The market constantly fluctuates. At the start of 2019, it was fairly good, but then COVID-19 hit, and during the next year and a half, it rapidly declined. Then, for a while, it was back to normal, but for the past year or so it dropped again.
Through it all, the number of truck drivers has increased, giving businesses in need of freight a wider range of carriers to choose from and enabling them to set lower prices. That’s why there has been a large decline in rates during the past year. And then, in 2021, a shortage of trucks caused rates to go up again.
Prices will rise when there are fewer trucks on the road. When truck prices are too high, leasing is a great alternative to borrowing money from a bank with high-interest rates. With more and more people choosing to get a CDL, the demand for trucks keeps growing, but there are now more trucks than there ever have been, which has led to another decline in rates and lower-than-desired pay for drivers.
Due to everything we’ve described so far, drivers are switching companies every few months in the hopes of finding better loads and better rates. After switching several companies, they have found that low rates are, in fact, a national-scale problem. Companies cannot predict or control the rates, and due to drivers not making nearly as much as they could several years ago, many companies have gotten a bad reputation. In a strong market, truck drivers can gross even up to $13,000, whereas in a bad one, they could barely gross $6000–7000. In a market like this, drivers will need a solid business plan to succeed. We can certainly help you develop them through helpful articles on our blog; we suggest starting with the factors you should take into account before beginning a lease-purchase program.
How are we helping our drivers?
We are very proud to report that between 101 and 185 percent of the new drivers we receive each month are returning ones, which reflects the quality of the bonds we work so hard to establish. Since we’re not able to affect the rates, our dispatch is flexible and non-forced, meaning that our drivers have the freedom to choose which loads they want to accept. Hard-working drivers can shine in this company, no matter how bad the market gets, and we’ll do whatever we can to support you!