Looking for a better carrier

[rollincoal]

As far as looking for greener pastures I've been with 2 carriers in 15 years. I would have never left the first carrier had I not been absolutely certain it was a step up. I will never leave the second one either until I'm certain of the same thing. At both carriers I have experienced normal ups and downs of business. That's just how it goes at any carrier. Job hopping is a step sideways not up.

 

[Bruno]

Howdy y'all

Currently I have my Sprinters leased with two larger carriers (since I was unable to afford the astronomical insurance prices requested by Progressive/CIS when I was working with small carriers), but the miles offered by them are lately decreasing dramatically. Well, it's not that I'm going bankrupt, but the drivers need more miles, they need to drive, in order to have an worry-free income. Anyone can recommend me a better carrier that offers insurance and lots of miles?

Mayfield Express is looking for a few Sprinters. As we have made the jump from fleet owner to being partnered with Sunteck Tansportation. Sunteck Transportation is a 400 million dollar company that has the best fuel discount in this business. Our first Sprinter is signing on this Monday and we want our owner operators rolling and making money. We are planning to add five to ten sprinters this year as we have to offer this service to our customers. If you want to check out our company and do the mini application go to Home

 

[Turtle]

Well said, Turtle!

Thanks.

Except for ridiculous amount of typos. Which have been corrected.

 

[Turtle]

@ Turtle

You're right about the rates with cargo vans and I get that. Sometimes I lose sight of it. It's not like that with straight trucks and semis. I know I can go just as broke sitting around doing nothing as I can working at it. When demand is there I'm hustling. When it's not I sit on the sidelines which costs, sure enough, but not as much as working for free or paying for work.

Depending on which carrier you are with, most straights operate within a rather narrow rate per mile, as well. It's not like with tractors where the range varies wildly.

But with cargo vans (and Sprinters) the rate is gonna be pretty consistent, within a small range, on virtually all of the loads, because virtually all of the loads are gonna be somewhere between one and three skids. It'll vary from carrier to carrier, where Carrier A's range might be between .85 and .95, and Carrier B's might be between $1.00 and $1.10, but whatever your carrier's range is, you can bank on the loads being in that range the vast majority of the time. There are exception, both high ans low, but those are just that, exceptions. And it's why people in expediting shouldn't get too bent out of shape over an individual load, and should instead concentrate on weekly, monthly and quarterly averages, both in terms of revenue and rate-per-mile.

So, if your average rate per mile is $0.90 and you make the comment that you need more miles, you're not talking about getting more miles at a 65 cents a mile just for the sake of getting more miles, you're talking about getting more miles at your average rate.

The sitting for a cheaper load is another subject. Those situations aren't the norm (but they can be quite normal for certain locations). Supply and demand dictates the rates more than anything. If you've already sat for 3 days looking for your 90 cents and it looks like you could sit for another 3 days or more looking for your regular rate, because everything is going out for 75 cents, it makes good business sense to take a cheaper load to get out of there sooner rather than later. And it absolutely makes more sense to take a 75 cent load out of there rather than deadhead 800 miles to get out of there.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

The sitting for a cheaper load is another subject. Those situations aren't the norm (but they can be quite normal for certain locations). Supply and demand dictates the rates more than anything. If you've already sat for 3 days looking for your 90 cents and it looks like you could sit for another 3 days or more looking for your regular rate, because everything is going out for 75 cents, it makes good business sense to take a cheaper load to get out of there sooner rather than later. And it absolutely makes more sense to take a 75 cent load out of there rather than deadhead 800 miles to get out of there.

Right there in a nutshell....some don't get it.....

 

[xiggi]

Some preach one thing then when it fits them they do a 180, just saying.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

It still stands...it is all about the money and how one gets to it.........

When you are unsatisfied with a carriers performance and the only reason you can come up with to stay is "because of the benefits" you have to ask yourself......

Am I still an independent Operator?...... or an employee?...just saying....

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Then again, taking a cheap load 800 miles is not good business sense, unless your initial run paid very well. But if I'm on a flat rate, and I get my rate going in, I'm not deviating much from that to get out. I will deadhead out of Laredo to, let's say, Memphis, rather than get a cheap load to Cincinnati. IF the cheap load is going right to Memphis, I may, or may not, take it. Afterall, you have to consider the time at the shipper/consignee, fuel mileage, YOUR PAY, etc. You may miss your next big load, while driving in Arkansas, because the freight wasn't ready in Laredo; whereas you'd already be in Memphis, if you had deadheaded. Now is that cheap freight worth it?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Then again, taking a cheap load 800 miles is not good business sense, unless your initial run paid very well. But if I'm on a flat rate, and I get my rate going in, I'm not deviating much from that to get out. I will deadhead out of Laredo to, let's say, Memphis, rather than get a cheap load to Cincinnati. IF the cheap load is going right to Memphis, I may, or may not, take it. Afterall, you have to consider the time at the shipper/consignee, fuel mileage, YOUR PAY, etc. You may miss your next big load, while driving in Arkansas, because the freight wasn't ready in Laredo; whereas you'd already be in Memphis, if you had deadheaded. Now is that cheap freight worth it?

and we come back to the old "What is cheap?" Cheap to you....cheap to Ntime? Cheap to Fastman?

Cheap or good paying freight is and should be measured against the O/O's CPM and the profitability of said load....I am NOT out here as a union steward of higher rates and wage subsidies programs....I am an Independent Operator.....

 

[Tennesseahawk]

and we come back to the old "What is cheap?" Cheap to you....cheap to Ntime? Cheap to Fastman?

Cheap or good paying freight is and should be measured against the O/O's CPM and the profitability of said load....I am NOT out here as a union steward of higher rates and wage subsidies programs....I am an Independent Operator.....

Cheap, to me, is below operating costs + what I give myself for wages. If I can't make it above that, then I do my best not to haul it. If the rate I take down to Laredo + the rate I could get coming out is equal to, or better than, my OC+wages, then I take the cheaper freight. If not, then I dh out, and contemplate doing more research before I go back down.

Cheap, in general, is also in terms of lowballing vs how many trucks there are per load, in an area. If an area is hopping w freight, and you find yourself among 3 other trucks, and you get a call from dispatch for 1.25 for st, then that's cheap freight, and likely a lazy or inexperienced dispatcher.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Cheap, to me, is below operating costs + what you give yourself for wages. If I can't make it above that, then I do my best not to haul it. If the rate I take down to Laredo + the rate I could get coming out is equal to, or better than, my OC+wages, then I take the cheaper freight. If not, then I dh out, and contemplate doing more research before I go back down.

Exactly..sir.....It is all on ME and MY profitability...not someone elses....we are NOT a team..we are, afterall, INDEPENDENT owner operators....

 

[ntimevan]

and we come back to the old "What is cheap?" Cheap to you....cheap to Ntime? Cheap to Fastman?

Cheap or good paying freight is and should be measured against the O/O's CPM and the profitability of said load....I am NOT out here as a union steward of higher rates and wage subsidies programs....I am an Independent Operator.....

Sure...drag me into this....just for record ...load out of Laredo to Florida...1227 LM...0 DH...
.95 a lm plus $200. extra for dh out money....1 skid (cv sise)..1290 lbs....in my Promaster....yep cheap to some....but how many miles in your Wallet....lol

 

[scottm4211]

Sure...drag me into this....just for record ...load out of Laredo to Florida...1227 LM...0 DH...
.95 a lm plus $200. extra for dh out money....1 skid (cv sise)..1290 lbs....in my Promaster....yep cheap to some....but how many miles in your Wallet....lol

How do you like the promaster?

 

[ntimevan]

How do you like the promaster?

Real good....58,000 miles ..but I don't overload it ...Nothing over 3000 lbs.....and rarely is our freight over 2000 lbs....
My only complaint is gas tank is 24 gallon....30 gallon would be great...But they DID NOT make these type of vans strickly for expediting anyway..
Real MPG...all miles... 19.5 at 68 mph highway...

 

[LDB]

The never ending debate. How long to sit and what is cheap. Perhaps somewhat easier to answer with a flat rate carrier than a percentage carrier. It happens various ways but often it works something like this.

A load is offered that is just too good to pass up. It's 1637 miles and delivers in 53 hours so there's plenty of time to get to the delivery. You only have to drive a few miles to make the pickup. The world is a wonderful place. It pays contract rate, for discussion we'll call that 96cpm incl the fsc (van rate but feel free to change to whatever rate you choose).

About 200 miles away from the delivery you are contacted with a load offer. It's around 160 miles to the pickup from your delivery. There is no dh pay to the pickup. It is also a little over 1600 loaded miles, ending in southeast Michigan so you deliver in a good area. It is only paying 60cpm, not your contract rate. That's also all in, no extra fsc added.

Whaaaaat? No fsc? Not my usual full rate? What are you, insane!? That's one point of view.
Whaaaaat? No waiting time? No detention? No time break between jobs? Insane! Yes! Yes! Yes! That's another point of view.

So driver A says yes, delivers, goes to the pickup and delivers again back in Michigan. Total, 6 days, 3300 miles and $2550, 77cpm and $425 per day.

Purists will say no and immediately turn it down. Just say no to cheap freight. They know if they wait they'll get a proper load. So they wait, and they wait, and turns out they're right, 3 days later they get a load paying their usual 96cpm. Yeah, it's only 950 miles with no follow up job at the end so most likely more waiting for another "real" job, maybe a day from the Memphis area. So with driver B we have 9 days, 2800 miles and $2475, 89cpm and $275 per day.

Driver B did much better per mile of course. Driver B also saved 500 miles worth of expenses and 500 miles worth of wear and tear.

Oh, then you also have driver C who takes the good starter job and figures on getting back to Memphis for a follow up job. Driver C waits one day and the next day is offered a load to Memphis picking up ASAP but only paying 75cpm including fuel. Driver C says no to cheap freight, the offer of which also annoys him greatly, so he curses the day he let them talk him into taking the original load and deadheads to Memphis, unpaid, arriving within minutes of the guy who took the 75cpm load.

Let the squabbling begin.

 

[Opel2010]

Real good....58,000 miles ..but I don't overload it ...Nothing over 3000 lbs.....and rarely is our freight over 2000 lbs....
My only complaint is gas tank is 24 gallon....30 gallon would be great...But they DID NOT make these type of vans strickly for expediting anyway..
Real MPG...all miles... 19.5 at 68 mph highway...

Any problems with the headlights so far?

 

[ntimevan]

Any problems with the headlights so far?

Just had 1 burn out on way here...drivers side....heard some others talk about it happening to them......but the way I look at it at 58,000 miles that is like 3 years normal driving and its mostly at night ...so thats alot of use....IMO...brakes squeak sometimes but are wearing good.....minor details...for the use we get out of these vans..

 

[Opel2010]

Just had 1 burn out on way here...drivers side....heard some others talk about it happening to them......but the way I look at it at 58,000 miles that is like 3 years normal driving and its mostly at night ...so thats alot of use....IMO...brakes squeak sometimes but are wearing good.....minor details...for the use we get out of these vans..

The first ProMaster (now 120,000 mi) did it four times so far, the second van, beside three bulbs within two weeks, I had to change the whole light part. And as you complain about the squeaking brakes, so does the second. From the very first day. I took it to several Ram shops and they claim that this is something normal. I don't think it's normal. No problems so far with the third one...

 

[Bruno]

I will just say what John Elliott says all the time, " It's not what you make, it's what you keep".

 

[x06col]

Cheap, to me, is below operating costs + what I give myself for wages. If I can't make it above that, then I do my best not to haul it. If the rate I take down to Laredo + the rate I could get coming out is equal to, or better than, my OC+wages, then I take the cheaper freight. If not, then I dh out, and contemplate doing more research before I go back down.

Cheap, in general, is also in terms of lowballing vs how many trucks there are per load, in an area. If an area is hopping w freight, and you find yourself among 3 other trucks, and you get a call from dispatch for 1.25 for st, then that's cheap freight, and likely a lazy or inexperienced dispatcher.

Sometimes tho, me tink, yer pencil were broke. Was educational tho.