Flat Rate for FedEx CC?

[Knvsmom]

Hi All,

My co driver and I started driving for a great O/O couple about five months ago. We are still learning as we go, of course. We are driving a 22 ft straight truck with a Carrier refrig unit. We are WG/TVAL qualified, have our passports, and our HazMat endorsements.
Something we have noticed in the last month is the load offers seem to be coming in at a much lower rate than previous months, even in the better freight lanes. Is this typical as summer starts to wind down or are the rumors about FedEx CC trying to go to a flat rate across the board more than just industry gossip?
I know SF is already at a set rate and we can't counter offer, but we still have that option with WG within reason. However, even that has become scarce.
I know there are no set rules for any part of the trucking industry, and there will be highs and lows, but if FedEx CC does go to a flat rate for all units, is the ability to still make a decent paycheck possible as a subcontractor or is that kind of rate only worth it if you own your own truck?
Sorry for being longwinded, but thank you in advance.

 

[msrtransport]

I have three tractors on the flat rate program in WG pulling FCRs and that rate seems to be paying the drivers, my fleet management company, and our business pretty good. If you want specifics, you can email me. I know it's tractor freight ... but might help you make a decision. [email protected]

 

[Mailer]

I've been on a flat rate(cargo van), doing good. On certain loads, extra pay are added.

 

[butterfly610]

We do WG/Tval in a straight truck. DR Unit, and we have also noticed that we hardly get counter offers for some time now. Our loads have come out really low, with the exception of a really good one thrown in there sometimes. the other day we got offered a load at 2.43 a mile. Nothing too special either, just a good load. I have noticed tons of loads at lower rates than when we started a year and a half ago. We've also been pretty slow and getting loads cancelled on us. We've had like three good loads cancel in two weeks.

 

[Knvsmom]

I do feel your pain. It has been the same for us. We had a WG/TVAL/HazMat load offer last week @ .98¢/mile. That was ridiculous! Also have had a couple of good paying loads cancel. I wondered if those loads actually cancelled or they were offered to another carrier at a lower flat rate? I guess time will tell whether we can make a decent living with FECC or not.

 

[Treadmill]

I do feel your pain. It has been the same for us. We had a WG/TVAL/HazMat load offer last week @ .98¢/mile. That was ridiculous! Also have had a couple of good paying loads cancel. I wondered if those loads actually cancelled or they were offered to another carrier at a lower flat rate? I guess time will tell whether we can make a decent living with FECC or not.

A st hazmat load for .98/mi!!! What is Fed ex doing. I wouldn't run that load in my sprinter for that rate.

 

[Knvsmom]

@ Treadmill,

Tell me about it. I had to go back a couple of times to figure everything just to make sure my math was right. That was one of those loads that didn't even deserve a reply. We may be rookies, but we have enough sense to know when we are being ripped off.

 

[GandJ]

Add our DR unit to the list. Yes, we have had each of your DR experiences in the last few months. Very same exact things are happening to us too. You are not alone.
Decisions decisions hmmmm

 

[butterfly610]

I do know when the deadhead is high, the rates aren't always adjusted. If we are close to loads, they typically have good rates. When we are higher it seems we have to bid them to normal. We just don't get counter offers that often lately. We got a bunch of surface load offers the other day that were low rates and weighed 13,000 pounds. 10 pallets so they weren't counting on our WG equipment being in there I'm sure. Turned them down, and even got a c link message asking if we were even available for loads lol. Yeah, if a good load came across. We had a good one booked for Monday but it cancelled. Sometimes I wonder if they cancel, or if it's just they are taking them away to give expediter services trucks the freight.

 

[Knvsmom]

I noticed the same thing butterfly, concerning the multitudes of SF loads coming across last week, at lower than usual rates. Of course the fact we couldn't negotiate those rates meant we turned down quite a few ourselves. Even those we weren't far from weren't coming in at a decent rate. We finally got a good load, nice rate, sitting less than 10 miles from location and it cancelled 6 hours before scheduled pickup. Hard to say what's going on behind the scenes, that's for sure.

 

[JoeS]

Hang in there.. When October comes around, all the fair weather expeditors will pack it up for the winter and rates will come back up.

 

[Knvsmom]

First bit of good news I've seen concerning this thread..Thanks Joe, I hope you are right.

 

[ATeam]

We've also been pretty slow and getting loads cancelled on us. We've had like three good loads cancel in two weeks.

Are the shipments themselves cancelling, or are they being put on different trucks? You can check this out by going to the pick up that was canceled to see if another truck is there. Just arrive as if you did not receive the cancellation message and the load was still on. Walk in as if you were there to pick up. The shipper will tell you if the load has been canceled. Then you will know for sure.

 

[JoeS]

Are the shipments themselves cancelling, or are they being put on different trucks? You can check this out by going to the pick up that was canceled to see if another truck is there. Just arrive as if you did not receive the cancellation message and the load was still on. Walk in as if you were there to pick up. The shipper will tell you if the load has been canceled. Then you will know for sure.

Phil, I know you've been out of the game awhile, but you know that's just a waste of time and fuel.
You also know that there are shippers that have multiple shipments going out the same day (I can think of one off the top of my head that has 4-8 shipments all loading within a 2 hour window). You're going to walk in there and play dumb just to find out if a load truly cancelled??
I can think of better things to do than worry about conspiracy theories, and I'm pretty confident that when you and Diane were out here, you felt the same.

 

[Knvsmom]

Well said Joe.
I appreciate the thought ATeam, but I wouldn't want to waste my Owner's fuel if I can prevent it.
This is an old thread I found in the FXCC forums. Can anyone say for sure if this still works? We are out of service for personal reasons and can't put it to the test.
Expeditor says,
"If you ever want to track ANY Custom Critical run just go to Fedex.com and enter the run number for Fedex Freight. The Custom Critical tab for tracking is locked and you need a user name and password. Fedex Freight, you don't. Just enter the run number without the last number (1, 2 or 3) The only exception is, if the customer locks the access to the load, you will get a msg that says:
'Unfortunately we are unable to retrieve your tracking results at this time. Please try again later"
End quote.

 

[GandJ]

Well said Joe.
I appreciate the thought ATeam, but I wouldn't want to waste my Owner's fuel if I can prevent it.
This is an old thread I found in the FXCC forums. Can anyone say for sure if this still works? We are out of service for personal reasons and can't put it to the test.
Expeditor says,
"If you ever want to track ANY Custom Critical run just go to Fedex.com and enter the run number for Fedex Freight. The Custom Critical tab for tracking is locked and you need a user name and password. Fedex Freight, you don't. Just enter the run number without the last number (1, 2 or 3) The only exception is, if the customer locks the access to the load, you will get a msg that says:
'Unfortunately we are unable to retrieve your tracking results at this time. Please try again later"
End quote.

Yes, that works and we use it to our advantage 3-4 times a day.

 

[GandJ]

Are the shipments themselves cancelling, or are they being put on different trucks? You can check this out by going to the pick up that was canceled to see if another truck is there. Just arrive as if you did not receive the cancellation message and the load was still on. Walk in as if you were there to pick up. The shipper will tell you if the load has been canceled. Then you will know for sure.

Phil, so you find out for sure that they put your load on another truck.....FedEx truck or any truck for a lower rate then agreed to by you ......what would A-Team do if they were the ones that got dry runned?

 

[Knvsmom]

I don't want to get a controversy started with this thread folks. Being newbies we are just trying to find out what's the norm and what isn't?
Still curious as to what a flat rate will do to those of us in DR units who aren't O/Os is our biggest concern. How does a flat rate actually work? Is there any extra added if it is TVAL or HazMat or is it like SF and we would have to take that rate or leave it?

 

[butterfly610]

It just seems weird that they guarantee expediter services certain miles and I know for a fact they hand pick their loads, their dispatch team picks them before they go out to regular trucks. They even told me this. So it's odd that all the good runs seem to cancel when freight volumes have been down.

 

[butterfly610]

It just seems weird that they guarantee expediter services certain miles and I know for a fact they hand pick their loads, their dispatch team picks them before they go out to regular trucks. They even told me this. So it's odd that all the good runs seem to cancel when freight volumes have been down.

I think they would add extra for certain things, but that could be wrong. I know I wouldn't do every type of load for the same rate. Some are more of a hassle than others. Everyone has their likes and dislikes and their price to do those things.