Expedited drivers – a hot commodity?

[guido4475]

I have stayed quiet just to see what kind of reaction there would be regarding Tom's post, which I agree with 110%, on all 3 of his posts.

I am the type of driver who strongly believes in not calling dispatch every 4 hours asking if they have a load for me.How are they supposed to have the time to look for a load when there are 30 drivers constantly calling in? I try my best to remain patient and keep myself occupied until a load comes up.The company that I am leased to actually fired a o/o for calling in too much,being the main reason.

I have been doing this since 1989,starting as a dispatcher/driver and eventually o/o.This is the first time I have seen an owner of any co take the time to explain something so openly and honestly.Although I have never worked for Blair Enterprises,his posts makes me want to.Too many times have I been blown off or lied to by several owners just so the conversation can be cut short so they can go golfing while their o/o's are literally starving.I do respect their time, and realize they are a busy person, most of the time.Thank you, Tom, for the honesty.And your time.

 

[fastrod]

Long time lurker.......
One guy says no body cares how old your truck is, this guy says it does matter.

So who do I believe?

So much conflicting information.

I have been expediting for a number of years and I have never been turned away from a shipper or receiver because of the age or condition of my van. I have heard that some places, not a lot but some, do have age restrictions for trucks and vans. I think this age and condition deal is pushed by some carriers so they have new and shiny trucks in there fleet, at your expense and not theirs. But the bottom line is whatever carrier you sign with, you have to meet there requirements.

 

[guido4475]

As far as the age for trucks go, does anyone remember when the security guards at some GM plants would actually open your door and look at the label in the door jamb for the date of manufacture? Or look at the federal annual inspection label to get the date of manufacture? Guess they were having a problem at the time with towmotors going through some floors.I found that so comical,(their procedure on determining the year of the truck)because they think that the cargo box is part of the truck from the factory.I had to explain to him that the box is made by a separate co, and removable,and often even though there may be a new cab/chassis/sleeper,a owner could put an older box on his truck to save $$$$. Don't worry, he still didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about.

 

[aristotle]

Re: Expedited companies- a hot commodity?

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Touche, Aristotle. Before this mess of an economy happened, successful companies were plentiful. You could have your favorite, then have five more as a back up. Now, it seems, most went into the discount freight service; many of which, came from NLM into the general expediting sector, and pushed prices lower. The few that didn't fall to the pricing pressure continue to push on as a premium service carrier. Some still, have problems paying their bills, as Tom pointed out. So moving to another carrier isn't as easy as pulling up and changing signs. Many have changed their rulebooks from as little as a year ago.

While I know prices are bound to fall in this economy, what I despise is that companies continue to promise a high level service at a pittance of a rate. "GO GO GO! Earn your .95/mi!" doesn't cut it for me. .95 is what truckload is going for these days. We in the expedite industry are expected to go above and beyond this. We have more responsibility, lb for lb, than big trucks.

We are expected to move it from point A to point B at a 45-55 mph average. Customers who want exclusive trucks, many times call expecting an entire truck for LTL rate, cause we're not as big as a t/t. Many times, we are expected to give away blanket, strap, pallet jack, and liftgate services for free, because freight is thin, and we wouldn't be running otherwise. It comes back to the flaw of a socialistic society... why would I take on more responsibility of a supervisor, when I could sweep floors for the same pay?

In the end, it's not only our pay that suffers, but the maintenance of our trucks. In the next few years, I see fleets dwindling because repairs are ignored, thus leading to breakdowns in which the owner cannot afford to fix. I'll bet there's more than one here who are in that position. Running hard won't necessarily alleviate that problem, unless you're making a good enough rate to replace brakes, bearings, mufflers, engines, etc. It only hurries your truck to the graveyard.

We've long talked about the thinning of the herd in trucks/drivers. I see the need of an equal thinning in companies/brokers. The winners need to be the ones who demand the rate of the requested service; not a pittance in order to move a truck. In the end, I think the customer will know who is who, and will understand that their own service will suffer if they continually rely on discount service. Point blank... you get what you pay for.

 

[piper1]

The sad part is, no matter what, the orientation rooms will be full each week, leaving those of us already in the game with the weaker position of the two.

 

[Tom Robertson]

I’ll try to explain a couple more points with the understanding that I do not claim to know all there is to know about our industry; NO-ONE does…furthermore what we know today is likely to change tomorrow.

The expedited industry is far more complex than most of us realize.

Age requirements of trucks are for the most part set by your carrier’s customers. Many carrier customers place age stipulations into their contract. If a customer checks one of your trucks and finds the truck to be older than allowed, it CAN become a safety violation with various penalties involved, the worst of which is contract cancellation. Most customers do not want the added worry of equipment failure to the concerns of expedited shipping. Upgrading your equipment to meet carrier/customer demands is an important part of your overall commitment to the industry. At some point you will either have to comply or be forced to operate outside the mainstream.

Aristotle and Tennesseahawk

You are correct in your assessments. Expedited trucking companies are actually no different in today’s economy than the expedited driver. Those who understand their actual operating costs and handle freight that is profitable to their drivers and their organization will survive and at a later time, thrive. However blaming the “NLM” carriers for the present market conditions is a far reaching and inaccurate evaluation. Remember that the largest of expedited carriers are also NLM carriers and are known to offer their drivers discounted loads.

In their infancy, NLM could not and did not add carriers to their base. The automotive companies contracted with carriers and ADDED those carriers to the NLM web-based bid board participants. NLM simply followed the instructions of their customers. NLM has had, and has continued to add non automotive customers for many years. Additionally a carrier can only see the freight of the companies with whom they have a contract. Furthermore most of NLM’s customers have qualifying requirements and place those carriers in tiers…Tier 1, being the most trusted and proven. Tier 2 and 3 carriers do not see the most critical of shipments available to the Tier 1 carriers. Carriers who had contracts in 1999 and 2000 with NLM’s customers, got those contracts based on their proven records in the industry. Those contracts were highly sought and difficult to obtain. One automotive company continues to place strict requirements on their carriers, and to my knowledge has not expanded their base in over five years. That company would be the one American automotive company which has managed to avoid bankruptcy.

Associations with NLM are not unlike ranks in the military. They vary in degree, liberties and exposure. Just because a carrier is associated with NLM …

1. does not mean that all their business comes from NLM
2. does not mean that they are a favored or Tier 1 carrier
3. does not mean that they participate in unprofitable freight movement
4. and sadly no longer identifies that carrier as one of the best


Have some of the “NLM carriers” contributed to the present low paying load offers you are seeing today? Absolutely – but understand that those carriers are not the reason for our woes. Downturns in any market occur when there is an imbalance in supply and demand. Presently the supply (expedited trucks) exceeds the demand (expedited shipments). We are closer to that balance today than we were in January. We will be closer to that balance 6 months from now. I wish I could say that the primary factor in narrowing the gap was “increased demand”, but I cannot.

I know some carriers proudly state that they do not handle “cheap freight”, yet send their drivers on one way trips with no hope of getting a follow-up load. Their drivers return empty, or secure LTL type freight to pay fuel costs, pleased with the knowledge that they do not move cheap freight, and fail to see that their cost per mile is doubled by returning empty, or greatly reduces by the low rate return.

Every business, that includes yours, must truly understand their costs. Operating without that knowledge or operating below that figure, will, as Tennesseahawk stated, be the demise of that business.

Know the costs of your operation, all your costs. I cannot stress this enough. Also be aware of the things you can do to reduce those costs.

Try to understand all that you can about any carrier you consider. Do they pay the same amount for all loads? Will you be asked to accept discounted loads or to return empty? Do they pay you on time and in full within a reasonable amount of time? What are the sources of their business? Do they have national exposure and loading capability? What is the standard method of mile calculation for that company? If a recruiter or owner does not tell you that our industry is slow, and that you WILL BE SITTING, you need to ask more questions. Having these answers before you sign the contract can eliminate a lot of misunderstandings that could cost you.

If your carrier or owner lied to you about any of these things in order to induce you into their organization, leave now. If your carrier or owner is asking you to wait for your pay, leave now. If you run your business like a business, and do not allow anyone to take advantage of you, these less than reputable owners, carriers and brokers will disappear.

There are many options available…do your homework before committing.

I apologize for the length of this post, but hope that it helps in your understanding of some of the workings in the industry that you may not have been privy.