Panther driver questions

[Leonard2015]

The owner that I drive for is switching me to Panther. The question i have is about how the load boards work. How do you figure out how and when to move from a location? I'm not sure if I'm asking my question correctly. I'mnot asking for trade secrets just detailed information.
Thank you

 

[OntarioVanMan]

You might want to speak to a member by the name of Moot a very long time van owner he knows the ins and outs very well to be successful... Best of luck. Ken aka OVM

 

[davekc]

For straights it is more of a odds game. They provide the daily load count (which can be questionable because they count backhauls and brokered loads in the number) and that is weighed against how many trucks in your vehicle class that are there. To relocate, you would contact relations and they provide a empty move number (if over 100 miles) to your new location which is a paid move. Those types of moves become easier once you know where the freight generally is and isn't.

 

[Leonard2015]

Moot if you see this i sent you a PM.
I'm driving a sprinter van.
Thanks

 

[T270_Dreamin]

Well if you can't get out of a area/city usually wait it out 24-48 on a weekday and either empty move or if they don't want to empty move you, you can ask owner if he will split the fuel to go to a better location with more freight...

BTW anyone know what the current fuel surcharge rate is for cargo vans is at Panther? Has it made it down to .10 cents yet?

 

[scottm4211]

It's well under .10

 

[T270_Dreamin]

So what is the cargo van fuel surcharge at Panther? Anyone know the contract rate for new sign on owners?

It was .70 a mile plus fuel surcharge. How can anyone make it for less then that.

 

[Moot]

Panther fsc is currently .08/mile USD. It should change tomorrow as the price of fuel has gone up this past week.

Leonard, I got your pm. I wasn't sure what you meant by "load board". What Dave said above applies to vans, except for the backhaul and brokered load numbers.

You can use Macro 8 to do a search up to 300 miles distance from your current board location to see how many vans are on a particular board and how many are due to arrive. You can only use this extra special option 3 times in a calendar day so as to not over work the server.

You can also go on-line and login as a driver to see your board position and other vital stats or if you are an owner/driver you can login and see the same stuff only different. Yet another option is to call Driver Relations and within 30 to 75 minutes you can get some of the answers to all of your questions. Two days later you can call Driver Relations again and get completely different answers to some of your questions all of the time.

I was hoping that when Panther dispatched the two headed cat to oblivion in favor of 1 cat, 1 body, 1 mind, that it would translate to 1 policy, 1 correct answer to a question and 1 accurate, common set of statistics. Not so, the left head still isn't in sync with the right head. I guess now that the Cat only has one head I should have stated that the left side of the brain isn't in sync with the right side.

 

[Leonard2015]

Thanks Moot. That answers most of my question. With tri state i couldn't see where the other vans were nor how many loads come out of different areas. So the idea of being able to move myself is a new one. So what I was trying to understand was say i drop a load in Nashville and there are five other vans there what would play into my decision of when and where to go. I realize this is a different scenario than if I owned the van.

 

[Leonard2015]

But I'm sure with time I'll learn

 

[danthewolf00]

Well there are at least 2 vans at every truck stop lol

 

[Moot]

But I'm sure with time I'll learn

You will learn the system and once you do, it will change. You have to constantly work it and change with it. Not just any moron can succeed at Panther. It takes a special kind of moron and I'm living proof. For you, you will not only have to figure out the system but most likely teach your fleet owner.

 

[T270_Dreamin]

If I was still driving at Panther that would have put me at .78 per mile. That's .46 per mile to driver before fuel is taken into account with a 60/40 split. That's .38 to the driver per mile after fuel. No one could have comprehended that in 2011!! Where is all the money going, are they cutting their rates with their customers or pocketing the extras or lowering rates to stay competitive with the foreign supply.

 

[Sprinter3902]

You will learn the system and once you do, it will change. You have to constantly work it and change with it. Not just any moron can succeed at Panther. It takes a special kind of moron and I'm living proof. For you, you will not only have to figure out the system but most likely teach your fleet owner.

I see you are expert in this business for a long time. I have an interview next week with panther. I'm own operator sprinter van, could you tell me how busy are they? Because I used to work for couple companies, but I was sitting all the time and waiting loads. Thank you.

 

[davekc]

With regards to vans specifically. The market has a glut of vans. I think you could be sitting at times with any carrier until that number subsides little

 

[Moot]

I see you are expert in this business for a long time. I have an interview next week with panther. I'm own operator sprinter van, could you tell me how busy are they? Because I used to work for couple companies, but I was sitting all the time and waiting loads. Thank you.

I've been around the block a few times but I'm no expert, I just think I'm an expert. I'm delusional. Expediting in a van will do that to a person. I agree with what Dave said, there are more vans than van freight and you will probably sit no matter what carrier you are leased to.

When leased to a large carrier, the trick to staying busy is to avoid laying over where that carrier has more vans than loads. Sometimes that means turning down loads to known areas with an overpopulation of vans or moving on your own dime to where there are less vans. As much as I hate to admit this, expediting in a van is a job and being a job it requires some work to be successful.

Wow, I just used the words job and work in the same sentence. I better take the long weekend off. I think I have gone a click or two beyond delusional.