Anyone else in a van stuck in Chicago?

[ntimevan]

When i'm in Chicago ....i have the best luck sitting at Ovm s favorite walmart located at. ................lol

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[Brisco]

Just a couple of Observations.........

The wife and I are new to expediting. We're in a van and delivered our first load in Chicago this past Monday morning. We've been waiting in Chicago ever since (It's now almost 8pm EST Thursday). Anyone else in a van been stuck in Chicago all week?

How "New" to Expediting? Was this Chicago Load your First Expedite Load.....or your First Expedite Load into Chicago?

And then this...........

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I don't want to disclose who my carrier is quite yet but I will after I get some responses on my next question.

Which is then followed by this.............

That question is, do you think this is a case of dispatch favoritism, supernatural forces, or just bad luck at the most grotesque level?

So we delivered our load in Chicago last Monday morning (01/07). Dispatch said we were 5th out so our fleet owner advised that we park in Joliet. The next morning I called dispatch and they said we're 3rd out. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I am told the same thing by dispatch...we're still 3rd out. Our fleet owner is perplexed by the situation. He has 4 sprinters and 6 straight trucks leased on with this carrier and had never seen one of his vehicles sit in Chicago for a week. He tells us to deadhead to back to the carrier because we can use the free showers and driver's lounge. So we leave Chicago around 2030 Friday night and arrive at the carrier a few hours later. Now here's where it gets interesting. Around 1300 yesterday (Monday) my fleet owner texts me and says, "This is going to blow your mind but another husband/wife team that drives another sprinter of mine delivered in Chicago this morning at 0800 and was dispatched out by 1200."

So in an entire week, we sat in Chicago and only moved up 2 places in the line-up of first in/first out. When we left Chicago late Friday night, there were still 2 vans ahead of us in the line-up and I have no idea how many were behind us. First thing Monday morning, another Sprinter team delivers, the line of first in/first out is completely gone and they get dispatched within 4 hours of their delivery.

So what do you think? Favoritism? Magic? or the most horribly bad luck imaginable?

IMO........that "3rd - 4th" Post of yours sure does make you sound like you've not only been around Expediting for a while.......But around HERE for a while too.........



So I'm kinda with Blizzard on this one..........

Hmm. Doesn't the name "BadLuckChuck" sound like you know who is back? I guess freight must be slow for people to come in here and whine about Chicago. lol.

My OPINION Only......Not that it matters to a few around here.

 

[LDB]

I have the best luck with Purgatory by avoiding Purgatory. Good luck.

 

[Turtle]

Sitting for more than a day or two in Chicago is rare, sitting for a week is even more rare. But it happens. That's the nature of expedited freight. The carrier you are with (and I know who it is) is not one to let people sit and rot, especially for the fleet owner you are driving for (and I know who that is, too). If there are loads to be had, they will book it for you, and if there aren't any loads, they can't. It's not favoritism, it's not magic, it's just luck.

People can think they have it figured out, but in the end it's all about luck, the luck of being in the right place at the right time, or not. There isn't a person here (well, except for Brisco) who hasn't experienced sitting in a spot for too long and then moving, only to find out that a few hours later someone else got loaded out of right where they were sitting. It happens. The trick is to not let it get to you.

 

[Moot]

When you're waiting in the Chicago area, where do you go?

I go to where my best chances of getting load are. This of course is depends on who your carrier is. My first carrier had terminals in Des Plaines and Aurora which yielded some freight of their own, plus swaps. I found the TA in Hampshire to be a good place to sit. I was close to our terminals, close to the western suburbs, close to Rockfish and the Janesville/Delavan area of Wisconsin.

With Panther I have better luck up around O'Hare. I often spend the night at the westbound Des Plaines Oasis on I-90. From there it is easy to get to just about anywhere in the Chicago area. A mile or so west of the oasis is Elmhurst Road, simple to make a flip and head east.

I like the Chicago area. When in doubt, I head to Chicago. I have deadheaded from north of Indy to Chicago and once from Detroit. With Panther it is rare when the number of vans exceeds the daily load average.

We won't be doing Joliet again.

Did your fleet owner offer a reason for the Joliet layover? Does your carrier do much Caterpillar freight?

 

[Zoli]

TriState or Panther?

 

[Brisco]

There isn't a person here (well, except for Brisco) who hasn't experienced sitting in a spot for too long and then moving...........

Oh Yeah!!

Well.....Sales have been DEAD here these last couple of days......I HAVE been sitting in this chair for quite some time these last couple of days too (Hence why I've been active here lately).....and when I got up to go to the Bathroom earlier, IE - moved, I 'bout fell down cause my Legs had fallen asleep!