is a convergence of seasons. Greens are ending. Cukes, squash, and peppers have another month. And apples, potatoes, and onions are just starting. It's the same deal every year. Seasons are overlapping. There's a lot of produce to move right now in upstate New York. And the owner-operators are going after the big-money loads--the summer stuff that pays two-three hundred more than what you're selling."
BAM!
Another Tom: "I'm still looking for yesterday's Philly. Any prospects?"
ME: "No."
BAM!
No trucks. No prospects. Nothing. Nada. Which bring me to my first Point Of Light. ALL OF THE ABOVE HAVE HELPED DRIVE THE OWNER-OPERATOR AND SMALL FLEET OWNER OUT OF BUSINESS! (There are obviously other reasons, but they are food for another blog.) Farmers (I haul produce, so I am limiting this blog to what I know.), shippers, produce brokers, market vendors, and chains--you have done it to us. NOW YOU MUST PAY! (Pun unintentional. I'm not that smart.) Ever since the deregualtion act of 1980, which eased entry level restrictions, giving rise to a short term spike in the number of trucks on the road, rate cutting has been de rigueur--a perception that has trickled down from regulated commodities such as broomsticks and mufflers to unregulated commodities such as cukes and onions, ie. produce...my stuff.
But I do not blame any of the above for trying to save their company money by knocking a few bills off the freight rate. If a produce broker gets two calls from truckers looking to go from Elba, New York to Baltimore, Maryland, and one will go for two hundred less than the other, which truck will the broker chose. Save his company two hundred, or put the two bills in his pocket...he's going to choose the cheaper truck. True story: the above Steve's uncle Carmen once hired a truck to go from Canastota, New York to Miami, Florida...1,450 miles...for four hundred dollars. That was the same rate he was giving me to go from Canastota to Albany, New York...125 miles.
This brings me to my second Point Of Light. WE ARE OUR OWN WORST ENEMY! We take four hundred dollar loads 1,450 miles because we want to get to the hot spot, the place where the big money loads are. Or we take cheap loads because we have been on the road for three weeks and want to get home. Or we take cheap loads because we need money and the cheapie is the only load available... only hauling cheap keeps us in need of money so we haul more cheap loads keeping us permanently in and out of the red. We have this inverse relationship between money and rates: the more strapped we get, the cheaper we haul. And the tires get slicker, the oil changes are extended, and the brakes wear thinner because we do not get it. The cost to run a truck is the same whether we want to get to the hot spot or home, whether we need money or not. We must learn what it cost to run our truck or our fleet because...a mile is a mile is a mile.
The Highway Hero
"A mile is a mile is a mile." Me.
Wednesday morning, Sept. 8, 2004: My first ten calls, staccato-like...bam, bam, bam, bam...were from produce shippers and brokers looking for trucks--each shipper giving me a little jab, as if it is my fault there aren't any trucks around........
Mike: "I need two. One for Baltimore/Philly and one for Brooklyn. What have you got?"
Me: "I'll see what I can do, Mike," knowing I couldn't do much.
Bam.
Chuck: "How about an Atlanta?" spoken as if I should have one in my back pocket. "And don't go hauling apples with my trucks!"
Me: "Apples haven't started yet, Chuck." I lied. Mike is an apple guy.
Chuck: "We going to be all right this winter? I'm going to need some trucks?"
Me: "Yeah, we'll be fine." I am hoping.
Bam.
Walt: "Charlotte and Jacksonville. Two trucks. Today is it. If they don't go out today, then forget it. They won't want shit from me."
Bam!
Tom: "I need everything you can give me and one more!"
Bam!
Tim: "I'm looking for a Philly/Jersey split today. They want it in Philly by 8 tonight because it was supposed to have been there yesterday."
Me: "I'll see what I can do, but I know I can't get one in there that early."
Tim: "See what you can do, but don't let the truck go if you get one."
Bam!
Rob: "Hey, Gary. This is Rob. I'm looking for a truck out of Elba for Baltimore."
Me: "What's the rate?"
Rob: "I want to pay nine hundred, but if I have to go a grand I'll do it...And the unloading is fifty. I'll pay that too. Figure ten fifty to you."
Bam!
Dave: "Got a load of bin pumpkins for the Bronx. Can you help me out?"
Me: "No."
Bam!
Chuck (again): "How about a Boston?" spoken as if I should have one in my back pocket.
Me: "That's a tough one." And not just because I'm a Yankees fan. It's a hard area to backhaul from.
Chuck: "Where are all the trucks?"
BAM!
Steve: "You got that truck in Elba for me?"
Me: "He's still unloading. He's got stops and it's slow going today." I lied. I switched the truck to a better load from a faster paying customer.
Steve: "Is he going to make it?"
Me: "I hope so."
Steve: "I need those red onions."
ME: "I'll check on him."
Steve: "Man, this is getting too tough for me. Where are all these trucks?"
Me: "Steve, right now there is a convergence of seasons. Greens are ending. Cukes, squash, and peppers have another month. And apples, potatoes, and onions are just starting. It's the same deal every year. Seasons are overlapping. There's a lot of produce to move right now in upstate New York. And the owner-operators are going after the big-money loads--the summer stuff that pays two-three hundred more than what you're selling."
BAM!
Another Tom: "I'm still looking for yesterday's Philly. Any prospects?"
ME: "No."
BAM!
No trucks. No prospects. Nothing. Nada. Which bring me to my first Point Of Light. ALL OF THE ABOVE HAVE HELPED DRIVE THE OWNER-OPERATOR AND SMALL FLEET OWNER OUT OF BUSINESS! (There are obviously other reasons, but they are food for another blog.) Farmers (I haul produce, so I am limiting this blog to what I know.), shippers, produce brokers, market vendors, and chains--you have done it to us. NOW YOU MUST PAY! (Pun unintentional. I'm not that smart.) Ever since the deregualtion act of 1980, which eased entry level restrictions, giving rise to a short term spike in the number of trucks on the road, rate cutting has been de rigueur--a perception that has trickled down from regulated commodities such as broomsticks and mufflers to unregulated commodities such as cukes and onions, ie. produce...my stuff.
But I do not blame any of the above for trying to save their company money by knocking a few bills off the freight rate. If a produce broker gets two calls from truckers looking to go from Elba, New York to Baltimore, Maryland, and one will go for two hundred less than the other, which truck will the broker chose. Save his company two hundred, or put the two bills in his pocket...he's going to choose the cheaper truck. True story: the above Steve's uncle Carmen once hired a truck to go from Canastota, New York to Miami, Florida...1,450 miles...for four hundred dollars. That was the same rate he was giving me to go from Canastota to Albany, New York...125 miles.
This brings me to my second Point Of Light. WE ARE OUR OWN WORST ENEMY! We take four hundred dollar loads 1,450 miles because we want to get to the hot spot, the place where the big money loads are. Or we take cheap loads because we have been on the road for three weeks and want to get home. Or we take cheap loads because we need money and the cheapie is the only load available... only hauling cheap keeps us in need of money so we haul more cheap loads keeping us permanently in and out of the red. We have this inverse relationship between money and rates: the more strapped we get, the cheaper we haul. And the tires get slicker, the oil changes are extended, and the brakes wear thinner because we do not get it. The cost to run a truck is the same whether we want to get to the hot spot or home, whether we need money or not. We must learn what it cost to run our truck or our fleet because...a mile is a mile is a mile.
The Highway Hero
posted by The Highway Reporter at 10:40 PM
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