Loads Canceling???

[mrgoodtude]

Been on a 3 week hiatus but talking to some of our friends while we where out.
The most common aggravation I am hearing is loads canceling just before they arrive at the shipper.
We set out for a decent p/u yesterday with a 300 mile d-head, made it 200 up the highway and Bam 1st time no go...
I realize shippers are price shopping but what I am getting out of this is dispatch central must be working the load boards pretty hard..

Any other carriers (contractors) running into this problem??

 

[OntarioVanMan]

If a load has a confirmation you should be paid for a dead run at least..

 

[mrgoodtude]

>If a load has a confirmation you should be paid for a dead
>run at least..

Yep it did and I am not complaining ($300 for 200 miles) but am pointing out a trend that hasn't been that common.
We all get agitated at the regular stuff "short runs to nowhere or long waits" but in the 2 1/2 years we have done this we probably have had no more than 5 loads cancel all total.
That was my concern.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

ya ever noticed...the good runs usually cancel!! Especially if the shipper has too much time to shop around before ya get there..So think if he was willing to pay 300 for nothing just how low was the other companies price????

 

[mrgoodtude]

Good point and how much trouble does that spell for the expedite segment of transportation?
Roller coaster downhill unless god forbid another Katrina???
I won't make popular opinion with that one but does anybody have real numbers on how a major catastrophe contributes % wise to Expedite?

 

[nightcreacher]

Most of my dry runs happen before I even get out of the parking lot,usually having to do with,time of pick up,the receiver needs the freight,he calls lets say fed exc cc,they tell him the truck will be there in 90 mins,he says great,qualcom goes off and i've got a load,slight problem,shipper closes in 1/2 hour and won't wait for truck,dry run,thats just 1 case.Yes,customer has time to shop around,knowing if everything else fails,that expedite company will be there.Even if he pays dry run pay and goes to a cheaper carrier,it is still most likely cheaper than he was going to pay.Dry runs are part of the expediting business,they happen,but not that often,and if they do,sometimes you can use that #1 to get out,especially if you are in an ex centr that is full of trucks,and that short run they all turned down,dry runs,oh well,lol

 

[Jefferson3000]

As Night said, cancellations happen for other reasons besides price shopping. Truck to arrive in 90 min, shipper closes in 30 min. Shipper won't wait, so consignee cancels his order with shipper and orders product from company thst is one time zone earlier who will be open for three hours and/or is willing to wait for a truck. Or, shipper #2 is in a bigger freight hub, and LTL can guarantee next day by noon. Stuff happens.

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119

 

[Jefferson3000]

BTW, I don't get too many runs scheduled for the next day or days in advance either. Yes, the shipper has time to shop his options. It's usually only when the P/U is in a rural place or funny time window though.

Oh, and that 300 bucks may or may not have been charged back to the shipper. Sometimes your carrier does eat it to keep the customer due to some sort of misunderstanding within dispatch or sales.

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Try having two loads back to back cancelling while at the dock. Or better yet, cancelling after you've picked up.

-Vampire Super Slooth Trucker!!!

 

[mrgoodtude]

>Try having two loads back to back cancelling while at the
>dock. Or better yet, cancelling after you've picked up.
>
>-Vampire Super Slooth Trucker!!!

Believe it or not has happened to us once but a total of say 5 in 2.5 years?
Once we were even out the drive catching 10th gear then ping.
I'm not bent about it cause as I said we where compensated by the Fed but was curious if others are seeing an increase in cancellations??

 

[lanier1]

I have had a few cancellations lately as well but as Night said most are before I even get cranked up good. Last week I had one cancel before I had time to accept it. I was looking at the map and figuring the pay per miles, maybe two minutes after getting the offer, and the clink goes off saying it cancelled.

 

[ATeam]

A review of 510 loads we ran in D, DR and CR units since August, 2003 shows no new trend or pattern in canceled loads, or dry runs as our carrier calls them. There are not enough dry runs in our run total to do a meaningful trend analysis, with one possible exception. More dry runs occured on a Friday than any other day. Otherwise, in the grand scheme of things, a dry run is a random event.

In 510 loads, we have had 21 dry runs. In other words, 4.2% of our loads are dry runs. Canceled loads where the load canceled within minutes of the offer being accetped, and thus no pay was awarded, are not included in these numbers. Those too are random events.

No shipper was the source of more than one dry run. No geographical area was disproportionally repsonsible for dry runs.

Dry runs per year:
2003: 3 (Aug to Dec)
2004: 7
2005: 5
2006: 1
2007: 4 (Jan to May)

Dry runs per day of week:
Sun: 0
Mon: 3
Tue: 6
Wed: 3
Thur: 1
Fri: 8
Sat: 0

Dry runs occured in each month of the year except April and August.

Total pay for 21 dry runs: $4,638.89
Total miles driven on dry runs: 1,802

Pay per mile for dry runs: $2.57

 

[ATeam]

Note to newbies:

It is wise to keep a detailed run journal starting with your very first load. You can later enter the info into a spreadsheet and use it like shown above. That way, a few years into the business, if you happen to be visiting with say three drivers that have lately had more than their usual number of dry runs, you do not have to wonder if a new trend is afoot, or if it is time to change carriers, or if shippers have figured out a new way to screw you. Your numbers will give good answers to questions that may arise out of casual conversations with other drivers.

 

[grog111]

I'm particularly fond of the one where you pull up just in time to see another carrier leaving.....with your freight....ooopps! Or better yet, a guy with your same carrier! That's usually when they say "sorry...dispatch error....we'll try and getcha something good for your next load to make it up to ya. Uh-huh. That's kinda like telling me i'll get paid for waiting time. After two hours. If the customer agree's. And you the driver get's it in writing. With a signed weigh bill.

 

[mrgoodtude]

>Note to newbies:
>
>It is wise to keep a detailed run journal starting with your
>very first load. You can later enter the info into a
>spreadsheet and use it like shown above. That way, a few
>years into the business, if you happen to be visiting with
>say three drivers that have lately had more than their usual
>number of dry runs, you do not have to wonder if a new trend
>is afoot, or if it is time to change carriers, or if
>shippers have figured out a new way to screw you. Your
>numbers will give good answers to questions that may arise
>out of casual conversations with other drivers.

Good points Phil
How is this for an idea...
Is your spread sheet in Excel and if so could you share a blank template
with instructions on how to enter data fields and filter specific data for those not savvy enough?
I am sure many would find it very helpful and appreciate your effort.
BTW good stats.

 

[redytrk]

2 Dry runs yesterday. COUNT `EM...2....AUGH!!!!

On one of them, GM in Marion In, loaded a box with BOL showing 5000#.
The packing list on the box showed 13,800# (a bit much for my C).

It took 3 hrs and a trip to the scales to get it back off. Good thing I had just put on new drive tires. The old ones would have been flattened.

 

[greg334]

redytrk,
Did you read the packing list on the box before you pulled out of the dock?

 

[grog111]

Boy, that brings back memories. Sheesh.

 

[tec1959]

I have had it happen both ways you go to a PU and get loaded and the shipper puts 2 loads on your truck with different BOL number's.Or the one that you go to the PU and both loads was loaded on another truck and gone.

 

[redytrk]

>redytrk,
>Did you read the packing list on the box before you pulled
>out of the dock?

Sure did, but it still took 2 hrs and a trip to the scales (GM scales at the other end of the plant)To get them to take it back off.