Auto Haul Rates, where should they be?

I am a Teamster carhauler and retired in July 2002.....I do know that in 2002 my company got 75 cents per mile per unit for Escalades....Tahoes and Suburbans ....7 unit load of Tahoes paid $5.25 per mile to the first stop...Teamster driver pay back then was $1.02 per loaded mile.....plus loading and skid drops....Lots of us made 6 figures every year...if we had seniority enough to get on a rig that loaded both ways...Of course fuel was less than a dollar per gallon....So companies still made a good profit...In 2002 we were paying 150 K for new Cottrell 11 car rigs ( day cab ) with all aluminum wheels....Lots of things have happened since then....Fuel is out of site and rates are going down....Not good for any trucker

 

I am new to the business but from looking on central dispatch it seems that you can relatively easily load up a 9 car hauler to go coast to coast and back and get 15-18k for the roundtrip. After taking into account all the costs that should still result in several thousand of profit per round trip, am I missing something?

 

Have you priced insurance yet? Be aware, auto transport insurance is one of the highest in the transport industry. You're not gonna make 15-18K roundtrip unless you're running enclosed and have a load of highend cars both ways.

 

Yes. You are missing something. I'm not being rude. I answered that way to get your attention. You ARE being smart by asking here, though. Dig around on these forum pages, best info available anywhere, bar none. Sho tyme made a good point and you will see other things on here that you probably aren't aware of yet.

 

Just turned my nose up at 1 pick - 1 drop east (PA) to left coast with a 1 pick - 1 drop solid coming back to Maryland... $16K to me. I am open. Nothing special. Love running out there but that $ don't make me want to give up my 3 day work week I have now.

Just renewed my insurance. Agent told me the carrier had been doing a "falling deductible" in the case of no claims...like that Nationwide commercial. Never heard of that in the commercial biz. Anyway, he informed me that if I should have a claim, God forbid, my deductible is now zero. I asked him if that includes cargo and he's checking on that but said he believes it is. Had my own authority since 1991 and have never had a claim. If I had the $ I have paid for insurance...well...not only would I take a never-ending cruise around the world but I might buy the boat.

 

This is a tough business. What I'm hauling pays pretty well. Try to get some lease returns.

 

Let's put it this way, I hauled a Bentely Flying Spur from Atlanta to Miami, $800, a broker had one coming back, paying $400, I called and asked if they could pay anymore, he said he had 3 that would haul it for that. I said "Let'em" and hung up. I've seen rates going lower on enclosed than some open transports. Our insurance is alot higher yet, for some reason, the brokers think we should do it for free.

Let's see, a new Kentucky 6 car enclosed, spec'd out runs about $150,000, and you want me to haul a car ENCLOSED for $.47 a mile enclosed? I was called by a company yesterday moving asking me to move 1 car for over $2 a mile.

What we need to do to get the rates up is start turning in illegal transporters, of course they can do it cheaper, they don't have to pay for insurance, authority, drug screening, etc. If we get rid of them and the cars don't move, the rates will have to go up.

 

@ SHO-TYME..It's ironic..but your last sentence in your post is EXACTLY why rates are so low....Before deregulation...everyone complained that they couldn't get " authority " to haul certain traffic on certain routes...When I started trucking in the fifties...the " hot freight " brokers got the freight moved through " moonlighters ".....Fines were enormous if you got caught..So the peanut farmer deregulated the trucking industry and the B actor finished the good trucking companies off...Now anyone who's got $1000.00 for a practitioner can cut the rates even lower and get the " rights " to haul certain products on certain routes "....What we have left is an industry where NO BODY makes any money and the shippers laugh all the way to the bank....It's also a reason why there are so many shool boy steering wheel holders on the road....because the rates are so low that there is not enough profit to attract PROFESSIONAL drivers...Your last sentence sums up the effects of " deregulation "...Great...ain't it..I trucked for 45 years and made a LOT of money hauling cars.....In 1979 I made 50 K with fantastic benefits....What are truckers making today...

 

hey now! My F-350 & 3-car wedge that I bought off Craig's List aren't hurting your business, after all, I just do it as a hobby.



Just kidding, just kidding. I agree 100% w/you