Freight And Fuel Pricing

Question to all the veteran truckers,

On a scale of 1-10, how bad is this blip we find ourselves in with freight and fuel cost combo? Does this come in waves? Only asking because my DMs seem particularly nervous about it and I am wondering if keeping my resume holstered may be in order to avoid being blindsided by a layoff or not having enough work to justify the money for being away from home.

Thanks!

Drew, things are a mess right now. There is no other way to look at it. I've got a lot of miles in my resume. I've seen a lot of drama in this industry. To be honest, most of it amounted to nothing. This business is rather cyclical. The thing about cyclical businesses is that they eventually recover and repeat all kinds of scenarios with some sort of regularity.

Here is what I've learned from the trying times like this one.

• They are fairly short lived and soon forgotten.
• The companies who don't make it through them are the smaller poorly managed ones.
• The drivers who lose their jobs during times like this are the unreliable unproductive ones.

Be easy to work with, safe, and productive. That says volumes about you to your DM and your company. Don't sweat the details of the business. Focus on what you have control over. This time will pass eventually. Don't start worrying about your next job until you know your current one is finished. You will only hurt yourself by looking for greener grass. Every company out here is facing the same issues. Some of them are more prepared for these kinds of problems. Stay your course and make sure you are doing everything you can to be as helpful to your DM as possible.

Excellent

This is what I needed to hear. And yeah, I focus hard and being as reliable as possible and eager to get things done.

Drew, things are a mess right now. There is no other way to look at it. I've got a lot of miles in my resume. I've seen a lot of drama in this industry. To be honest, most of it amounted to nothing. This business is rather cyclical. The thing about cyclical businesses is that they eventually recover and repeat all kinds of scenarios with some sort of regularity.

Here is what I've learned from the trying times like this one.

• They are fairly short lived and soon forgotten.
• The companies who don't make it through them are the smaller poorly managed ones.
• The drivers who lose their jobs during times like this are the unreliable unproductive ones.

Be easy to work with, safe, and productive. That says volumes about you to your DM and your company. Don't sweat the details of the business. Focus on what you have control over. This time will pass eventually. Don't start worrying about your next job until you know your current one is finished. You will only hurt yourself by looking for greener grass. Every company out here is facing the same issues. Some of them are more prepared for these kinds of problems. Stay your course and make sure you are doing everything you can to be as helpful to your DM as possible.

OS is spot on. I am thinking this one has a new wrinkle than previous years with the cost and man made shortages in diesel. But we will endure just like we always do.

For anyone thinking about buying or leasing equipment, this is NOT the time to do it. I know several O/O’s that have parked or sold their equipment and went back to being company drivers.