Slow & Busy Seasons

Hello, Just curious when freight tends to pick up/slow down for most drivers throughout the year? Is there a constant busy & slow period or is it sporatic based off of the sector?

I could see refer being more consistent (people gotta eat!) But was just curious as to what other drivers have noticed about seasonal lulls in freight. Is there a standard? Do this rises & falls in freight create hiring booms and/or layoffs?

Thanks (as always) for your insight!

Hey Charlie.

Dry van seems to see the most fluctuation in freight throughout the year, especially near the major holidays. We're in the slowest season right now in fact, probably from near Christmas until early spring things are a bit slow. Refrigerated freight does tend to be a little more consistent overall.

You'll never see enough of a slowdown to cause any layoffs, mostly because the turnover in this industry is so high that a fleet can downsize simply by not hiring at such a fast pace. So no need for layoffs. In fact, companies hire all year round.

I wouldn't say there's enough of a fluctuation in freight to use that as a measure for which company you want to work for or what type of freight you want to haul. Any slowdown that may happen isn't nearly predictable enough to use it as any sort of an indicator and there are a ton of factors outside of just the slowdown in freight that will ultimately effect how many miles you wind up with.

Thank you for the insight Brett! Good to know about layoffs. I was honestly just wondering due to how class sizes may be affected (I.E. March vs. May) student to trainer ratio etc. and when one may have a better opportunity to on-board with their 1st choice company vs. potentially settling for their 3rd choice.

Also doing a little research on what time-frames are optimal for squirreling a little more into savings in preparations for slower periods when extra "rainy day" funds maybe beneficial.

Cheers.

So when does the "busy season" begin? Is it freight based or circuit wide?

So when does the "busy season" begin? Is it freight based or circuit wide?

End of march to mid April...

This is a rationale I've explained before: if you're new to trucking, starting solo in January - February, the "slow season" is the time you can get used to your new career with a bit less time pressure.

Make your newbie mistakes now. So by March, when business ramps up, you'll be able to handle it easily.