Wow... Sounds like a totally new Fort Wagon...
Finally a carrier that works for their cut!
- Thread starter gjmcclain
- Start date
Yesteryear
Expert Expediter
Well, first I don't fish and the point here is that the first in first out policy means nothing with the cat.
Yeah, I remember when we were driving for Panther. We took a mini with a first out. Delivered the load and got a 3 on the board position. I called in and told them. "we were suppose to get a first out with the mini we just did?" Their reply, "Yes, but there are 2 first outs before you."ROFL So bottom line, what we really got was a third out.
bluejaybee
Veteran Expediter
I am in the same "Happy Land" as you, working for a smaller carrier with loads. BUT, I have to differ with you on the above statement. While I do realize that we may leave them sitting at times, I only wish it wasn't that way. I truely wish we could all be moving. I am glad for what I get, but don't relish in the fact that I am beating them out of anything. I sure don't feel a need to try and rub in it.
CharlesD
Expert Expediter
Yeah, I remember when we were driving for Panther. We took a mini with a first out. Delivered the load and got a 3 on the board position. I called in and told them. "we were suppose to get a first out with the mini we just did?" Their reply, "Yes, but there are 2 first outs before you."
It's like at a baseball game where you see three different people throw out the ceremonial "first" pitch.
bluejaybee - you are right. what i actually mean is that while i wish the best for that driver i do cherish the fact that my carrier can keep me moving but the giants were never able to keep me moving. so when i pull out of the truck stop leaving that driver behind from the cat, etc....i don't mean anything bad against him/her only the satisfaction that i made a good decision to move on to another carrier that fits my needs. but point taken.
bluejaybee
Veteran Expediter
That's great, cause now I can agree with you on all the above mentioned. I will always run independent from the big ones. Cause I get some of their scraps.
mjolnir131
Veteran Expediter
OK maybe I'm not getting it but in one breathe your beating your chest about not being a "steering wheel holder" and less then a paragraph later talking about not having dead head.So you found a magical place that has taken one of the bigger components of running your own business,that being; knowing where to reposition yourself to best get a load and doing it the cheapest way.So are you actually running your own business or are you letting it run you? if you just expect to pod and sit there until your next load it's running you and really you are nothing more then a wheel holder.
And to OntarioVanMan who's to say they did not have a load right after you left,thats kind of coincidental evidence really i think.
I just think it's always amusing when people put down Panther or FDCC and are major-ly off in there complaints IE running the same or fewer miles as compared to those 2 or less waiting when it's the same, less of this more of that,etc, etc, etc
And to OntarioVanMan who's to say they did not have a load right after you left,thats kind of coincidental evidence really i think.
I just think it's always amusing when people put down Panther or FDCC and are major-ly off in there complaints IE running the same or fewer miles as compared to those 2 or less waiting when it's the same, less of this more of that,etc, etc, etc
mjolnir131 - yes, i run my own business (truck) however you want to state it. the problem i had with P2 is i felt with all their clutter of trucks, long list of corporate dispatch policies, the clutter of trucks and policies run the show, not the drivers, not the owner/operators but P2 controls it all in one way or another. but, that is just my thought. where i am at now, there are much fewer trucks internally to compete with, no bs dispatch policies, etc etc. i run as much as i want. be it 1500 miles per week or 3,000-plus miles per week. my rate is competitive, the dispatchers are some of the best in the business and i wasn't given some bs sales pitch to get me to training only to hear something totally different when i got there. i am not putting down P2 as a company. heck look at them, look at their bank statement - i am sure the money is rolling in. but what i am saying is they are far from a driver friendly company. take a survey some day of current drivers - i bet at least 50% of them would agree with me and that they would be more than willing to leave if they could at least get the same mileage but a little bit of respect in return. once again, just my thoughts.
bluejaybee
Veteran Expediter
Look. Bottom line is that we all are where we are, because of choice. How did we make that choice? Beings we are all different in our ways, I would imagine we all did our research and came up with the pros and cons to make our choice. I don't say (publicly at least) that any one of us is more right than the other in our choice or judgement. We are all basically after the same thing. We want to make a decent living for our selves and our family (if you have one). I do my thing, you do yours. I love hearing what and how you do yours, but don't expect me to be just like you. There is plenty of room here for all of us who have different opinions on how to do it. That is what makes this appealing to me. The variety of talents and minds, all doing basically the same thing. The straight trucker wouldn't be caught dead in a Van. The T/T man probably thinks the straight truck driver squats to p**. So be it. That is what drives all of us. If we all were alike, we wouldn't need a forum to talk about it.
Make sense?
Make sense?
mrgoodtude
Not a Member
Ya know the ideal scenario would be to navigate the waters with our own authority I suppose.
Truth be told I like the FED at the helm..
Do I like everything about them?
Probably not but I like being in the loop and they keep us in it.
When things are good I will see your rate and bump you and when things are bad I will take your freight if I choose cause the logo on my truck means I get market share if I want it.
They are aggressive and I get the lions share of freight as a consequence ... big doesn't mean I will die out here, if I do perish it is because of the market not the logo.
My personal revenue is down 60% overall and trust when I say it is not a big carrrier issue.
Did I really need to say that??
Truth be told I like the FED at the helm..
Do I like everything about them?
Probably not but I like being in the loop and they keep us in it.
When things are good I will see your rate and bump you and when things are bad I will take your freight if I choose cause the logo on my truck means I get market share if I want it.
They are aggressive and I get the lions share of freight as a consequence ... big doesn't mean I will die out here, if I do perish it is because of the market not the logo.
My personal revenue is down 60% overall and trust when I say it is not a big carrrier issue.
Did I really need to say that??
Yesteryear
Expert Expediter
That is very sweet bluejaybee, it is never good to wish ill for someone else. When my husband and I are sitting with bills coming due (for instance in St Petersburg Fl 3/2) We will hold hands and offer a prayer to the good lord to get us moving that we may have the provisions to meet those bills. We always pray for the other trucks that are sitting as well and remember our friends that are needing loads as well. They have needs the same as we do.
Scuba
Veteran Expediter
The first out program for minis has been in effect as long as i have been with Panther that’s 4 years. So no change there that i can see. The issue of a closer truck could have several factors. 1 the truck that may be first on the board may not be able to get to that load in time. It does happen but not very often. I do not think that 2 miles would make a difference. And if time is a huge factor in getting that load covered if you have an accept rate of 50% and that other truck has a 80% who would you call first? The 50% most likely want to haggle or "think" about the load. The 80% guy most likely will just take the load and move on it in less time.
Tempest
Seasoned Expediter
Scuba, You hit the nail right on the head there! Many things can determine who gets the load. We have been 8th out and got loaded. I KNOW my numbers were the reason for this. We have also been skipped over when time and distance have been an issue. I never really liked being 5th 1st out but I understand those ahead of us took minis just like we did and cant get upset with them for doing so. Lately I have come to a point where I know it is gonna be what its gonna be and I will get loaded when the load comes and not before. I am using the downtime to learn spanish and catch up on all the little things I want to do with the trucks. As for fishin', I never wait to long for a bite, I move to the next spot on this big bank we call the load boards. It doesnt always work but more often than not, I get a bite
mjolnir131
Veteran Expediter
Exactly!!
Nobody ever forces you to stay put unless you drive for an owner.
Nobody ever forces you to stay put unless you drive for an owner.
Smaller carriers keep you moving more because they can spend more time focusing on what few trucks they have to work with. They also have a more vested intereste in keeping all of their trucks loaded and rolling down the highway. The smaller carriers do not make their money on volume like the larger carriers do. I worked at panther for a year and I did quite well with them in a cargo van. But that is because I know how to work their system. And you are right, they will give a first out if you do a mini run.
I was stuck one time in Nashville for 3 days just bouncing all over the board; from first out, to second out, to third, and all the way down to fourth out. But that was my fault. I moved my truck over to Bucyrus Ohio on saturday and ended up getting a 950 mile load to Gwinner ND. on Sunday morning out of Timken Bearing Company. But I can also see where deadheading over 1k miles in a straight truck can really put a hurtin on your bottom line.
Panther doesn't have a lot of loads coming out of the Louisville area. I usually get swaps that are picking up at the UPS terminal out there. When I was working for Express- 1 Louisville/Waddy was one of their hot spots (it was the place to be). I never sat there for more than a day and the loads were pretty decent "i'd say in the 300 to 500 mile range." Then again it all depends on your carriers customers and their ability to win bids on National Logistics and ActiveAero.
Tempest
Seasoned Expediter
Well that kinda depends on the owner and the contract with the driver. We incourage our drivers to reposition to good boards rather than the closest. We find that in the long run it pays off. Any person, owner or driver, willing to sit on a bad board rather the burn the fuel to get to a better one will soon find themselves broke and/or bankrupt. (and likely in here crying about thier carrier causing them to lose everything)
mjolnir131
Veteran Expediter
it's an 8 a day board what are you talking about,and the one just north of it is a 5