Accessorial pass through
- Thread starter CharlesD
- Start date
Xiggi is pretty spot on. At our percentage we are lucky to make a dollar or two or at best break even. Also the driver is paid on his next settlement, while the carrier waits to get paid. Then what commonly happens is the bill gets paid short without the detention or extra charges being paid. Then the AR dept has to make more calls and argue and provide more copies, or phone call recordings to get paid many times. A certain percentage never end up getting paid, but we as a carrier take that hit vs going back and taking the trucks part back. While I agree everyone deserves to be paid for their part, the carrier does have fair labor costs and overhead expenses as well. But with all that being said, I don't PERSONALLY think it should be a real carrier profit center with the carrier getting too high a cut.
I have a different view on this all together. The carrier is the one paying the sales people that makes the sales calls to the customer in person. Carriers are paying owner operators more now that ever. Back in 1995 we got .10 a mile after hundred miles of deadhead, no tolls paid, no fuel surcharge, no fuel surcharge on dead head miles, we got 58% of the revenue that was charged to the customer, we had a lot more paperwork to do so we could get paid for a load. We had to do mileage reports and write the mileage down every time we crossed the state lines. We didn't have trip pack, we paid for our own stamps or paid $15.00 to FedEx Express to make sure our carrier received our loads.
Drivers made 50% of what the truck made and they paid the fuel and tolls, not 60% like today. We didn't have big 96 inch or 110 inch sleepers back then. If you had a 60 inch or a 72 inch sleeper you was lucky. My truck was a 48 inch double bunk sleeper. No refrigerator, no TV- DVD player, no microwave, We didn't have cell phones because the cost to much. We had pagers and Qual Com pagers that only worked if you was within two miles or less of the truck. We didn't have the freedom to just layover where we stopped or delivered at, we had to be within 25 miles of the express center that we was given. We didn't have the freedom to go to what ever express center we wanted. We had the planning department that told us to go to a certain express or go home. That was your choice.
I think things have came a long way since 1995 and carriers have helped the owners big time from what it once was. I remember the days that you was lucky to get a $1.00 a mile for an auto load. Carriers need to make money also. That's why they are in business just like we are, to make a profit. If you don't like that your carrier makes some money off the extra things like d-time and maybe a hand unload. Go start up your own company and hire the sales people to find your truck or trucks freight. It's not cheap to have an office, I for one can tell you that. The more you have the more the costs goes up. Most carriers pay their contractors within 7 to 14 days from the time to have the freight bills. The carriers wait on an average of 55 days to get paid for the loads we do.
Some carriers use factoring companies that take 3 to 6 percent of what is charged to the customer so you can get paid with 14 days. So many things that carriers have to pay for that they don't charge us. Freight insurance is one of them and it's not cheap at all. The margins on loads are not like they once was for carriers. No matter if its Panther, FedEx, Load1, Tri-State, or TST Expedite they all need to make a profit or they will be out of business. You have to look at the big picture. John Elliott says it best, It's not what you make, It's what you keep.
Drivers made 50% of what the truck made and they paid the fuel and tolls, not 60% like today. We didn't have big 96 inch or 110 inch sleepers back then. If you had a 60 inch or a 72 inch sleeper you was lucky. My truck was a 48 inch double bunk sleeper. No refrigerator, no TV- DVD player, no microwave, We didn't have cell phones because the cost to much. We had pagers and Qual Com pagers that only worked if you was within two miles or less of the truck. We didn't have the freedom to just layover where we stopped or delivered at, we had to be within 25 miles of the express center that we was given. We didn't have the freedom to go to what ever express center we wanted. We had the planning department that told us to go to a certain express or go home. That was your choice.
I think things have came a long way since 1995 and carriers have helped the owners big time from what it once was. I remember the days that you was lucky to get a $1.00 a mile for an auto load. Carriers need to make money also. That's why they are in business just like we are, to make a profit. If you don't like that your carrier makes some money off the extra things like d-time and maybe a hand unload. Go start up your own company and hire the sales people to find your truck or trucks freight. It's not cheap to have an office, I for one can tell you that. The more you have the more the costs goes up. Most carriers pay their contractors within 7 to 14 days from the time to have the freight bills. The carriers wait on an average of 55 days to get paid for the loads we do.
Some carriers use factoring companies that take 3 to 6 percent of what is charged to the customer so you can get paid with 14 days. So many things that carriers have to pay for that they don't charge us. Freight insurance is one of them and it's not cheap at all. The margins on loads are not like they once was for carriers. No matter if its Panther, FedEx, Load1, Tri-State, or TST Expedite they all need to make a profit or they will be out of business. You have to look at the big picture. John Elliott says it best, It's not what you make, It's what you keep.
So what exactly are You saying Dave?....I should unload 3 pallets of boxes for free? Because I am being paid so well?.....Or I should sit at a shipper for 5 hours for free?....
You were also paying less than a $1.00/gallon for fuel. Trucks, parts, food, toilet paper and tires were also much cheaper then.
Yes, fuel was around .93 a gallon. We get a fuel surcharge now to keep fuel around $1.25 per gallon. Yes the cost of fuel has effected everything like food, tires, parts, and yes even toilet paper. The cost of fuel has became the biggest cost of running a truck.
No not at all, customers should be charged for D-time. I have no problem the carrier charging $100.00 an hour and only paying me 70%. The carrier has to pay office people to call about getting d-time okay and then collecting on the freight bills. As for hand unloads, I fill that the driver should get 90% of the hand unload as they are doing the work. If the customer is charged for the use of a pallet jack or other equipment then the driver should get 100% of that as it's their equipment.
As I stated before ....I don't have a problem with carrier taking a % as everyone else has concurred because there is an expense in trying to collect and whatever else goes into billing for said services....
Slo-Ride
Veteran Expediter
Actually I don't see anymore added expense. That person is on payroll for the day anyways. I would agree this persons work load for the day may have increased. But in the same breath so has the trucks workload. Juggling times with fuel stops, traffic conditions, the list can go on forever as to what delays cost the truck. Not to mention the fact of what loads will be lost to the truck because of the delay. If a load is repowered because of a dock delay the truck eats/suffers the whole cost not the carrier.
Yes office workers are a expense and we understand that..Just not the trucks expense any more then my tires are the carriers expense. Today's offices should be more efficient then any time in recent history.. I would think its really not that difficult or time consuming to add any charges that are due. Any additional cost occurred trying to collect legitimate claims should be charged also.
"Detention is just icing on the cake"? As one of my favorite writers [the Irishman Frank McCourt] would say "Is it fookin kidding me ye are, now?!"
If the driver were paid by the hour, detention would be icing, but because we're paid by the mile, detention is time that costs drivers money. I have been forced to 'swap' a load I could have delivered direct, if not for the delay waiting for the shipper to load the truck, and I've had to decline loads that depended on finishing a prior load without delay - something I can't assume will happen.
Why should the driver pay for the shipper/consignee's failure to perform their job in a timely manner?
We all understand that 'stuff' happens: machines break, people call off sick, mixups occur - but when trucks are consistently delayed because the facility has just one dock open and 8 trucks waiting all the time, that is inexcuseable, IMO.
Equally inexcuseable is the difficulty & delay carriers encounter in collecting for reasonable charges, but that's 'not my circus, not my monkey.'
It's different for me. I book and negotiate the rate on every load I haul. I'm satisfied with my rates. There's no perfect world in trucking and never will be. If you do a good job with little to no fuss then you should be commanding your rates and getting them. I hate doing examples cause there's a gazillion different examples we could ponder but here it goes. If you got a 100 mile run for $400 but had to wait 6 hours to get loaded you'd rightly be mad. If you got it for $800 it would be aggravating but with 4 hours detention (even at a low rate) you'd still be looking at $100 an hour for your labor. Now if you priced it at $1,000 or $1,000+ you could really care less. Do you see where I'm coming from now? Make it on the linehaul and everything else will fall into place.
That's the difference in controlling your own destiny or not. Back when I was at the mercy of others it used to tick me off all the wasted time. Still don't like it but perspective is different when it's not really killing my earnings like it could be. The way things are nothing will ever change. Any company that tries to make a big issue over customers wasting time risks losing the customer to 25 others who won't. It's a headache for everyone involved and there are no clear cut answers. Drivers as always get the short end of it if they put up with it.
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Normally, I'm an easygoing kind of guy, actually a bit on the lazy side and at home, I sometimes have to force myself to do what needs doing. But, detention brings out the "Type A" in me. I really don't care if they turn me loose in the Treasury for it, I hate sitting there waiting when I could have the freight on and be gone halfway to the destination. I want to get this job done! That's why air cargo-- which makes up a large portion of what I, personally, seem to do is such an aggravation. Certain outfits at O'Hare are notoriously bad about not being able to find their posteriors even when using both hands, and forcing you to wait-- and wait-- and wait some more while they search for cargo you're looking right at.
At least here, I seem to have that problem only at the airport--- other places I'm usually in and out within 15 minutes. Given a choice between detention pay and getting this machine rolling-- I'd rather get going and get this done.
At least here, I seem to have that problem only at the airport--- other places I'm usually in and out within 15 minutes. Given a choice between detention pay and getting this machine rolling-- I'd rather get going and get this done.
Detention should be 100 an hour starting with the first hour of the truck being loaded. Companies that take their time loading or unloading should have to pay. Far as the company goes they shouldn't get a penny of it. They got there pay for Broking the load. The Truck should get the pay. Far as Loading or unloading goes the Truck should get 100% of that Money as well and The Full Fuel surcharge and 100% for the tolls should go to the truck. The Broker has no rights to that money. Like it or not they don't deserve it the Truck and the driver does.