BigRed32771
Expert Expediter
I recently had a conversation with another FDCC driver that caused me to ponder something I thought I already understood.
I received an "opportunity" paying me $1.01/mile. I turned it down, as well as the follow-up offer on the same load at $1.11. A dispatcher called me and we came to an agreement on a price so I took off for the pick-up location. The deadhead to pickup was about 250 miles or so. I stopped about 30 miles out to use the restroom and grab something I could eat on the run and met the other driver while standing in line at the register. He said that he had been there for 2 days or so, and asked if I was on a run. I said that I was on my way to pickup going wherever and he expressed surprise that I had taken that run at $1.01.
From his comment, I gather he had seen the same load offer I had at the same price. This is where I get confused. Figuring that the pay for the run itself didn't change, and that the only variable was the amount of deadhead miles and associated pay, a driver only 30 miles away should see a higher per mile pay than I would have seen 250 miles away. Is it possible that the system is fudging the numbers to make all "opportunity" offers for a given load come out to the same "per mile" for all recipients regardless of distance away from the load?
Till now, I've just figured that a load which made no economic sense to me in my then present location would look better to a truck which was closer and that would explain why runs which I turned down as poor paying would be accepted by another truck. Not that they were taking it at the rate I turned down but that they were taking it at a higher per mile rate because they had less money-losing deadhead miles to eat. Now I'm starting to wonder if the company is really playing us off against each other. I've heard drivers suggest such before, and have always denied it by explaining my understanding of how the price per miles varies based on distance from pick-up. Have I been duped? Have I been drinking the Kool-Aide without realizing it?
Anyone have any insight on this?
I received an "opportunity" paying me $1.01/mile. I turned it down, as well as the follow-up offer on the same load at $1.11. A dispatcher called me and we came to an agreement on a price so I took off for the pick-up location. The deadhead to pickup was about 250 miles or so. I stopped about 30 miles out to use the restroom and grab something I could eat on the run and met the other driver while standing in line at the register. He said that he had been there for 2 days or so, and asked if I was on a run. I said that I was on my way to pickup going wherever and he expressed surprise that I had taken that run at $1.01.
From his comment, I gather he had seen the same load offer I had at the same price. This is where I get confused. Figuring that the pay for the run itself didn't change, and that the only variable was the amount of deadhead miles and associated pay, a driver only 30 miles away should see a higher per mile pay than I would have seen 250 miles away. Is it possible that the system is fudging the numbers to make all "opportunity" offers for a given load come out to the same "per mile" for all recipients regardless of distance away from the load?
Till now, I've just figured that a load which made no economic sense to me in my then present location would look better to a truck which was closer and that would explain why runs which I turned down as poor paying would be accepted by another truck. Not that they were taking it at the rate I turned down but that they were taking it at a higher per mile rate because they had less money-losing deadhead miles to eat. Now I'm starting to wonder if the company is really playing us off against each other. I've heard drivers suggest such before, and have always denied it by explaining my understanding of how the price per miles varies based on distance from pick-up. Have I been duped? Have I been drinking the Kool-Aide without realizing it?
Anyone have any insight on this?
