Smart man, sometimes you have spend a little money to make money. I know I would dead head 400 miles on my own dime, that way i'm going to a place to get a load rather than to sit for 3 days burning fuel waiting on a load.
Does your company have enough trucks?
- Thread starter Bruno
- Start date
Smart man, sometimes you have spend a little money to make money. I know I would dead head 400 miles on my own dime, that way i'm going to a place to get a load rather than to sit for 3 days burning fuel waiting on a load.
DougTravels
Not a Member
Doug Travels has it right.
Well Said, BlueJayBee I agree
Well Said, BlueJayBee I agree
nightcreacher
Veteran Expediter
If you leave on monday and your out 13 days,how are you going to be off fri sat sunday?You leave on monday,13days later is saturday,now you cant leave til tuesday,and you going to miss a couple good freight days the end of that second week
nightcreacher
Veteran Expediter
This is expedite,you make hay while the sun is shinning.If you stay out 3 weeks and your not moving any loads,why sit around when you can be home sitting,but if your busy,those three weeks go fast ,you make lots of money, and everyone is happy.But this is what you have to figure,3 weeks out times 5000 bucks a week,is only $3750 a week average.Ther are 4 weeks in most months.Now,10 days out and 3 days home gets you 4 pay checks a month,and a much better chance to keep it closer to the $20000 a month..Now as I started this about the hay,you cant set a time for home and running,as in this business,you just dont know when your going to be busy,and if you are busy,you just dont go home because its time to go home,you will loose a lot of money.
Congrats Bruno, ya got em tinkin! 5700 trucks and no change prolly means the loosers or floaters have gone away and no longer float. We still have a fella that does the math an figgures there is a couple hunnert loads going begging , so.... he can cherry pick. Some are figgur'in out, that in fact there ARE more players out there than what they know about.
This is a really, really good post keep'er up folks. yer learn'in.
This is a really, really good post keep'er up folks. yer learn'in.
Steve, you look at it the same way I do. Better to have a settlement four times in a month than only have three. I know 16.66% more in service, no matter if i'm at home or on the road gives me ore of a chance each month to make more money. Just think about if all the trucks at Panther and FedEx Custom Critical was in service 16.66% more each month. They wouldn't need to add more trucks would they?
As business partners with our companies, we need to step up to they plate and stay in service more. That way our carriers don't need to put more trucks on. You have to ask yourself, If you owned FedEx Custom Critical or Panther would you not put more trucks on if you had to turn away freight? Mainly because your fleet had 1/3 of it trucks out of service on any given day. My things is, if you don't want your company to put on more truck then stay in service more so they don't have too.
Panther has a home time program for people that have been out on the road 14 days. I have used it a few times and they have got me a load going towards home or near home everytime. I don't know if FedEx Custom Critical has done something like that as of yet. It's a great thing for the company, owners and the drivers, It's a win/win for everyone. If your on home time and a load comes up going towards your home or near your home, Panther will offer it to you 1st if your on the home time program.
Well, good luck to everyone i'm off to Chicago with my load and will be out for my 13 days. Be safe and keep your in service up. The more your in service the more chance you have to make money. I bet Steve is in service right now knowing him.
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Thank you x06col. I had to step back this year and take a look at the things I was doing wrong. 1st, I was off of my meds for stress and my temper. Zoloft does great things for stress and for someone that has a temper. I don't get mad as easy and my stress is way down. 2nd, I had to look at what I was doing different then what I was doing the year before. Sometime in this business you have to take a step back to go forward.
Yea, I had some posts in the past that was about FedEx Custom Critical, I look back now and clearly can see I wasn't taking my meds and what was I thinking. FedEx Custom Critical is a very good company that has been the leader in this business for many years. I have friends still there that I miss. I have moved on to Panther and find myself always trying to compare the things that FedEx Customm Critical did to the things that Panther does. Both companies are great and they both have things that I don't like but that is just me. Not every place is going to be perfect.
Thanks Steve for being a friend.
personally I don't see any leaders in this biz...
A good leader leads...not follow the rest on this downward spiral...
A good leader does whats best for the pack/flock.
A good leader sets the standard,
A good leader does not claim "It's Industry Standard"
I don't say this with any malice or ill will but truth beknown...
Actually back around 2005 it was Express-1 that was one of the first to drop rates.....and it hasn't stopped since....
A good leader leads...not follow the rest on this downward spiral...
A good leader does whats best for the pack/flock.
A good leader sets the standard,
A good leader does not claim "It's Industry Standard"
I don't say this with any malice or ill will but truth beknown...
Actually back around 2005 it was Express-1 that was one of the first to drop rates.....and it hasn't stopped since....
You are not wrong, if the only thing you are looking at is availability of trucks. Load acceptance must also be considered.
If a carrier has 100 loads to dispatch and 150 available trucks, the carrier will have no need to add trucks. That's the not wrong part. But if the trucks need say $1.00 a mile to operate profitably (meaning better than breakeven) and the loads pay $0.75 per mile, what will happen then?
How many money-losing loads are you willing to accept to keep your fleet from adding more trucks?
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Some of the comments made in this thread about home time and in-service time don't make sense to me.
1. True expedited freight is not scheduled so far in advance that home time can be counted on as regularly as some suggest here.
2. True expedited freight pickup and delivery locations are not predictable and do not lend themselves to deadheading home at minimal expense.
3. The whole notion of getting home on a regular basis runs counter to how we make money as expediters. We do not make money at home. We make it out on the road.
4. Expediters do not control their in-service time as easily as suggested by some in this thread.
Year-to-date, our in-service number is 76%. It would be higher but for three unplanned events; a truck breakdown (in our driveway that delayed going out after Christmas), a funeral (Diane and the truck stayed out, I flew home, not an option to miss the funeral), and the need to rest after a series of East Coast runs.
One of my favorite quotes from Lawrence McCord is, "Expediting does not tolerate a personal agenda."
The more willing and able an expediter is to give one's self over to expedited freight, the easier it will be to go with the flow. And the easier it is to go with the flow, the closer to the revenue stream you will be.
We made less money in the first 45 days of this year than we otherwise would have because personal needs prevented us from going with the flow. Try as we did to do better, the best in-service number we could produce year-to-date is 76%.
The freight has its needs. You have yours. The more you put your needs ahead of the freight's, the less money you will make.
I should add that the above applies to expediters who are in the business to make money. Expediters who put home time ahead of profits or are in the business for the camping trip operate under different priorities and logic.
1. True expedited freight is not scheduled so far in advance that home time can be counted on as regularly as some suggest here.
2. True expedited freight pickup and delivery locations are not predictable and do not lend themselves to deadheading home at minimal expense.
3. The whole notion of getting home on a regular basis runs counter to how we make money as expediters. We do not make money at home. We make it out on the road.
4. Expediters do not control their in-service time as easily as suggested by some in this thread.
Year-to-date, our in-service number is 76%. It would be higher but for three unplanned events; a truck breakdown (in our driveway that delayed going out after Christmas), a funeral (Diane and the truck stayed out, I flew home, not an option to miss the funeral), and the need to rest after a series of East Coast runs.
One of my favorite quotes from Lawrence McCord is, "Expediting does not tolerate a personal agenda."
The more willing and able an expediter is to give one's self over to expedited freight, the easier it will be to go with the flow. And the easier it is to go with the flow, the closer to the revenue stream you will be.
We made less money in the first 45 days of this year than we otherwise would have because personal needs prevented us from going with the flow. Try as we did to do better, the best in-service number we could produce year-to-date is 76%.
The freight has its needs. You have yours. The more you put your needs ahead of the freight's, the less money you will make.
I should add that the above applies to expediters who are in the business to make money. Expediters who put home time ahead of profits or are in the business for the camping trip operate under different priorities and logic.
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I have found that the relocation sytem is totally useless,Panther should be more aggressive on getting trucks in areas that are needed.This would be more profittable for them as well,I cant understand there logic behind just throwing on more trucks instead of utilizing the ones they already have
"Where they are needed" Now there's the tricky part...
So Panther says Hey we have a customer in Paducah that ships once a week.....hey twizted you go cover that one for when they call....
So Panther says Hey we have a customer in Paducah that ships once a week.....hey twizted you go cover that one for when they call....
Because your a husband and wife team, not a two family team.
That is not ture either Phil, FedEx and Panther has expedite loads that are booked months in advance. They always do things for the NFL that are expedited to the Pro Football Hame of Fame that are booked months in advance..
As Owners we have to choice of taking loads going towards home. Panther offers the home time program after being in service for 14 days.
You don't always make money on the road if you are sitting waiting on a load. Its cheaper to sit in service at home than it is to run the truck for 3 days waiting on a load.
Sure they do, You mean to tell me Phil that FedEx tells you when to go out of service. They never did to me.
Then you take more time off then some of our drivers. One of the best Teams I ever had was two women out of Columbus, Ohio. They know who they are, and they was in service over 82% for the year and was home more than me.
I would have to agree with you on this but you can do both and still make the same money. It's how you do it.
Wrong again Phil, it makes much more sence to deadhead 200 or less miles home on the weekend when freight is slower than to sit waiting on a load with the running and burning fuel all weekend long. you will spend more money running the truck all weekend than if you deadheaded 200 miles home.
mjolnir131
Veteran Expediter
Does 3 weeks count as a necro-post?
Yesteryear
Expert Expediter
Originally Posted by ATeam
We made less money in the first 45 days of this year than we otherwise would have because personal needs prevented us from going with the flow. Try as we did to do better, the best in-service number we could produce year-to-date is 76%...
Went back in service after Christmas Dec 29th. Been in service ever since. Year-to-date 100% in service. If the trucks not available, can't make money. Don't quite understand how some of these drivers are able to afford going home every two or three weeks. Would love to be able to see home that often but got bills to pay.
We made less money in the first 45 days of this year than we otherwise would have because personal needs prevented us from going with the flow. Try as we did to do better, the best in-service number we could produce year-to-date is 76%...
Went back in service after Christmas Dec 29th. Been in service ever since. Year-to-date 100% in service. If the trucks not available, can't make money. Don't quite understand how some of these drivers are able to afford going home every two or three weeks. Would love to be able to see home that often but got bills to pay.