A discussion from a new EO member….

[CaptainCarl]

My wife and I started our trucking foray a couple of years back and we have a quibble to all ye about the trucking term deadhead.

Why is deadhead a useful trucking term to truckers?

Shortly after commencement of our operations with a small carrier we ask dispatch to give us a total miles quote when a load was offered rather than quote the deadhead then loaded miles separately. They shrieked an outrage that we would imply they may not be doing it right and informed us “it’s the way its done in trucking”. Phew! We were so pleased they could explain in a few, yet elegant words, why separated deadhead miles from load miles are done thus so.

Use of deadhead miles in offering loads to truckers amounts to a shell man game of where’s the pea. Deadhead offerings should be abolished, don’t you think so?
Capt Carl

 

[bluejaybee]

Because most drivers here, keep records. And in these records is a line that ask for DH Miles. Now, if yo dispatch didn't give that info to you, what u gonna put on that line? Huh? So see, it is important. Next question, please.

 

[ATeam]

We use the term in different ways in different contexts.

1. When "deadhead" is refered to in a load offer, we ignore it and add those miles in with all others to determine the run's true pay.

2. When driving someplace empty -- like to the Expedite Expo or home -- we call it deadheading.

3. When we "deadhead" to FDCC headquarters to have our reefer and ourselves re-certified, no revenue is produced; unless you figure in the additional revenue the re-certification will mean to the truck over the next 18 months. In one sense, you are driving empty. In another, this deadhead trip is one of the most lucrative trips you will make, because without it there will be no high-paying loads that the certification and training makes you elibible to haul.

4. When delivering to a remote area, the deadhead miles to the nearest good express center are added in and made part of the price for which we will haul that load, making those miles paid miles. While they may be called deadhead miles by some, they are paid miles to us.

If you abolished deadhead miles from trucking, the shell game would not end. It would simply continue under another name.

 

[Turtle]

It's not a shell game at all. The paying customer could care less about your deadhead, and is only paying the line haul, i.e., the loaded miles to get the freight from A to B. When the carrier books the load, it is booked based on that line haul without respect to your own personal deadhead. You, on the other hand, will have an incurred "cost of doing business" for each non-line haul mile you drive in order to run the paying line haul. The more deadhead you drive, the higher the cost of doing business, and if the cost of doing business is too high, then the line haul will not be profitable. Asking dispatch to give you a total miles quote is nothing more than asking them to do your own math for you. They could care less about the total miles, since the load was booked, and they get paid, based on the line haul. If the deadhead is too much, then dispatch may have a harder time getting the load covered, but other than that it's not much of a concern of theirs, even the smaller carriers who might routinely have to deal with large amounts of deadhead.

 

[RLENT]

Use of deadhead miles in offering loads to truckers amounts to a shell man game of where’s the pea. Deadhead offerings should be abolished, don’t you think so?

Yes, I do - not because it is a shell game - but simply because it is an additive and unnecessary complication - inserted into a what should be a very simple calculation. There is a certain cost, per mile, to operate a vehicle, whether it is loaded or empty.

Since one is generally assured that you will have to at least run the miles to the pickup (deadhead, more or less, depending on your carrier compensation policies), and the loaded miles, one knows that the sum of the above is the minimum miles you are going to have to run.

So the basic calculation, to evaluate any load offer economically, is:

Total Monies being paid for the load divided by Total Miles (DH to pickup + loaded) = Rate per Mile

Of course, there are many other factors that could (and often do) enter into it, but the above is the basic equation.

In the case of my carrier, load offers are always presented during a phone call from a load planner or dispatcher. What I am saying here doesn't apply to those leased on at carriers who provide the load offer over a Qualcomm.

The patter (<--- click for definition) used to present a load offer is not standardized and can, and almost always does, vary, from load offer to load offer .... even from the same dispatcher.

Sometimes you might get a total revenue amount .... other times a per mile rate might be mentioned. You will almost always get the loaded miles without asking, but sometimes the deadhead to the pickup won't be mentioned until you ask for it.

Dispatch is almost always in a hurry and wants a quick answer - yes or no. Often they have the customer on the phone - or it is a load they want to bid on for you - which can disappear in the blink of an eye - so fast action is sometimes (often) required.

I really don't care what the rate per loaded mile is, or what the deadhead mileage is - all I care about is what the number is when I divide Total Revenue by Total Miles.

If I have those two numbers I can give an answer in the amount of time that it takes me to do the math in my head, or run it on the calculator on my cellphone.

I would maintain that doing anything other than the above, in terms of the miles and money aspects of the offer, is unnecessarily complicating the process. If you, as a Dispatcher want a quick answer on a load offer, then make it as easy as possible for someone to give you one.

 

[Dakota]

With the company I am leased onto the per mile rate is always the same for my straight truck. I can accept the van rate on trips back home from my delivery but the trip out will always be the same.
I only get paid from the delivery to the drop off using PC-Miler
When in actuality I should be getting true miles driven. Most all companies do this and usually the miles driven are more then the quoted miles. This is not really fair but is something that is accepted in trucking.
I have to ask for deadhead to the delivery every single time, my company does not volunteer it. After sitting for 12 hours they should pay me deadhead to a new location or to my house.
Trying to get this deadhead back is tough to say the least.
Are alot of the things trucking companies do fair or right? Probably not, but they are accepted across the industry from owner operators and companies alike. Really the only way for it to stop is for companies and drivers to quit hauling the freight, not likely to happen, since there is always a company that will do it for cheaper.

 

[Turtle]

After sitting for 12 hours they should pay me deadhead to a new location or to my house.

You're kidding, right?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Dakota..buddy, pal, chum.......where did you ever get this 12 hour paid move idea from? That is not even close to industry standard.

 

[ATeam]

It's not a shell game at all. The paying customer could care less about your deadhead, and is only paying the line haul, i.e., the loaded miles to get the freight from A to B. When the carrier books the load, it is booked based on that line haul without respect to your own personal deadhead. You, on the other hand, will have an incurred "cost of doing business" for each non-line haul mile you drive in order to run the paying line haul. The more deadhead you drive, the higher the cost of doing business, and if the cost of doing business is too high, then the line haul will not be profitable. Asking dispatch to give you a total miles quote is nothing more than asking them to do your own math for you. They could care less about the total miles, since the load was booked, and they get paid, based on the line haul. If the deadhead is too much, then dispatch may have a harder time getting the load covered, but other than that it's not much of a concern of theirs, even the smaller carriers who might routinely have to deal with large amounts of deadhead.

All true, making it also true that the only to protect your own best interests is to protect your own best interests. When deadhead miles are inlcuded in a load offer, disregard the distinction and understand that miles are miles. Whether they are called deadhead miles or loaded miles, it costs you the same to drive them. Build those costs into the rate you charge to haul freight.

When expediters do not do this, the carriers and shippers are delighted to accept that donation to their bottom line.

 

[greg334]

Why is deadhead a useful trucking term to truckers?

Because trucking is a business and deadhead is a form of unpaid compensation that is for this business.

Irregardless how you look at this work, THIS is a business and keeping uncompensated cost to a minimal is something everyone should do - be it a driver or owner. There is no shell game at all involved, just LUCK.

The need to know is simply that it should fit into the rate of doing business, if I have to drive 250 miles to make a pickup that is going 350 mile and I am only getting $450 (or $1.29 a mile) that additional drive to pickup at a cost (fictionalize at $.67 a mile) means that rate actually now comes close to the cost to run the truck.

 

[TeamCaffee]

The number I always watch is our all miles. When I figure our cost per mile I include all expenses and I need to know all miles not just dispatched miles.

To me dead head is just a name for miles same as loaded miles is just a name for miles and every mile we drive costs us. We review our CPM and our PPM at the end of each month.

So as a the owner of a trucking business all miles affect us greatly.

If I was the one paying the shipping bill all I would care about is the loaded miles as that is the figure that would affect my bottom line. Two different businesses and two different ways at looking at the costs.

 

[greg334]

So as a the owner of a trucking business all miles affect us greatly.

You own FedEx?

 

[Moot]

What effect does crossing the border into Canada, where distance is measured in kilometres, have on deadhead mileage?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

You own FedEx?

No smartbutt...gee whiz....you know better....don't you own your own trucking business?

 

[TeamCaffee]

You own FedEx?

Heck Greg I have a hard time keeping up with our one truck trucking business and that is enough for me.

FedEx is on their own.

You reminded me though of an argument I often have with myself going down the road though.

 

[piper1]

What effect does crossing the border into Canada, where distance is measured in kilometres, have on deadhead mileage?

Its a simple formula Moot,

[(DH x aggrevation) / (CPM / Price of BigMac)] x [(ROE x GDP - XYZ) / (Post Count - Intelligent Post Count)]

Take all that and multiply by .62 and Voila! Just remember to carry the 3 in the first line.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Its a simple formula Moot,

[(DH x aggrevation) / (CPM / Price of BigMac)] x [(ROE x GDP - XYZ) / (Post Count - Intelligent Post Count)]

Take all that and multiply by .62 and Voila! Just remember to carry the 3 in the first line.

Holy grippy Batman..all I want is git me a van and go expedittin!!

 

[Dakota]

You're kidding, right?

No actually I am not. We are not set up like most expediting companies, the straight trucks are day cabs. After a 12 hour wait we have the right to ask for deadhead pay. They will then tell us to head home which is the case most of the time or move us to a location with a load. Personally, I'd rather be moved for a load then head home.

 

[Dakota]

Dakota..buddy, pal, chum.......where did you ever get this 12 hour paid move idea from? That is not even close to industry standard.

It's not industry standard, but is Ceva standard LOL. This is what I was told when leasing on. I guess they realize, unlike other companies we can't be out waiting for a load for a week.
I can see in the future when this expedite thing takes off, remember Ceva is new to this, that they will require sleepers and this policy will go away. Probably by that time I will be #1 straight truck for local work. I am #3 currently, with one guy trying to sell his truck and leave and the other guy is retiring in two years.
Who knows in two years I might downsize to a Sprinter
Remember Ceva is not the typical expedite company, this is one reason I signed on with them. I have no desire at this time to be out for two or three weeks.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

It's not industry standard, but is Ceva standard LOL. This is what I was told when leasing on. I guess they realize, unlike other companies we can't be out waiting for a load for a week.
I can see in the future when this expedite thing takes off, remember Ceva is new to this, that they will require sleepers and this policy will go away. Probably by that time I will be #1 straight truck for local work. I am #3 currently, with one guy trying to sell his truck and leave and the other guy is retiring in two years.
Who knows in two years I might downsize to a Sprinter
Remember Ceva is not the typical expedite company, this is one reason I signed on with them. I have no desire at this time to be out for two or three weeks.

I've seen true expedite straights with Ceva...with sleepers and sprinters...the former EGL now Ceva also had some expedite..but not big into it....as you said..