Inaccurate Mileage

[arkjarhead]

I worked for one company that paid by the odometer. We were home every weekend and when the mechanics checked out our truck they wrote down the mileage and turned it in. The boss subtracted the milage from the week before and that's how we were paid. Very few companies do it that way. I don't think your miles should be off at the end of the run, but in most cases that's the way it is.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

My last carrier Dynamex has MINUS 5% mileage customers!! I always said to them find me a fueling spot that charges 5% less for fuel!!!

 

[greg334]

OVM,
I would think that if you are contracted at .77 a mile and only get .65 per mile - that is a loss, isn't it? FSC aside.

I could get into this more but I think that I can't explain what I am thinking with the distraction I am dealing with.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Greg...Yes that scenerio is a loss...

My point is the opposite...If your contracted rate is .77/ mile and it actually runs at .85/ mile do you add this in as bonus and claim it as income for tax purposes?

 

[greg334]

OVM,
I understand the point, sorry I didn't reply but of course it is a gain and treated as such i.e. taxed as such - depending on how you have your business setup.

But this brings up another point, do you not pay taxes on what you make?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Greg said "But this brings up another point, do you not pay taxes on what you make?"


Don't we all?

Usually works out only have to pay SS tax.

 

[hondaking38]

with panther all caterpillar loads are at least 50 miles off..for the longer loads they use household mover mileage....but you make up for it on fuel surcharges

 

[Turtle]

Caterpillar - good example of a customer who has been contracted to figure miles on Rand McNally miles, which I swear uses dirt roads and farm service roads though corn fields to figure distances.

When a customer who is contracted a certain way calls in with a load, they already know how many miles they will pay, so, essentially, the load pays X-dollars, regardless of how many miles it actually is or what PC Miler says. The load is offered for x-miles at your pay rate, and you can accept or reject it. The notion of paying the truck the actual number of miles required to deliver it is somehow lost on Panther.

I guess the philosophy is something along the lines of, "The load pays 550 loaded miles. It's actually 600 to get it there, but it pays 550 loaded miles just the same. You want it or not?"

Most customers who aren't specifically contracted for short miles are generally charged for PC miler miles, although I think sometime mileage is figured on Mapquest or something.

Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop

 

[greg334]

OK I got to ask this, why does a customer tell the carrier how many miles that is from one location to another when they are being quoted a job?

 

[Turtle]

Good question.

My version of the answer involves a wienie with no backbone who was afraid of losing a customer at contract signing time so they said, "Yeah, sure, whatever you want." And they then decided to short the truck for the difference.

That's why I actually keep track of the over/under and when something is significantly under the actual mileage, I'll simply refuse it or obtain more money for the load.

Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop

 

[davekc]

We do the same thing and respond accordingly. Not a big issue, but it comes up on occasion.







Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[Moot]

Whenever I am offered a Caterpillar load I figure it to be short 5 -10% of the actual mileage.

Recent trip: Avon, MN to Dyersburg, TN

Panther Miles: 832

P.C. Miler Practical Route: 915

Moot Miles: *872

*my odometer is off 3%, so the actual miles my van traveled is 846.

 

[greg334]

Moot,
that makes sense. I can see where it all falls into place but it is sad Panther has such a poor policy ... or are they all like this?

 

[rollnthunder]

Whats sad is in this case a customer is basically naming a price and the company allows it.We cant walk into stores,dealerships,parts places or what ever and get a price on something then turn around and say nope thats to high but this is what i will pay and not a dime more.....

 

[Turtle]

"We cant walk into stores,dealerships,parts places or what ever and get a price on something then turn around and say nope thats to high but this is what i will pay and not a dime more....."

Oh, you'd be surprised. Maybe not in the not a dime more mode, and not as often at the retail level, but you can often get discounts simply by asking for them. Just the other day I went to get some new boots for the winter. Tried them on, said I liked them, but it was just a little more than I really wanted to pay, and asked if there was any discounts available. If they had said no, I was prepared to walk. But they said that they'd give me 10% off, and I thought and said, "Well, thanks, but 20% is more along the lines of what I was planning." They countered with 15%, and I agreed. That turned $160 boots into $136 boots.

Retail places where they work on commission, you can often get discounts, if they want to make the sale. You won't find that at Wal Mart, or Auto Zone (but you often will at NAPA, as you can often get the repair shop pricing), but it's there if you ask, and you'll never get it if you don't.

Later this week I'm getting my tires from my local tire guy because he gave me a discount on them, down from the price he originally gave me, simply because I told him that while I'd like to buy them from him, I can get them cheaper while out on the road without having to come home to get them. He doesn't have to know that my trip home was coordinated with getting these tires from him in the first place, along with a few other things I need to do.

It's not like freight customers are calling the shots, per se, but if they ask for a discount, and the carriers wants the business, the carrier gives the discount. They all do it. Panther does with via the loaded miles thing and/or the FSC, others do with with simply a cheaper line haul amount. I mean, how many of you folks who are paid a percentage of the load always make the same effective rate per loaded mile? Rates differ for different customers, it's as simple as that.



Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop

 

[whitey1]

Yes, different Panther customers use different mileage calculators.
You must consult the map and determine your route (with cost and time)before you accept the load.

 

[nightcreacher]

In the beginning at Roberts Express we use to get 10% over the hhg,but GM dictated that their other carriers didnt chartge as many miles as we did,so this was changed to 5% over the book
Now FEDEXCC uses the system, zip code to zip code,this can be anywhere from actual miles to miles that are both off,either in favor of the paying company,or infavor of us.My last load paid 617 miles,and I went 617 miles,load before that was off by 20 miles,in favor of the customer,but I have had loads that have been in my favor by over 100 miles.
Now here is something you can think about,we are all in the specialized business of on time delivery.If the load you are doing is going to be 70 miles off,how fast do you have to drive to be on time?
Lets say the load you are doing is paid at 500 miles,10 hours to delivery,but if load is 70 miles off,you are going to be late on your delivery,of course that is assuming your driving the speed limit,and if you run fast enough to deliver on time,you wont have time to stop for eats or fuel.