When will people’s outlook on things improve?

It’s real easy to be negative all the time. I’m guilty of it myself far too often. Fuel prices are ugly, rates are in the tank, and government wants to squash us like bugs. It’s getting harder and harder to make a living as a truck driver, and even worse as a owner operator. God forbid you joined a lease program.

But consider this:

Right now, used truck prices are crazy cheap.

The volume of freight has picked up considerably since this time last year. For example, I’m looking at the Sureway board, and there’s 847 loads available nationwide. When I started at ATS, there were around 250 consistently.

Now, I’m not sure how much of a motivator each of you would need to get up the cojones to start your own gig, but it seems to me that if you survived the last two years in trucking, and continue to play your cards right in the next few years, a person might just be able to make a go of this trucking thing, and might just end up a fleet owner instead of a near broke o/o or lease operator.

But a lot of it would depend on YOUR outlook on things. Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, or do you see the headlamp of an oncoming train?

My biggest concern is upcoming regulatory HoS measure with EODR’s, and whether or not small businesses are actually going to be FORCED into providing health insurance. For the last several years, I’ve really wanted to become a fleet owner, but the headlamp of the train aspect for me is the freakin’ government.