Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85415
Tim Philmon's 2011 income boost arrived after what he calls the "survival mode" he and so many flatbed operators went through in 2009. His success strategy includes longer rounds and flocking to areas with jobs no one wants to do, such as the North in winter. In today's high-dollar- freight landscape, some old adages hold true: Enclosed car haulers by and large still make top dollar, though auto manufacturers have seen better times. Hazmat niches like liquid bulk tank operations and other specialized haulers continue to command high rates. New contenders are emerging, too. For example, carriers are sweetening the pot to attract owner-operators to keep up with demand in intermodal. It's an area where flat pay rates for miles loaded and empty is boosting attractiveness to owner-operators as average length of haul declines and fuel prices rise, says Transcore Industry Pricing Analyst Mark Montague. Basic flatbed has recovered after the construction industry's sharp decline during the recession, too, he adds. "No matter if you're a big fleet or an owner-operator, you're seeing 10 to 11 percent more money" in flatbed. "There's an ongoing shortage of equipment, and shippers are willing to pay." These and other niches offer big earning potential if you pay attention to the details beyond merely gross pay rates. Energy The evolving energy landscape has opened new opportunities with high- income potential for owner-operators. One relates to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Another supports construction of electricity-generating wind turbine farms. Owner-operator Steve Bixler, after a long career in over-the-road work, last year fit his 1989 Freightliner cabover into hauling sand in a pneumatic tank to hydraulic fracturing sites in Eastern Pennsylvania, where he lives. "We load it at rail yards," Bixler says, in addition to "one spot in Buffalo where 26 OVERDRIVE JANUARY 2012