Beware This Freight Market

I am copying this comment to a new thread so all can see it.

Do not lie on applications. Know what is on your DMV and DAC records

Be on time

"We are all at risk in this freight recession and continued oversaturation of drivers. Do not mess up, and always GOAL. Do not get tickets. Do not argue with disrespect. Complaining and raising a concern are two different things. Raise concerns in a professional manner, not an unprofessional one.

Do not leave a job without one lined up. Pay attention to wages. Some companies are lowering pay or removing bonuses. Many companies will not rehire a driver who left.

Gone are the days of getting a job 2 hours after leaving one. I know drivers who are taking 2 to 4 months to find work due to a blemished record.

Stay safe all."

Couldn't agree more. As unfortunately as it may be, in terms of driver vs carrier, the odds are stacked heavily in the carrier's corner right now.

Even within the historically bad market there are turns. For the last 6 months or so, I noticed an uptick in certain areas, and generally had preplans stacked on me. The last two weeks have been a return to extended times on loads and not as much availability of loads.

Basically it's a time to mind ones P's and Q's. One of the things I've asked for, or rather volunteered for is to run in whatever markets seem best for the company, whichever will generate the most revenue. Meaning if they need me to return to the frozen tundra of Wyoming, no problem. In light of the dumpster fire thread, I'm going to double down on being flexible and easy to work with, not argumentative or combative (which I'm generally not anyway).

But I think an extra few seconds of slowing down when you're frustrated and waiting before saying or commenting to your dispatch might be a good idea.

I'm going to double down on being flexible and easy to work with, not argumentative or combative (which I'm generally not anyway).

But I think an extra few seconds of slowing down when you're frustrated and waiting before saying or commenting to your dispatch might be a good idea.

One thing we often forget is dispatch or load planners are just trying to do their job of getting loaded assigned but more importantly giving them the best chance to arrive safely and on time. Many of us are out on the road to make the most money we can if we're away from our families. It's easy to overlook that dispatch may have reasons for making you sit longer than other drivers in the same area. These could include keeping them closer or trying to route them to the terminal for upcoming service, setting them up for their home load or a variety of other reasons. Various members here have mentioned being stuck in certain areas in inclement weather such as Wyoming. If it's real bad they've likely got drivers shut down and not available for dispatch but other loads still need to get moved. It's also possible your company is setup to use brokers and they're accepting those loads because the margins are higher due to less drivers (O/O) willing to go. It could also be simply that you've demonstrated you're a safe and efficient driver that can deliver the results needed to satisfy a customer or in some cases prevent them from losing the contract. There could be a variety of reasons. If it bothers you, talk about it professionally keeping emotion out of it.

With anything in life if you want positive results or others to want to help you then don't be confrontational when it's not needed. I've been vocal with management when I've been unhappy and we're able to come to a mutual understanding. We don't always agree but we're able to discuss it and often times we both walk away with a better understanding of why it's a problem, or why it's our best option. It's easy as a driver to grow resentment about your assignments or lack of. Take the time to find out WHY things are the way they are.

I saw a post asking for information about the industry, and while I am not a driver yet, and by the looks of things may not be able to even get in to Driving from what this thread is saying and my own observations (that is my end goal), though since I work at a place that definitely impacts freight I will put in my two cents here.

I work at a pallet manufacturer, they make top of the line pallets, and are quite proud of the fact that they saw up high dollar logs and use select and #1 and #2 lumber to make their pallets, to me THAT is friggen insane, but that is irrelevant here. The point is I watch and listen to the goings on and they are trying to hide how slow things are from us peons, and this companies sustainability and doing what they are doing, making pallets. Yesterday I got confirmation that things are not looking good, though I could see things were getting bad without that. Pallets are one of the big things for freight, we make pallets that go all over the world because they are not only top of the line, but also heat treated ( think overseas shipping). That is just an aside though, when Trump was President we made an average of 1500 (that's a lot) a day and could not keep up with orders, our yard was empty trying to keep up, now our yard is full and we send out maybe one or two truck loads a day and the pallet shop goes 2 or more days a week without making pallet one. In short pallets are for freight no pallets no freight, at least dry van and reefer freight. My take on this is that the out look is BAD for hauling freight, and for me getting out of this place and becoming a driver, though I continue to work to that end. Hope this helps