Less Than a Buck to laredo

[LDB]

Greg, not sure why you are feeling picked on as I didn't say anything specific about you or anyone else in particular. I said, and still say, that those who are actively working in a system have more credibility than those who either never worked in it or worked it and left. I have a good bit of Panther experience but it isn't current and I know there have been changes since I was there. I feel qualified to comment on Panther but do so infrequently and only as one with prior experiences.

I'll repeat again, as I think it well worth repeating, that all FX operators should spend an hour or so in dispatch and see what really goes on there. You'll find they aren't spending all their time scheming and plotting against us, they're just doing their hectic job as best they can. I'd suggest the same to Panther and any other company operators as well. I'm sure it would be educational.

 

[nightcreacher]

Greg,i think the cc truck pay you figured is a little high.I don't know the calculations for a straight truck,but if that would have been a full rate tractor,pay would have been right at 1100 dollars.I assume that was a D load,and at 60% that truck pay was a little high,unless it was a DR load

 

[aristotle]

Ladies and gentlemen of EO... be not surprised the trucking industry, in some aspects, follows the business model of the mafia. Skimming off the top is everywhere. Having completed more than 2000 expedite runs, I can say the paid miles never equal the actual miles. The paid miles are usually off by 3-5%. It is a fact of life in our industry. I had to make peace with this discrepancy and others many years ago.

As I recall, our friend Rev Dave was always complaining how expedite companies found devilish ways to increase their profits at the expense of owner-operators. Exorbitant QC fees, overcharging in the shop for installing signage and the de-install fees. They often charge for removal of the QC even if you do it yourself at home and ship it back. High escrow deductions paying little or no interest to the O/O. Slow pay at some companies. Horror stories about corrupt brokers. Some in-house brokers. Do those Owners on percentage pay get to see true billing? 65% of what?

For those of us who love expediting, we realize what this gig is. Search for the most honest and least corrupt business partner you can find. Run your end of the agreement honestly and take solace in the fact you aren't skimming a partner/carrier. I imagine these practices go on in all industries. Unlike working for the government, expediting is fun and we actually produce results for a customer. A bad day of expediting still beats most everything else.

 

[MissKat]

more info?

checked into Gary/EGV on Thurs am. Received many low offers (in the end, over the weekend, way more than 14), including van rate, surface, a couple of WG, a temp assure. I was speaking of all miles with total pay offered coming in low. No extreme deadheads on any of the offers. Most within KY-IND-IL. Had several calls about some of the offers.

Sat at Empress Casino RV Park in Joliet (very nice place!) and on Sun am finally received and accepted an offer over $1.14.

About weekends- if you are not dispatched by Fri noon you aren't moving on the weekend unless you are in a hot spot. We call it "Golden Time" after a certain period in the day, the clink goes quiet (hence Golden Time).

hope everyone had a great weekend!
.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Ladies and gentlemen of EO... be not surprised the trucking industry, in some aspects, follows the business model of the mafia. Skimming off the top is everywhere. Having completed more than 2000 expedite runs, I can say the paid miles never equal the actual miles. The paid miles are usually off by 3-5%. It is a fact of life in our industry. I had to make peace with this discrepancy and others many years ago.

As I recall, our friend Rev Dave was always complaining how expedite companies found devilish ways to increase their profits at the expense of owner-operators. Exorbitant QC fees, overcharging in the shop for installing signage and the de-install fees. They often charge for removal of the QC even if you do it yourself at home and ship it back. High escrow deductions paying little or no interest to the O/O. Slow pay at some companies. Horror stories about corrupt brokers. Some in-house brokers. Do those Owners on percentage pay get to see true billing? 65% of what?

For those of us who love expediting, we realize what this gig is. Search for the most honest and least corrupt business partner you can find. Run your end of the agreement honestly and take solace in the fact you aren't skimming a partner/carrier. I imagine these practices go on in all industries. Unlike working for the government, expediting is fun and we actually produce results for a customer. A bad day of expediting still beats most everything else.

Amen Sir....A sign of an experienced expediter is one who has made peace of the many issues...

 

[nightcreacher]

I've been in trucking for over 30 years.Most mileages are figured by what was called the house hold movers guide,and up 'til resently,most of the trruck load carriers were still using it,and those miles are so far off ,it's nuts.Skimming of the top,I don't know where your leased,but,Ive never been leased to a company,that I couldn't see how I was getting paid.Yes there is skimming,when I use to run the broker system,The pay I received was as I was contracted for,but I knew the broker was taking a bigger portion of the pie than he was suppose to,but, I was getting all I needed to stay solvent in my business.If anyone in the trucking business,thinks they are being short changed by the company they are leased to,there is a very easy way to fix the problem.Change companies.Oh and about escrow,I don't know where you are leased,but I have never had an escrow that didn't draw interest,and when i change companies,have always been paid back my escrow money. If I took out my own QC and signage,there has never been a charge back to me.

 

[davekc]

more info?

checked into Gary/EGV on Thurs am. Received many low offers (in the end, over the weekend, way more than 14), including van rate, surface, a couple of WG, a temp assure. I was speaking of all miles with total pay offered coming in low. No extreme deadheads on any of the offers. Most within KY-IND-IL. Had several calls about some of the offers.

Sat at Empress Casino RV Park in Joliet (very nice place!) and on Sun am finally received and accepted an offer over $1.14.

About weekends- if you are not dispatched by Fri noon you aren't moving on the weekend unless you are in a hot spot. We call it "Golden Time" after a certain period in the day, the clink goes quiet (hence Golden Time).

hope everyone had a great weekend!
.

I wouldn't have expected a lot of DH out of the Chicago area. I am still shocked that with a WG reefer truck you have to settle or even be offered loads at 1.14 or less. Especially more than 14 of them. Certainly is a myth buster.
As someone already mentioned, that would explain all the reefer trucks suddenly for sale.

As far as settling on a company screwing you seems like a surrender.
I have no interest in that. If I am getting raked over the coals, I believe I would pursue being their competitor.

 

[greg334]

Steve, the numbers are actual, the revenue share is 62% and it was something that could go on a van or a C/D/E unit. I can't tell you what it was or who the customer is but this has happened a few times. I changed the places around a bit but the distance traveled was almost the same.

Leo, I don't feel picked on but rather amused by the flying plastic stringers and the fog it creates. As much as you are right, you are also a bit wrong. I mean that people working in the system may know more about what they see as the result of the system that they see (loads, competition, frustration) but they are not privy to the reasons why it is that way or how it works behind the scenes. Many companies, especially this one will not allow contractors to see a lot of what's going on because of their view of who a contractor is within their organization. If you think I am wrong, go and become a ground owner or a route owner or better yet show up in Memphis and see what response you get.

However, I do agree with you on the need to sit with a "dispatcher" but preface it with caution that a "dispatcher" is only a small small part of it. Learning what the front line interface to the company is, is always a good thing. I wouldn't expect to much honesty but overall a good experience.

Don't get me wrong though, I am not bashing FedEx for their moves but rather feel they are a good company and provide jobs and income to a lot of people. I just see things that can be improved on and understand what's going on.

 

[LDB]

Sitting with dispatch definitely won't be a complete education however it will enlighten people to the fact that dispatch is fairly busy and fairly hectic and not a room full of folks just sitting around doing mostly nothing except plotting against owners. That's the main point to be taken, that dispatch is busy people doing their job the best that they can and that doesn't include attempting to screw every truck in the fleet.

 

[greg334]

Leo,
I never said that the dispatcher was scheming but there is a lot of issues surrounding the needs to protect the brand.

By the way, if it was hectic and stressful, they would have a very high turnover which they don't. It isn't as bad as you make it out to be compared to other industries and even within the FedEx family. The biggest issue that they really have is a lack of understanding what the truck is all about but again that's another subject and industry wide issue.

 

[TeamCaffee]

We all talk about these low rates on load offers that when no FCC truck takes the load they are offered out to outside carriers. We all like to talk about the poor load offers how about lets talk about the great load offers we get even with a 500 mile dead head on them?

Do you guys really think that all we get is less then a dollar a mile load offers? What about the $1.50, $1.75, and $2.00 and up load offers we receive in an non WG truck? When I write about ALL miles I mean all miles as we get FSC on all miles not just loaded miles. We get dead head pay on our miles after 50 miles. We get relocate money if we sit more then 24 hours in one spot and our truck is needed somewhere else. I know that the specialized reefer trucks do even better then us.

While we all like to complain about the low paying loads very few like to brag about the over $1.50 a mile cross country trip they just did in a non reefer or specialized truck.

I still am confused on the bid wars as to have a bid war means you have to give a price you will do a load for which is NEVER below the price that load was offered out. So to me the bid war means you just keep upping the price on what you will run the load for. Do not see that as a bad thing. In all of my time at FCC I have never seen anyone offer to run the load for less then it was offered out.

 

[LDB]

Again, my comments are not about any single specific individual's comments. My comments are in general.

 

[davekc]

I think the term "bid war" is just a difference in terminology.
What they are referring to is using maybe Steve's example.
If they shoot the dollar a mile load out, he buts in the reason section what he would do it for. Logic would say others are likely to do the same or maybe not at all. Logic again would say they are reviewed and the load would be rewarded to the one who can make the pickup time and is the cheapest. That is why you see the "bidding war" reference used. Load goes to who is the cheapest and can make the pickup.
I don't think anyone believes is that every load would be a dollar load. It is probably more the volume of budget frieght offered.
Linda, you are under a false impression that the dollar loads your drivers turn down are then in turn brokered out for that dollar. Not so. In most cases the Fed, Panther and many others broker that dollar load out for a much higher rate than what you were offered it at. Any one who is a carrier partner will confirm that.
It would be rare to see a expedited broker load out of the Fed for a buck a mile. If it was, it likely is going on with another shipment.

 

[TeamCaffee]

What is your flat rate per mile Dave that Panther offers your trucks that are not in Elite?

What I am trying to say is while it is fair to say there are low offers there are also great load offers that are above the normal for the flat rate companies.

Logic again would say they are reviewed and the load would be rewarded to the one who can make the pickup time and is the cheapest. That is why you see the "bidding war" reference used. Load goes to who is the cheapest and can make the pickup.

Dave your "quoted" above reference still does not make sense in our system. Load goes to the cheapest? The load is offered out to all trucks who can make pickup on time. Each truck is offered a different amount so it is difficult to know what the "load" actually pays as FCC drivers talk in all miles which includes the dead head from our last delivery to our layover city which will be different for each truck. The dead head from where we deliver to where we layover can be in the hundreds of miles. This affects the pay of the load offer.

If FCC drivers would only say just what the loaded miles pay it would be a different story.

 

[davekc]

I am using Steves example of when a load offer is low, he indicates what he will do it for. I wouldn't think he would be the only one.
The simplest load program could decipher the offers in seconds and determine the cheapest one regardless of the initial amounts sent out.
With regards to Panther, they have different contracts that are going to range from 1.20 to 1.40 for the base and 100 percent on the FSC. Reefers are 1.55 to 1.75 for a base. Gov jobs add 35 to whatever the base is plus .05 on the rate for any load. They do have a handful I believe at 1.10 plus FSC but that is for all miles. These are straights I am talking about. No clue on the vans although I believe they are 70 to 85 and the FSC.

 

[greg334]

Dave,
I'm wondering if you take a cross section of FedEx trucks and average their rates for the past 6 month whether you will see a decrease in their base rate?

I think you will, I also think that there are small groups that won't see a decrease for a number of reasons.

How about keeping track of those offers? Maybe we would also see a declining rate there too.

I may catch h*ll for this but I think you are right that this trend will effect all of us in the long run.

 

[davekc]

It will affect me and everyone else IF the rates are getting more discounted to the customer. If not and they are just offering less to their contractors it won't unless they start migrating to where I am at. . Currently I haven't seen a drop in any broker rates from the Fed or other carriers which is a good thing.

 

[EASYTRADER]

Well,
Guys all I'm saying is I got 14 ridiculous load offers in a row. BTW the Laredo load had 50 miles of deadhead on it so it did suck.

The only reason I posted it is to find out if FECC has it in for my truck or if they have dropped rates in general. It appears they have dropped rates in general. My view is the economy is going to crap out again after the election and perhaps this is FECC way of creating market share before the next crash. (I doubt they are doing that, but I am trying to give them the benefit of the doubt)

Also I have just a surface D unit, team.

Also many of the loads about 30% were van loads, honestly I'd rather not be bothered with them. Getting 4 van loads I cant run because of the rates, I really view it as harassment. Especially when they send those same stupid loads out over and over throughout the day, at the same rate.

DAVEKC - You are right it is annoying, there have been several times where I have just gone out of service to avoid the Van load harassment. Frankly, when my truck is paid off I will probably bid FECC ado, my view on the economy looking crappy again soon makes me want to stay put because I think FECC will survive the next downturn, while others may not. Lord willing my truck will be paid off by the end of the year.

FECC has it's good points - but I think it is important to bring some balance here, especially when most of what I read is all sunshine and lolipops. The other FECC people talk like were all getting rich working for them. This makes me feel like a tard, as I am not getting rich nor am I seeing the 1.40 loads more than a couple of times a month. The vast majority of loads are barely acceptable.

One of the reasons I don't change companies is since I know many of the FECC posters here have on Rose-colored glasses, I can assume many of you wear the same glasses when you look at the company you work for. So I stay put. Better to live with the devil you know than the devil you don't.

Maybe I'll do a things I like about FECC post in the future.

Thanks for all your input.

 

[greg334]

FECC has it's good points - but I think it is important to bring some balance here, especially when most of what I read is all sunshine and lolipops. The other FECC people talk like were all getting rich working for them. This makes me feel like a tard, as I am not getting rich nor am I seeing the 1.40 loads more than a couple of times a month. The vast majority of loads are barely acceptable.

Easy thanks for that honesty. I do agree, FedEx has a awful lot of good points but sometimes they can do a lot better. They have a lot of work out there but seem to be a bit more selective in getting it on contractors trucks.

 

[davekc]

Well,
Guys all I'm saying is I got 14 ridiculous load offers in a row. BTW the Laredo load had 50 miles of deadhead on it so it did suck.

Also many of the loads about 30% were van loads, honestly I'd rather not be bothered with them. Getting 4 van loads I cant run because of the rates, I really view it as harassment. Especially when they send those same stupid loads out over and over throughout the day, at the same rate.

DAVEKC - You are right it is annoying, there have been several times where I have just gone out of service to avoid the Van load harassment. Frankly, when my truck is paid off I will probably bid FECC ado, my view on the economy looking crappy again soon makes me want to stay put because I think FECC will survive the next downturn, while others may not. Lord willing my truck will be paid off by the end of the year.

FECC has it's good points - but I think it is important to bring some balance here, especially when most of what I read is all sunshine and lolipops. The other FECC people talk like were all getting rich working for them. This makes me feel like a tard, as I am not getting rich nor am I seeing the 1.40 loads more than a couple of times a month. The vast majority of loads are barely acceptable.

One of the reasons I don't change companies is since I know many of the FECC posters here have on Rose-colored glasses, I can assume many of you wear the same glasses when you look at the company you work for. So I stay put. Better to live with the devil you know than the devil you don't.

Maybe I'll do a things I like about FECC post in the future.

Thanks for all your input.

I think the balance you describe is of great service to the new folks as they are reading the "sunshine and lollipop" stories. A lot of outside scrutiny comes because many see the reality verses the rose colored glasses version.
Every carrier has its good and bad points and that "balance" is what is necessary to get a realistic and objective view of any carrier's current performance.
Panther where we are at is no different. Their elevator has been known to get stuck between floors on more than one occasion as well.