Changes at FedEx Custom Critical

[layoutshooter]

This am we came out of the shower, both drivers off duty.
We moved the truck about 60 feet when it was announced that I had 3 mins to go to sleeper or I would be put on duty to avoid a passenger rule violation.
Is releasing the parking brake triggering on duty ?
What happened to the 1/2 mile or so of freedom?

Time to read George Orwell's book again.

That "sleeper/off duty" mess is time based as far as I know. It is also VERY stupid!

 

[ISLNANA]

sitting in the dallas express center, DRunit,tval,L/G, and the best run offer I have had all day was for 1.34 m all miles and would have put us right back into the dallas express center behind 4 other trucks. cannot run that cheaply . other offers have been even lower. so now, I guess we have no points and are looking at a long weekend and possibly longer.... maybe there is a unit out there that can run f or these rates... I guess they will get all the "points" and when they have a major repair,and have no way to pay for that repair because of the cheap rates they can redeem them at the fed for bus ticket home.

 

[layoutshooter]

sitting in the dallas express center, DRunit,tval,L/G, and the best run offer I have had all day was for 1.34 m all miles and would have put us right back into the dallas express center behind 4 other trucks. cannot run that cheaply . other offers have been even lower. so now, I guess we have no points and are looking at a long weekend and possibly longer.... maybe there is a unit out there that can run f or these rates... I guess they will get all the "points" and when they have a major repair,and have no way to pay for that repair because of the cheap rates they can redeem them at the fed for bus ticket home.

OR

They can pony up another $1.50 to those points and buy a coffee.

There is NOTHING better than raising requirements, raising costs and LOWERING rates! Sounds much like Obama to me!

 

[LDB]

Some already have but some still could do things like add airtabs, get the ecoflaps and remove the visor. I did those 3 things on my Sterling and gained roughly 1mpg. Along with that there are some who could drive 62-63mph instead of 72-73mph and gain upwards of another mpg. Combine those things with paying attention to fuel taxes and the price versus cost of fuel and there is significant money to be saved.

 

[layoutshooter]

Some already have but some still could do things like add airtabs, get the ecoflaps and remove the visor. I did those 3 things on my Sterling and gained roughly 1mpg. Along with that there are some who could drive 62-63mph instead of 72-73mph and gain upwards of another mpg. Combine those things with paying attention to fuel taxes and the price versus cost of fuel and there is significant money to be saved.

And NONE of that would account for what is going DOWN with rates.

 

[LDB]

That's correct. I was just pointing out there is a lot of money floating around out there from some people's pockets.

 

[layoutshooter]

That's correct. I was just pointing out there is a lot of money floating around out there from some people's pockets.

LOL! NOT MINE!

 

[cheri1122]

That "sleeper/off duty" mess is time based as far as I know. It is also VERY stupid!

The whole concept of a time clock for truck drivers is very stupid, because the majority of our time is controlled by factors over which we have zero control.

 

[layoutshooter]

The whole concept of a time clock for truck drivers is very stupid, because the majority of our time is controlled by factors over which we have zero control.

We have had our "control" taken from us by regulators. We ALLOWED this to happen. WE, as a nation, continue to vote in those who would control us and take away what control we have.

 

[davekc]

sitting in the dallas express center, DRunit,tval,L/G, and the best run offer I have had all day was for 1.34 m all miles and would have put us right back into the dallas express center behind 4 other trucks. cannot run that cheaply . other offers have been even lower. so now, I guess we have no points and are looking at a long weekend and possibly longer.... maybe there is a unit out there that can run f or these rates... I guess they will get all the "points" and when they have a major repair,and have no way to pay for that repair because of the cheap rates they can redeem them at the fed for bus ticket home.

One thing that would be cause for a pause is if you have folks spending 200k plus on a vehicle and the best the carrier comes up with out of a major metro market is 1.34 would be troubling. Even more troubling is the load puts you back at the same location which indicates a probability that it is a very short load.
I do agree, if that is all they are offering or as you say "offers that were less than the 1.34" who would care about "points"?

 

[Bruno]

Expediting has changed so much since I started many years ago. Fuel has went up, tolls, have went up, The cost of a truck has gone up. Everything has went up except Expedite rates for the one that owns the trucks. Carriers have found other ways to make money off the truck owners other than freight, FSC is one of them. QC charges is another one. As drivers and owners you have to change your thoughts to the same way of thinking. Today it all about GP (gross profit) on a load for most carriers. If drivers change their mind set about rate per mile on every load and look at the gross profit on the load they will make more money. If the load is not profitable for you, just say no. I have seen drivers turn down a 2300 mile load because the load was going to New York City and it was .05 less than the truck rate. Then they sit for three days after that and complain they aren't making any money.

Over all we are very happy with our carrier as we have grown our fleet each year since 2008.

 

[AMonger]

One factor that should be considered is some carriers have contracts with customers which make it so the carrier cannot say no to a load from that customer. Sometimes this is written expressly into the contract, and sometimes the carrier's acceptance rating affects which and how many loads that customer will give them. Those expressly written into a contract can result in some loads that pay very little and are not profitable to run, but the carrier has to get them covered nevertheless. That's why the carrier makes those ridiculously low offers.

If a trucking company wants to make these arrangements, that's between them and their customer, involving THEIR money.
This is seen a lot in the truckload industry. A company offers customers decreased miles, sometimes miles that a truck can't even run due to restrictions, or they'll calculate miles based on a short route but insist the driver follow a different, longer one. This is theft. They want to cut deals with a customer, they need to make it out of their own money.

 

[AMonger]

We have had our "control" taken from us by regulators. We ALLOWED this to happen. WE, as a nation, continue to vote in those who would control us and take away what control we have.

Or not. How long has it been since we've had verifiable election results?

 

[AMonger]

The whole concept of a time clock for truck drivers is very stupid, because the majority of our time is controlled by factors over which we have zero control.

A bigger problem is that we're paid by the mile while regulated by the hour.

 

[zorry]

A bigger problem is that we're paid by the mile while regulated by the hour.

That's an argument That always confuses me.
I evaluate a load by the hour.
I only have so many hours per week that I can work.
If I'm going to have 8 hours in this load I need 8 x so much per hour. Period.
I can make minor adjustments for tolls/fuel, but I can only sell so many hours per week.

 

[ATeam]

If the load is not profitable for you, just say no.

That is a good approach, but how do you make it work if you are operating under the new point system FCC imposed?

Trucks that say yes to loads (profitable or unprofitable) get points that elevate them in the que of trucks for the next load. Trucks that decline loads get no points. This means that trucks that are willing to run for little or no money, or at a loss, on a particular load will have distinct advantages over the trucks who say, "If the load is not profitable for you, just say no."

There will be some who begin to think about their average rate per mile across a number of loads in response to this new policy, but notice that it is an average that moves the rate per mile down. To average up, you need to take profitable loads, not low-profit or no-profit loads. But with this new point system, it will become more difficult to get profitable loads when the low-profit and no-profit trucks are racking up the points.

 

[zorry]

As one of many that do not understand the point program I suggest just run as usual.
First, the points are only one of many factors. Who knows how important that one factor really is ?
There are things you know are important and can control. On time pu/del. Needed options like Hazmat/lift gate.

Continue to make decisions to run profitably. If you don't, nothing else really matters.

Much ado about nothing. Again.

 

[bubblehead]

That is a good approach, but how do you make it work if you are operating under the new point system FCC imposed?

Trucks that say yes to loads (profitable or unprofitable) get points that elevate them in the que of trucks for the next load. Trucks that decline loads get no points. This means that trucks that are willing to run for little or no money, or at a loss, on a particular load will have distinct advantages over the trucks who say, "If the load is not profitable for you, just say no."

There will be some who begin to think about their average rate per mile across a number of loads in response to this new policy, but notice that it is an average that moves the rate per mile down. To average up, you need to take profitable loads, not low-profit or no-profit loads. But with this new point system, it will become more difficult to get profitable loads when the low-profit and no-profit trucks are racking up the points.

This is further complicated by highly profitable loads being put on flat rate trucks and never offered to the general fleet. We have seen too many ragged trucks pulling the 53' reefers for the FED. When I talk with them, they complain that they are running extensively. So the loads are being sifted and sorted (cherry picked) by the Carrier and then what remains is sent out.

 

[zorry]

That's a nice spin on it.

The drivers are forced to cherrypick because the company is cherrypicking.

Excellent observation.

All is fair in love and war.

 

[Turtle]

As one of many that do not understand the point program I suggest just run as usual.

The most important thing is to learn the rules, and learn them well. If you know the rules, you can play the game. If you know them well, you can use them to your advantage.