are we better off today then last year this time?

[cornflake]

i don't think so but maybe it's just me. how about it? anyone else think trucking has gotten better in tidewater this year? there are fewer drivers hauling containers but rates are worse. how can that be?

[jimmywilson]

trucking is doing better everywhere but the docks. it's the same old bs. the agents always find plenty of hungry drivers willing to pull boxes for mere pennies. i hope if freight ever kicks back into high gear they will choke trying to find someone to move their stinking garbage from the harbor.

[toto]

fat chance of that driver. we have dozens standing in line ready to jump off the bridge for dispatch

[Rob]

Are we better off today in Virginia? NO. So why isn't every driver mad as HELL? Our anger is always misdirected at the wrong party. I wish there was an organization here in Virginia for owner/operators. NO OOIDA doesn't cut it. We need a local driver group that can address local problems.

[midnight husler]

I AGREE WIT U ROB THA WHAT WE NEED AS O/O. NEED SOME SERIOUS TO COME TOGETHER AND GET SOMETHING STARTED ASAP

[shortcircut]

well here is the deal. since 2000 there have been 3 groups who have tried to organize owner ops. The first ran into a legal raod block they couldnt get past , the second became a monthly biittch session so people stopped coming . the 3rd became a joke of a "discount club " who got manipulated be the ports as well as their carriers. No group needs company terminal management involved, it is about the drivers NOT the companies .

[midnight husler]

IN ALL BEING SAID LET'S GET START THE RT WAY. AND GET ENOUGH DRIVER'S INVOLVED AND come up wit a solution that we all can benefit from it

[toppepper]

Drivers only need to talk to each other, if there is cheep freight going around pass the word and let it sit on the docks. You are O/O you do have the choice of what you pull. Oh yes the Question, no Im not better off today(Rates are stagnent, tires and fuel have gone up 30%) The same management goes from company to company offering the same old loads, that no one wants.

[southerncomfort]

And the SUCKERS stand in line to pull the S#!T

[ilovdieselsmoke]

Good luck in your efforts to get anyone to pass on cheap freight. This problem has gotten a lot worse each year mainly because the majority who loosely call them self independent contractors can't distinguish between a cheap load or a profitable load. Most don't know how to figure their own operating expenses per mile until the truck finally breaks or they're entirely bankrupt. The truth always hurts

[konan]

if about a dozen or so of these companies go union around the port areas you will see the rates go up. i hope these company drivers do like what;s happening in california. go union. not saying i want to be union but it will bring up these depressed rates.

[toppepper]

Thats correct above how to manage there business. Not sure if class's would work, not sure if anyone would take them. Is going really the answer, we are in a right to work state, that makes it difficult. To many non union members would stand in line to pull cheap freight. Not sure what answer is, a lot of hard headed drivers working the docks. If they will cut you off in line just to get out of Port a extra 5 minutes before you. Well you get my drift.

[toppepper]

I constantly hear about starting a drivers group to work out details with Port operations and Rates. What needs to be done is SAY NO TO CHEAP FREIGHT< SAY NO TO DISPATCHS THAT WONT WORK> YOU HAVE THE POWER WITHIN YOUR OWN COMPANY TO STOP THE CRAP. YOU ARE IN BUSINESS FOR YOURSELF, DO YOU REALLY NEED SOMEONE TO HOLD YOUR HAND. WHAT ARE YOU A COMPANY DRIVER?

[scotb]

whats wrong with a company driver? i am a company driver. sold my truck in 2009 and will not look at anothr one until things get better.still hve that money in the bank put up. there are company drivers on this site also. there are idiots behind the wheel wether they hold the pink slip to the truck or not. these drivers who buy the truck from the container company are company drivers too. 99% dont finish making the weekly payments because that system is set up so that company doesnt have to pay out employee taxes or workers comp. they jus think they are an independent until truck breaks.

[ilovdieselsmoke]

Jan 22, 2013 12:40:00 GMT -5 toppepper said:

I constantly hear about starting a drivers group to work out details with Port operations and Rates. What needs to be done is SAY NO TO CHEAP FREIGHT< SAY NO TO DISPATCHS THAT WONT WORK> YOU HAVE THE POWER WITHIN YOUR OWN COMPANY TO STOP THE CRAP. YOU ARE IN BUSINESS FOR YOURSELF, DO YOU REALLY NEED SOMEONE TO HOLD YOUR HAND. WHAT ARE YOU A COMPANY DRIVER?

A large group of organized drivers in Hampton Roads (or any other port city) has a much better chance of bringing about constructive change in your area than a handful of drivers working within a local trucking company. Truckers who work for the same company and manage to organize together is great but just doesn't have the effect that a large group would. Education of the masses on subjects such as rules, regulations, safety, truck service, & expenses of daily operation would be a good start to entice folk to attend a first meeting. It's important to keep drivers interested in a reason to attend the next meeting. Take a few lessons on how other associations, which meant well when started, failed in the past!

Don't get bogged down spending tremendous amounts of time on organizational officer appointment baloney, inflated membership dues, story telling events, endless b*tc# sessions, or trying to create a discount motor club atmosphere. Information , education is the key for running a successful trucking business and a local trucker associaton group can make everyone aware of who is good to work for or bad. Be prepared to take advantage of all that good information which is readily available at hand. Catalog that information and publish it for all to see each month. Companies that pay good wages/rates or treat their truckers well certainly won't have a problem with truckers holding driver meetings once a month to better themselves. Many will even support that idea. Those agents or companies who have something to hide or to keep secret will do anything possible to shut you down.

[whitebread]

virginia is for dummies. dont believe it.jus go drve at the port for a day.
they will run over u to cut in line. we talk abou the port wrkers but jus look at the way r container roc stars drive. talk about road rage. no better place then the port to witnes why we hav such good public respect 4 truck drivers. if u fellows do hold a meeting plese dont invite the brain dead ones this time.

[carl]

hey do you really think these truckers at our port care about working on anything constructive? they are like a bunch of preschoolers where i work with an attention span of about five minutes. couple that with the business skills of a first grader and that's what you have to deal with out here today. lol

[koolaid]

we'll never get all the egg heads together in tidewater but it's not a bad idea to have a once a month meet with a few drivers. i enjoyed the meetings before until they got hijacked by a few who wanted to make a cash cow out of it. just saying no isnt enough. why not pick a spot in a few weeks for a meeting and see what happens?

[truckerusa]

you virginia drivers need get together and make something happen in norfolk. i know you had trouble before with that past assoc. but it's a new day. there must be a few truckers there who care about the direction this business is headed. we can all have a say in this industry if we work together instead of alone. ok, that's my two cents!

[toppepper]

About a drivers forum, that is a good idea, information on how to run a company would be great info. 1. cost of doing business, all the way down to replacement cost. You are so right about the agents. They work together in some capacity or another. Education would be great. Hey there Mr company driver, didnt meen to step on toes, I guess I did not right my message the correct way. As a former owner Im sure you know what I mean. Nothing wrong with company drivers.

[roadrunner]

yes i would agree it's time to have another driver meeting in virginia. a meeting this time with some type plan in place not another b*tc# session that ties up time & waste an hour or more of my time. i liked many of the ideas i heard before when the first meetings were held in norfolk but that outfit turned into a profit center for a few drivers looking to make money off the rest of us or a free ride to stardom. at any rate it all failed so i will attend again but only if there is a productive dialog.

[ilovdieselsmoke]

I posted an on-line add the other day to see just how many fools would respond to a load paying $.82 cents per mile. It's amazing the response from so-called owner/op's who claim to be in business for themselves ready to load it. That's exactly why 88% of the loads out here are being moved on a back haul rate. No one to blame but ourselves for this insult. I'm not wishing any bad luck on others but I certainly hope a lot more of these cheap haulers leave the industry soon. The rest of us are tired of listening to the same old BS from these brokers about that other guy who'll move their freight for XXX$'s cheaper so why can't you do it too?

[hatt]

are we better off??? no i am not. there was more freight last year this time. that soon went in crapper by summers end. i am thinking of selling off my truck if we remain stuck. i will give the economey a while longer before making that decision. we'll see what the rest of this year brings. if no improvement i am gone along with many other drivers. i am not going to drive a company truck either. i will go elsewhere for employment besides highway transportation. maybe the railroad if trucking doesn't spring back. maybe the port.

[pkd5757]

I just saw an ad for BTT Nj to Boston, with the fuel surcharge it comes to $1.24/mile. It will never stop!!! We all let them do this to us!

[kooler]

yeah we hve a couple companise here that advertize $1.08 per mile with fsc include. in 1st place that's no money but sadly it also probably is not even the correct mileage. 5 miles per gallon devided by $4.16 at pump is $.83 per mile for diesel so that leaves $.25 cents for truck n driver to live on. wow r we making money yet