fedexhatch
Seasoned Expediter
with all the companys out there who do you hear has the least down time? or is it hurry up and wait with all of them? thanks!
down time
- Thread starter fedexhatch
- Start date
I am sure for some companies booking loads it is pretty difficult to plan the next emergency and the fact they need to have their freight now.
We do mainly "Oh, shoot!" freight. (Which is a very cleaned up term.)
A piece of machinery breaks, "Oh, shoot! We need to get a replacement part, now! Call an expediter!!!"
Someone walks through a warehouse and spies a skid of freight sitting there and says, "Oh, shoot! That should have gone out yesterday! Call an expediter!!!"
That's what expediting is, and it's very hard to plan for that. How often you have down time is wholly dependent on how well you can predict where the next emergency freight will come from. Well, that and luck. Mostly luck. Except many in this business will tell you that luck doesn't exist, that they are not lucky, but are rather smart. It's still mostly luck, tho. It's also like fishing, where you bait the hook and throw it in, and hope you catch something. If you don't, you've chosen the wrong fishing hole. Bad luck. You move to another fishing hole and catch something right away. Lucky. I mean smart.
A piece of machinery breaks, "Oh, shoot! We need to get a replacement part, now! Call an expediter!!!"
Someone walks through a warehouse and spies a skid of freight sitting there and says, "Oh, shoot! That should have gone out yesterday! Call an expediter!!!"
That's what expediting is, and it's very hard to plan for that. How often you have down time is wholly dependent on how well you can predict where the next emergency freight will come from. Well, that and luck. Mostly luck. Except many in this business will tell you that luck doesn't exist, that they are not lucky, but are rather smart. It's still mostly luck, tho. It's also like fishing, where you bait the hook and throw it in, and hope you catch something. If you don't, you've chosen the wrong fishing hole. Bad luck. You move to another fishing hole and catch something right away. Lucky. I mean smart.
No luck in fishing, just skill!! Just ask me!! In expediting your "luck" will get better when you learn more and spend more time on the road. The harder you work, the more and good records you keep of things like where you picked up, delivered etc the better "luck" you will have. There is a LOT of waiting. That is the nature of the beast.
Or order dinner in a NICE restaurant, NOT a truck stop!! That often works as well as the laundry does. Sometimes better, the more it costs the more likely to be mess up and get you a call.
transporter
Expert Expediter
hatch it changes from day to day, and where you are at, and what time of day you empty out.
one day company x is really hot next day not so hot. some are strong in certain areas of us. some are dead after 6pm.
there are so many variables. if you want more consistance you probly would be happier driving big truck doing line haul freight
one day company x is really hot next day not so hot. some are strong in certain areas of us. some are dead after 6pm.
there are so many variables. if you want more consistance you probly would be happier driving big truck doing line haul freight
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
No 1 company i better then another, especially in a van. all of the post here are good and on the point. But after you have been doing this a while for 1 company, you will learn where they NORMALLY get the most freight out of.
Waiting in some areas like Laredo is a crap shoot for alot of companies....normally i can get out of there in 36-48 hrs...but this weekend it would have been 4-5 days since there were 5 vans ahead of me frm Bolt and a half a dozen other vans there from other companies...and they are all bidding on the same freight....So I took off and DH'd to houston, over 200 miles and had a load the same evening....
It is a learning process and luck of the draw....yeap, hurry up and wait....or move on your own dime......
Waiting in some areas like Laredo is a crap shoot for alot of companies....normally i can get out of there in 36-48 hrs...but this weekend it would have been 4-5 days since there were 5 vans ahead of me frm Bolt and a half a dozen other vans there from other companies...and they are all bidding on the same freight....So I took off and DH'd to houston, over 200 miles and had a load the same evening....
It is a learning process and luck of the draw....yeap, hurry up and wait....or move on your own dime......
ebsprintin
Veteran Expediter
Another thing about a company that has less down time is that they will probably then hire more vehicles to handle the "excess" freight. Then with more vehicles in the fleet they won't be the company with the least amount of down time. It is a balancing act. A company with no down time is more than likely short on vehicles and "losing" opportunities. Then a company that hires too many vehicles has a bunch of under utilized, and moaning owners.
So from a company's stand point, they probably don't want to be in the position of having the least down time, and they will be fighting to not be that company, and you signing on with them is part of their attempt to have more vehicles available, which will provide the drivers with more down time.
eb
So from a company's stand point, they probably don't want to be in the position of having the least down time, and they will be fighting to not be that company, and you signing on with them is part of their attempt to have more vehicles available, which will provide the drivers with more down time.
eb
Boy can I relate..this summer for me at times has been brutal....where ever I go the freight is gone..
Others I call are like almost per-loaded, but not ole OVM...its hot,its cold...get 2-3 in a row and then sit for 5 days no matter where I move...over all I've made out ok, but it should have been much better. I am not complaining, it is just the nature of the beast...
Glad I have no truck payment nor mortgage or any other payments...makes times like this almost bearable....except for the darned heat the last 3-4 weeks....
Others I call are like almost per-loaded, but not ole OVM...its hot,its cold...get 2-3 in a row and then sit for 5 days no matter where I move...over all I've made out ok, but it should have been much better. I am not complaining, it is just the nature of the beast...
Glad I have no truck payment nor mortgage or any other payments...makes times like this almost bearable....except for the darned heat the last 3-4 weeks....
And in this worse than average economy, companies are trying harder to make fewer mistakes, and perhaps keep the more competent staff. Their screwup is an expediter's gain.
Funny how that works! The never-ending circle.
fedexhatch
Seasoned Expediter
thanks everyone! thats great advise!
You can reduce the length of the learning curve by seeking advice from others who are competent to give it. It's better to learn from other people's mistakes than from your own, and if you are a quick study, it will show in your numbers.
New people in the business will not likely know which express (freight) center is best to move toward if you deliver in say Austin, Texas or Knoxville, Tennessee, but seasoned expediters who have run with your same carrier will.
If you have a fleet owner, the fleet owner will know. If you don't have a fleet owner, seek out seasoned drivers who are willing to advise you. "Hey, I just got a load going to Austin, Texas that delivers tomorrow afternoon. If it was you, what would you do next?"
You can fumble and bumble around for a year on your own and learn the express centers the hard way. Or you can buddy up with drivers who have their fumbling and bumbling behind them, and learn from their experience instead of your own.
Diane and I took the easy way out and learned from other people's mistakes before we got into the business. Our fleet owners were very helpful with load acceptance and relocation questions and we were good listeners. The results showed almost immediately in our revenue statements. The numbers rivaled and often rose above those of people many years our senior in the business.
Newbies, this is not a small thing. If you can learn express centers the easy way and make more money sooner, is there any good reason to learn them the hard way and make less money longer?
Last edited:
fedexhatch
Seasoned Expediter
Again,thank you all for your time and advise! all of you have been a great help to me in this learning process! and believe me i've got alot to learn!