• “My deadhead limit is 100 miles”.
• “I won’t haul a load if it weighs more than XXX pounds”.
• “I won’t haul a load if it pays less than XXX/mile”.
• “I won’t go to that area”.
• “I have to be home every weekend”.

Every time I see someone post or hear someone talk about how bad the rates are, or how bad the load board looks at a given time, if I take the time to dig into their story, I find that there are always one or more limitations that they impose upon themselves, which is often their real problem.

Those listed above, as well as other limitations that Independent Contractors impose, often significantly impact the bottom line, but most times the Independent Contractor doesn’t take the time to evaluate & make changes. Instead, they continue to try to do what once may have worked, and blame the load board or the rates when they don’t see the same results that they once enjoyed.

Freight is cyclical, industry-wide. Freight patterns are also often unpredictable, as there are many factors at work that go into rate negotiation at a given time. We will never be able to put our finger 100% on why rates look different, or why freight is soft (or robust).  We have to always be prepared to make the necessary adjustments in order to remain profitable.

If you are one of those who feels that the reason for your less-than-desirable performance is due to bad rates or soft freight, you might want to take a hard look at your operations & methods. Chances are, those factors are not the underlying issue.