A Rude Awakening- A Rant-Pet Peeves

[ATeam]

Well, welcome to the new economic reality in which the scales of supply and demand are very much tilted in favor of the carrier.

The lack of low skilled jobs have brought a wave of newbies into the iundustry, looking to put that van or truck that's been sitting in the front yard for ions to use.

I am not disagreeing with you but would be interested to know how you know what you said to be true. What data are you looking at? What information led you to form this view?

I am asking because Diane and I will be speaking to expediter wannabees at an EO event on Thursday. Anticipating some of the questions we may be asked, I am more interested than usual in who is entering the industry and why. Any information you care to share will be appreciated.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

The August, 2011 edition of Syleconomics includes information that shows rates are on the rise. If your carrier is paying you less, it might be wise to take a fresh look at the industry, current carrier practices and your role in the game.

Well Phil..my last 5 loads averaged $1.27 a loaded mile...4 were CV loads.....Rates are on the upswing...

 

[greg334]

Freight is becoming more standardized. The internet makes it possible for just about any truck to make itself available and just about any shipper to post its freight. Technology makes it possible to track a shipment in ways better today than what expediters on pay phones provided before. What was once a premium service can now be commonly offered by many LTL carriers and mom & pop expedite carriers (one, two or a few trucks).

Wow what a revelation.

I said this four years ago and was told I was full of it, but it seems that it is a reality.

Well, welcome to the new economic reality in which the scales of supply and demand are very much tilted in favor of the carrier.

I actually think that it is tilted in favor of the shipper or broker, not the carrier. The access to the resources for shipping has expanded a lot in the last 3 years, and that has brought on a lot of competitive rates to their door step. With a deflationary period in the rates in the past 5 years, we still maintain a quality of service level that we are not being paid for and we are not adjusting our business models to capture additional revenue when we have opportunity to do so.

the winner in all of this is the shipper, who pay a small percentage more than they did 5 years ago, if at all to move the same amount of freight.

The lack of low skilled jobs have brought a wave of newbies into the iundustry, looking to put that van or truck that's been sitting in the front yard for ions to use.

BUT this is also our fault too. We are what we call ourselves, professional drivers, make allowances for bad behavior and the lowering of standards.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

BUT this is also our fault too. We are what we call ourselves, professional drivers, make allowances for bad behavior and the lowering of standards.

And this falls 100% into the carriers lap......they get what they recruit....

 

[xiggi]

Well Phil..my last 5 loads averaged $1.27 a loaded mile...4 were CV loads.....Rates are on the upswing...

4 loads does not make a trend.

BUT this is also our fault too. We are what we call ourselves, professional drivers, make allowances for bad behavior and the lowering of standards.

Actually truck drivers are considered unskilled labor because of the amount of schooling required to work in the industry not because of what we call ourselves.. We can refer to ourselves professional but it will have very little impact on earnings. Lets be real it does not take a rocket scientist to do this work and pretending it does will not change the facts.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

4 loads does not make a trend.



Actually truck drivers are considered unskilled labor because of the amount of schooling required to work in the industry not because of what we call ourselves.. We can refer to ourselves professional but it will have very little impact on earnings. Lets be real it does not take a rocket scientist to do this work and pretending it does will not change the facts.

Hey, work with me here pal....LOL

yep you can dress it up anyway you want....you are still a truck driver...one step up from a cab driver....

 

[Streakn1]

When we started to look at expediting, over 3 years ago,I mistakenly thought if we did the following things we would be come valuable to our contracted carrier.

Sadly, many of us fell into that misconceived belief.

The rude awakening came when I found out this was not true and made no difference to most carriers. What mattered most was how low of a rate we would run for.

And are we to believe that if the carrier is asking us to run the customer's freight for a cheaper rate, they are charging a cheaper rate? Or is the carrier simply pocketing the difference?

My background in business had taught me that a great associate was the most valuable asset my company could have. A person like that would make me a lot of money and make my life so much easier.

Smart businesses and business people would think and practice that. So is this the mentality of those who run this industry?

We would love to find a carrier who sells their/our services based on quality not on price. We realize that all carriers have some good paying, quality minded, customers but apparently do not want their contractors to know who they are or what they pay.

Thankfully, we found such a carrier that sees what a value we are as a contractor, who wont sell us short on rates quoted to a potential customer, and walks away from those shippers that want their freight hauled for ridiculously low rates!

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Thankfully, we found such a carrier that sees would a value we are as a contractor, who wont sell us short on rates quoted to a potential customer!

Amen to that!!

 

[chefdennis]

It is all about your carriers attitude on how to do business on all levels...sales, service to THEIR customers AND their contractors, contracting with contractors that are on par with the carrier in all aspects of how to do business and then both taking care of business on all levels.

From management, recruiting, sales, load planning, dispatch and contractors....all have to believe that the management is there for everyones benefit, not just that of the shipper....and to able to believe that, there has to be a proven history for all to see....there doesn't seem to be too many of those kind of carriers out there, I thank God I am contracted to one...

Thanks John....

 

[Camper]

I am not disagreeing with you but would be interested to know how you know what you said to be true. What data are you looking at? What information led you to form this view?

I am asking because Diane and I will be speaking to expediter wannabees at an EO event on Thursday. Anticipating some of the questions we may be asked, I am more interested than usual in who is entering the industry and why. Any information you care to share will be appreciated.

My theories are based on information from a myriad of sources, mostly macro-economic data such as the Baltic Dry index which tend to be forward looking in terms of industry conditions. One good source to keep up with is the International Air Transport Association website(IATA.org). Even though it's not specific to expedite freight, a lot of the trends in Air freight tend to mirror those of expedite. However, most of my perspective comes from first hand accounts of those I work with in the industry(fleet owners and transportation managers).

 

[Camper]

Wow what a revelation.

I actually think that it is tilted in favor of the shipper or broker, not the carrier.

Yes and no. This is a buyer's market and the shippers are, of course, the buyers. However, the current surplus of contractor's has enabled the carriers to adjust by affording them greater flexibility in terms of the rates they offer to contractors.

BUT this is also our fault too. We are what we call ourselves, professional drivers, make allowances for bad behavior and the lowering of standards.

It's nobody's fault. It is just part of the evolution of the industry.

 

[ATeam]

My theories are based on information from a myriad of sources, mostly macro-economic data such as the Baltic Dry index which tend to be forward looking in terms of industry conditions. One good source to keep up with is the International Air Transport Association website(IATA.org). Even though it's not specific to expedite freight, a lot of the trends in Air freight tend to mirror those of expedite. However, most of my perspective comes from first hand accounts of those I work with in the industry(fleet owners and transportation managers).

OK, but I am mostly interested in things the Baltic Dry index and IATA say nothing about. I am curious about the unemployed people you mentioned who have vans parked in their yard and are putting them to work as expediters.

Whats the word of those? And why would a carrier even bring someone like that into the fold?

 

[purgoose10]

4 loads does not make a trend.



Actually truck drivers are considered unskilled labor because of the amount of schooling required to work in the industry not because of what we call ourselves.. We can refer to ourselves professional but it will have very little impact on earnings. Lets be real it does not take a rocket scientist to do this work and pretending it does will not change the facts.

We may be unskilled but we also have unskilled in the White House.

 

[Camper]

OK, but I am mostly interested in things the Baltic Dry index and IATA say nothing about.

Well, as I said in my last post, a lot of the spilled ink on industry data is backwards looking. That's why you've got to look to what the underlying economic trends in the industries ours piggybacks off of. For instance, look at the auto industry. For all the talk there is about business picking up, it isn't. All that has happened is the pent up demand from during the recession is being absorbed. Going forward, that demand won't be there.

I am curious about the unemployed people you mentioned who have vans parked in their yard and are putting them to work as expediters.

All you have to do is look around and see who many of the newbies in the past few years have been. There isn't any behind the desk/keyboard info or some ivory tower data base of construction workers putting their old econolines to use. However, if you talk to real people, you'll meet a fair number of them.

Whats the word of those? And why would a carrier even bring someone like that into the fold?

Why wouldn't they? If they can get them to run for the rates they offer and the unit is in good condition, small carriers have no problem bringing on such newbies.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Trucking is a culture shock to many second career people including us. As a driver for US Xpress it was a rude awakening to a new world and frankly one we decided we could not handle and tried to get our of trucking. We found in a short time the wanderlust bug had grabbed us and we had to find another way into trucking, which is when we found expediting.

Rules are much different in trucking then they were in our former lives and we had a lot to learn. We figured out quickly that there are all kinds in trucking and all of us doing basically the same job moving freight. What we found different was how each of us approach getting the job done.

We figured out our niche and with us appearance and attitude matters first to us and our sense of accomplishment every day. When we look outside of our office windshield or down at a car we feel like professionals driving our truck. Does our company appreciate what we do and how we do it? Yes I believe they do.

One of the huge dilemmas out here that we face is when are at a customer and another driver from our company comes into the customers office and they are not dressed to the companies standards. We say we are the face of our company but are we the eyes of our company? How is our company to know what people look like after orientation? The company cannot be at each customer they are depending on us to do the job we signed on the dotted line to do. We have to make the decision do we risk losing a customer over another contractors disrespect or do we make a phone call? How can we in good conscience leave our company’s customer knowing a fellow contractor is not representing our company in the best light? How can we say our company does not care when the only way our customer can care is if we tell them what is happening?

 

[Camper]

Trucking is a culture shock to many second career people including us. As a driver for US Xpress it was a rude awakening to a new world and frankly one we decided we could not handle and tried to get our of trucking. We found in a short time the wanderlust bug had grabbed us and we had to find another way into trucking, which is when we found expediting.

Rules are much different in trucking then they were in our former lives and we had a lot to learn. We figured out quickly that there are all kinds in trucking and all of us doing basically the same job moving freight. What we found different was how each of us approach getting the job done.

Well said. Trucking is one of the most misunderstood professions. Many of those who get into it, do so under the mistaken assumption that it's just driving. However, it's far more than that. Truckers are professional drivers, business owners, and customer service agents all rolled into one.

 

[xiggi]

One of the huge dilemmas out here that we face is when are at a customer and another driver from our company comes into the customers office and they are not dressed to the companies standards. We say we are the face of our company but are we the eyes of our company? How is our company to know what people look like after orientation? The company cannot be at each customer they are depending on us to do the job we signed on the dotted line to do. We have to make the decision do we risk losing a customer over another contractors disrespect or do we make a phone call? How can we in good conscience leave our company’s customer knowing a fellow contractor is not representing our company in the best light? How can we say our company does not care when the only way our customer can care is if we tell them what is happening?

90% of customers at least those on the dock could care less what a person or their truck looks like. As long as you do not stink them out their only real concern is getting freight from point a to point b. Being presentable is more about personal pride than anything else. Of course if your doing special type of shipments other than normal dock to dock I can see appearance becoming more of an issue. When you out dress the shipping clerk your not accomplishing anything that enhances service except for the fact if a person feels better about themselves that often leads to better performance..

Do I think a person should take pride in themselves and their company? Yes very much so, I do not understand sweatpants elastic waste athletic type shorts, stained shirts, foul language, bad attitudes in front of the customer flip flops, bad hygiene etc. Do I think the average shipper chooses a carrier because of such things, no except maybe the hygiene part..

 

[TeamCaffee]

If we "only" delivered to docks I would be inclined to agree with you.... Expediting is often going inside a business and picking up freight or delivering inside a business.

We deliver inside hospitals, banks, hotels, bases, and an assortment of customers who have never seen a dock... these are the customers that do care about what we look like, how we speak and how we conduct ourselves.

Our company does have an appearance standard and when we agree to haul White Glove freight we also agree to the appearance standard and level of professionalism that this division requires. Many who leave orientation for this division forget about what they agreed to as they leave the classroom.

 

[greg334]

Yes and no. This is a buyer's market and the shippers are, of course, the buyers. However, the current surplus of contractor's has enabled the carriers to adjust by affording them greater flexibility in terms of the rates they offer to contractors.

Where is there a current surplus of contractors?

In the industry or the niche market?

If we are talking about the niche market part of the industry, yes but we don't all derive our work from there and haven't for a while.

The surplus really does not have anything to do with the rates, really. Because we accept the rates as the norm and by doing that, we allow the customer to deal with that reality. The tie is the reflection that this niche market holds, it reflects the industry as a whole to a point but that reflection is clouded by the lack of adaptation that it should be doing.

It's nobody's fault. It is just part of the evolution of the industry.

No can't agree, it is all of our faults that we accept lower standards while ignoring what impacts us until it has an outside force that wakes us up to the problem. Evolution is just the opposite of what has been happening in the past 10 years, I think we are devolving.

 

[Bruno]

If we "only" delivered to docks I would be inclined to agree with you.... Expediting is often going inside a business and picking up freight or delivering inside a business.

We deliver inside hospitals, banks, hotels, bases, and an assortment of customers who have never seen a dock... these are the customers that do care about what we look like, how we speak and how we conduct ourselves.

Our company does have an appearance standard and when we agree to haul White Glove freight we also agree to the appearance standard and level of professionalism that this division requires. Many who leave orientation for this division forget about what they agreed to as they leave the classroom.

I would have to agree with you 100% on this. I know if I was paying top dollar to have a shipment moved I would want the best service and a clean driver going to my customer. Think of it this way.

You just landed a new account and the customer wants the freight there ASAP. Now you can use Billy Bob's Expedite who has an older truck that has rust all over it and save $200.00 or use a Expedite carrier like Panther, Load1 or FedEx CC. Yea, Billy Bob's may save you $200.00 but it may cost you more than that in the long run. Billy Bob's send in a driver that looks like he hadn't taken a shower in a week with a shirt that is to small for his belly and he is wearing flip flops. What do you think your customer is going to think?

I know when I was in the Rent to Own business and we got shipments in from this company out of Cleveland that used a guy with a old beat up truck. I stopped ordering from them because the truck that was bringing us our TV's and high dollar bedroom suits didn't even have e-track in this truck and the floor of the truck was nasty. Now we ordered $5000.00 to $10,000.00 per shipment each time and sometimes twice a week. So how much did that supplier lose because of a nasty truck?