Is hotshot still worth it?
Freight on the load board is like a roller coaster. It goes up, and it goes down.
The rates have been cheap. It has been rough. Perhaps it’s because it’s the beginning of the year. But towards the end of winter, right before the spring, it starts to pick back up.
So is it over? Is it done? Is it still worth it? Here are the pros and cons of hotshot trucking:
Let’s start with the cons.
The Cons of Hotshot Trucking
1. The rates are really cheap.
This has been the case for many weeks. How can the government help fix cheap rates? Here are some recommendations by some experienced hotshot owner-operators:
- We need to open the country up again.
- We need to raise the broker bond.
- We should make everyone get a CDL.
Those three things will raise the barrier to entry. Once the barrier to entry is higher, the rates go up. That’s how you level out the supply and demand — the free market figuring itself out.
The solution to cheap rates is just to wait until supply and demand is right. So if the rates are really cheap, maybe go to an area where there are a lot of loads but not a lot of trucks. But remember that cheap rates come and go. Rates are like a rollercoaster, a wave that goes up and down. So it pays to wait until the opportunities are better. So just be patient.
2. There are now several YouTube channels documenting the transition from hotshot to semi-truck.
It seems pretty easy to transition from hotshot to semi. But the question is, can hotshot trucking still be a career? Some hotshot truckers believe you should start non-CDL, but eventually transition to a big truck because hotshot trucking is just a stepping stone.
Hotshot trucking is enjoyable but it might not be for everyone. If you have a CDL, go drive a big truck. That’s much better. But if you don’t have a CDL, then this is a good way to test the waters, to see if it’s worth putting the time and effort going to school, getting your CDL — stuff like that.
So we strongly encourage everyone to get a CDL if they can. It’s tough to sleep in a truck. But the experience you will gain in non-CDL is priceless. For example: knowing what a carrier packet is, knowing how to fill one out, knowing how to get insurance, knowing how to haul and secure a load, how to talk to brokers and sales and customer service people, how to dial loads, how to use apps, etc. All of that experience like dispatching and booking freight is so important when you know nothing about CDL or when you know nothing about the trucking industry and how freight moves. All this knowledge transitions well into the semi.
So getting good at this stuff is crucial for your success in trucking. When is it easier to learn — when you have a $3,500 semi-truck payment or when you have a $900 hot shot truck payment? Obviously it’s much easier when you have a cheap truck payment.
True, the load sucks and the rates are cheap. But you’re gaining all this experience, which is ultimately priceless. A lot of people who want to become semi-truck owner-operators have worked at a company driving job for 3-5 years before they became semi-truck owner-operators. Very few people just go out there and become semi-truck owner-operators with zero experience in the business.
3. The insurance is going up
Aside from this, they don’t usually take hotshots less than a year old. So if you are a new hot shot company, chances are they will not take you if your MC is less than a year old. Is there a solution to this problem? Is there a way to lower this insurance?
Insurance companies realized that insuring hotshots is not a good idea. Why? Because hot shots usually don’t make their payments because rates are cheap. Unfortunately that is the free market solving itself. And there is no solution to that other than just being better prepared.
4. The DOT loves picking on hot shots.
They inspect you more perhaps because you’re easier to inspect (or maybe it just seems that way). And the thing is, some hotshot truckers believe they are “tricky” because they don’t just write you up for a violation, but a warning. You can dataQ the violation and get it removed. But you cannot dataQ a warning and get it removed — it stays on your record.
Unfortunately hotshots occasionally overlook equipment maintenance or fine regulatory details. But that’s not good because it’s essentially just a formality for a hotshot. On semis, it’s not just a formality and annual inspection is crucial. Some companies actually require that inspection every six months, even though the DOT only requires an annual inspection. So on a semi that’s crucial. On a hot shot, it’s just like a formality. And sometimes hot shots, in general, avoid some of the formalities that are legally required. Therefore most hotshots have bad safety scores.
So in reality, we are easier to inspect. And so that’s why maybe the DOT does pick on us. So make sure all your ducks are in a row. Really do a good job with running your business, with managing your paperwork.
So, technically, a hotshot is still worth it. As long as you come in with the right frame of mind and your expectations are reasonable and you have a little bit more money in your nest egg, then hot shot might be worth it. You gain a ton of experience that you can use in the trucking industry as a whole.
The Pros of Hotshot Trucking
1. Hotshot trucking is cool, not boring.
Semi-trucking can be quite boring for some. And it’s not that cool for them. Maybe a semi is more comfortable. Maybe the loads are easier. But some hotshot truckers think it’s way cooler. So they would be willing to put up with the challenge of finding freight instead of going to a semi.
2. Driving a truck is only a portion of the business.
Don’t look at one little thing in the business. Driving a truck is only a portion of the business. There’s other portions of the business that you need to focus on and that switching out that part will affect. For example, recording on an iPhone. If you have to switch your camera, how does that affect your YouTube channel? You can no longer airdrop from the iPhone to the computer, so therefore you can edit quicker. Okay. Well, how about a truck? How does that affect you in the trucking business? Well, your truck can be set up so that you don’t keep track of IFTA.
You don’t even have the drug consortium because you’re not required to sign up for it. So switching out a truck means you’d have to start switching all of those things and get prepared for that. It’s not just buying a semi. Not to mention, you’d have to study to get a CDL. And to take the test, you’d have to take time off and lose revenue. On top of that, you don’t even know how to affect your insurance. And so it opens up this whole can of worms where it affects multiple parts of the business.
3. It doesn’t matter what you drive.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a non-CDL hotshot, a CDL hotshot, a box truck, a reefer, or an expediter. The equipment and what you drive does not matter. You’re still on the road, you’re still away from your family. You’re still out there. You still have to work hard hustling. It’s not like it’s now easier to find loads. All of a sudden you can sit on the couch, play video games and still get paid. You have to still go drive the loads. And so getting into a semi is not the solution.
The Bottom Line
Remember, things can quickly and easily change in trucking. For a couple of weeks, you might be suffering. Rates are at rock bottom. Then, two weeks later, they’re finally good. You see a lot of truckers saying, “Hey, rates are really good.”
So just be patient. When rates are good for truckers, they’re also good for hotshots.
Have a CDL want to start a HOTSHOT BUSINESS. Can you help me.
That’s funny. “We need government control to make the market, that’s how we’ll have controlled free market rates” or whatever dumb thing you said in the first few paragraphs
Exactly!
Supply and demand will settle once we have the government raise the barrier to entry? Well you know who doesn’t believe in free markets now!
Hot shot is covering a lot of gap relating to the drivers shortage that company are suffering right now so for hot shot is not a big deal about and talking about the requisition to become a hot shot driver is exactly the same documents of big Semi for example Dot ,mc, EINS, the drug consortium , apportion plate, iFTA, UCR, ELD, so this article it is very wrong everything is exactly the as a semi even insurance 1 million liability, 157k cargo, I think the different is that part and tires of vehicle truck and semi is different but the rest is the same
Requiring a government mandated CDL is not free market working itself out. It is government applying force against free market, just like with Ubers vs Taxi’s. Not saying anything is wrong with CDL, but free market is when the supply and demand are naturally equalized, not artificially equalized. Less profit means some drivers move on to other work, less supply of drivers requires higher pay for loads to get a driver. That is free market.
Raising the broker bond and forcing everyone to get a CDL is the antithesis of a free market. Whoever wrote this article is obviously an uneducated buffoon because they have no idea what free market actually means.
CDL it’s a knowledge of safety for everyone on road who drives for commercial purposes. Get your CDL, so less uneducated buffoons on the road.
I’ve been in transportation and logistics for 23 years. Worked every nook and cranny of it, both military and civilian. Have over 3.2 million miles with NO tickets, violations or any warnings. Instead, I have a Master Driver medal, several salutations and over a dozen safety awards.
I’ve read a few articles this guy wrote and seen his YouTube videos. This guy DOES NOT have his ducks in a row and is most likely a Democrat. He wants government regulations for everything…I slight for being a socialist. “We need the government to do this, to do that….” No, the government has done enough. Let the market, bonds and brokers alone. It levels the field over time as supply and demand dictate. YOU the author, need to learn in this society and run YOUR business as YOU fit in. If you cannot handle it, it’s time to find another job.
And I disagree with about EVERYTHING you say. Yes, we do have a driver shortage; have had and will always have. Its been this way since the 1960s when my father drove for United Van Lines and Mayflower. And it will continue way into the future as we transition into heavier population, infrastructure rebuilding and continued growth occurs.
So to the author of this and some very not well known YouTube videos, it’s a free country and your welcome to say what you want. Just remember that there are many more out there with MORE experience, skills , attitudes and enjoying the road. I hope the road is better for you in the future!
Amen, the author of the article is a dumbass
What people are blindly saying is that free market they want is plain and simple barbism.
Be careful what you wish for because you might get your worst nightmare and a bag of chips and those chips are big business AKA mega carriers writing the rules for a free market by paying off both parties to put you out of business hidden behind the words free market.
What’s funny as hell to me is the same guys wanting a free market cry and complain when some guy comes in from India and starts a business all of a sudden they want more regulation.
I have worked for several of them and they have to play by the same rules the only difference is they work smarter and work harder and pay better in most cases than Americans and best of all less hot air down one’s back.
A CDL requirement for hot shot isn’t a good thing because it invites the government right into one’s private life and I believe that they have already stepped over the line with those that drive big rigs and we see how perfect that went as far as safety.