December's Letter from Recruiting

Greetings once again from home base,

     As we get deep into the winter months, we all know that it can be more difficult to keep busy without a proper game plan. Not only does production of many materials that move by truck slow down, but you begin to see lots of trucks head to warmer areas of the country and compete for freight. Here are a few tips to help keep your revenue up through the winter months.

• Be open to where you’ll run. Many times freight lanes change with the seasons. It really helps to not be dead set on running in the same lane all of the time or limit yourself to where you are willing to run. During the winter months, freight is more readily available in the central and northern states. If you are willing to run to the northern parts of the country, it will make it easier to find freight. I’m not saying that you have to stay in these spots, but it sure helps if you’re willing to go there.
  
• Check your preferences. Make sure that you don't cut yourself out of freight by setting your preferences wrong. Remember that if your preferences say that you can scale 46,000 and a load is available that weighs 46,500, you will never be offered it. If you say that you'll deadhead 150 miles and a load is offered 175 miles away, it will pass you by. Remember, you can always say no to a load that is offered--make sure that you have that chance. This could be one of the most important things to go over with your coordinator.
  
• Be flexible. Nobody wants to tarp every load, haul heavy every time or drive through the snow each trip, but if you are willing to do these things it will increase the amount of freight that is available to you. The more things that you rule out (such as no tarps, no northeast, no loads over a certain weight), the more you are potentially cutting into your revenue.
  
• Haul shorter Freight. Sometimes a useful strategy can be as simple as hauling some shorter trips. Of course, the long trips offer big paydays at the end, but they also require more fuel which is not getting any cheaper. In most cases, the money per mile is better on the shorter hauls. It can be more work loading and unloading more frequently, but when looking at your bottom line, these loads can be very profitable.

     Of course, I understand that there is no one thing that is going to work for everyone. Different strategies work for different people, but hopefully some of these things will help. Above all, be careful. There are lots of road hazards out there, and revenue doesn't mean a thing if you don't get home to your family safely.

     I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas from Mercertown!

Brian Helton
Director of Recruiting