Trucking News: Conditions for fleets are deteriorating and it will get bloody

[Mike]

For the freight market, 2019 has been shaping up to as a tug of war between the bulls and the bears. The large enterprise carriers that rely heavily on committed business (commonly referred to as “contract business”) have been enjoying a decent year, while the small carriers that are heavily exposed to the transactional spot market have been faced with a very tough market.

The disagreement has been obvious on Wall Street earnings reports. The large carriers have spoken about decent freight conditions and have been far more optimistic than the Facebook message boards that are made up of small operators. Comments like “worst market ever” and “a bloodbath is coming” are common on Facebook groups like Rate Per Mile Masters. Groups like this are helpful to understand the current sentiment in the market, even if they tend to be highly emotional.

Conditions for fleets are deteriorating and it will get bloody - FreightWaves

FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller assesses current conditions impacting trucking and outlines what is ahead for the industry.

www.freightwaves.com

 

[Mike]

Getting feedback from small carriers via Facebook groups wouldn’t exactly be considered newsworthy, IMO. These groups are filled with people who hit the spot market in 2018, added equipment via debt based on 2018 rates, and are now claiming the sky is falling even though we are still above 2017 rates.

Anybody making business decisions based in one year becoming the new normal is simply “doing it wrong”, and yes, their skies are clearly falling.

Meanwhile, here in the real world, things are simply not that bad. Would love for them to be better again, but it’s the best that can be expected when you have to work among clueless business owners who are willing to operate at a loss until they go completely bankrupt.

 

[gearjammer]

clueless business owners who are willing to operate at a loss until they go completely bankrupt.

that has been going on for as long as I can remember it is hard to explain to new O/o's that if you are not going to make a profit on a load or in the rare situation where such a load is justified by taking such a load it puts you in a much better area to get a good paying load you are better to just be patient.
Most of these folks have just enough experience to drive a truck but have "0" experience in business and survive just long enough to screw up the rates for everyone else

 

[dchawk81]

I used to do professional photography. It's the same in that industry as well.

 

[Sinister]

Penske is shutting down operations in Ft Wayne and will lay off about 80 drivers.