Panther holding back O/O's

[highway star]

Whenever I meet a newbie van team, I make it clear that they need to temper their expectations of how much they'll work. They always listen, but some think that they somehow have what it takes to be "better". As has been pointed out, there's just too dang many vans! If you're going to be a team, get in a straight truck. You'll actually make a living.

Also, I'm humbled to be referenced by Cheri1122. I believe my life is complete now.

 

[Twizted1]

That sour taste is from chewing on the unrealistic financial expectations of team expediting in general, and of team van expediting in particular, and then having to swallow the fact that you won't get special treatment because you are a team. Sorry. They can't manufacture "team" loads just for you.

The load comes in, they try and get it covered. Period. If, by chance, you are near the shipper and it's a "team" load, then you might jump other solo vans to get it. Maybe. They they aren't going to jump over you if a "solo" load come in merely because it's not a "team" load. They're going to offer it to you, same as any other vehicle of that size.

Unless, that's what they do to you. You're sitting there, a 600 mile run comes up, "Nope, they're a team van, can't put a 600 mile run on a team van, let's save them for a really long team load so they'll be happy." Is that what you want? No. You want them to magically come up with team load after team load just for you. And when there are no team loads, load you first ahead of the solo drivers, cause dammit you're a team van and you deserve it! "All hail the team van! Harumph! Harumph! Harumph!"

"I didn't get a harumph out of that guy."

If you truly want special treatment, team in a straight truck. Straight truck teams aren't golden to a carrier, but they are royalty. Straight trucks teams won't be loaded 24/7, though, but a straight truck team will jump a van, solo or team, in a heartbeat. Carriers want to keep those straight trucks teams loaded and happy. Vans, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen, solo or team.

All I'am saying is that a solo driver is quoted to get 1500 miles a week so why cant they in respect run a team a average of 3000?I would even be happy with 2000,But a constant load offering of 200 mile loads or less just doesnt make any sense.If they want us to be the mini team run van, at least they could run me multiple minis a day?If I take a 100 mile load or what ever other ridicules offer I get on a regular basis,thats it for me that day.Do the math 100 x .77 is 77.00 + the fuel surcharge of .25 is 25.00 so oh boy I grossed a whopping 102.00 for the whole day.Now minus the fuel and it ends up being a whole 25.00 each.Take your living cost out of that and payments your bust.There obviously no need for a team in a van at panther,they have more than enough trucks to swap everybody out and make on load into multiple loads "so everybody stays busy".some of the loads they take dont even make any sense to do a favore for a customer at the O/Os expense.

 

[LDB]

I'd suggest you contact the driver council team van rep and talk things over. I know of van teams that had good weekly averages. You can't take solo miles and double them. Historically teams run about 1.7 times the average miles of a solo. Running team with someone other than a spouse is usually a good way to reduce income since the less than doubled money is divided into two different pots. A fair amount of this job is just being in the right place at the right time. One can do their best to get to the right places but it's nothing better than best guess a lot of the time. Talk to some successful van operators. There are some in the fleet. They are the ones you need to be talking to to get info that will help you improve things.

 

[pelicn]

Twizted if you want to run 3000+ miles a week consistently you need to go hire on with a Team T/T company.

 

[Turtle]

The average expedited load, team or solo, is about 300 miles. That's it. And since there are far fewer really long runs in the first place, that should tell you that there are a snotload of short runs. That being said, if you keep getting offered short runs, mini's in particular, then you're in an area that has mostly short runs. Leave. Get out. Go. Or that's all you'll get.

If you accept a lot of minis, trust me, dispatchers know that, and they'll start throwing mini after mini your way until you refuse more than they can throw at you. I've seen it time and time again, and in rare moments when dispatch supervisors have let their guard down they have said as much.

You used to run 1200-2500 miles a week as a solo, or so you said. Well, you didn't do that by accepting nothing but short runs, nor did you do it by sitting in an area that is bloated with short runs. You'll get the loads that come up, team or solo, and if you're in an area that's loaded with mini's, that's what you'll get. Did you not notice any of this the whole time you were a solo driver?

One of the problems with most minis is, as you have noticed, they come out of an area that is loaded with minis, and go a short distance to yet another area loaded with minis. Or not even minis, just short runs. Wooster to Chilicothe, deadhead to wait a day, or two, then Dayton to Defiance, wait a day, or two, then Van Wert to Bucyrus, then wait a day or two... pretty soon the weeks' gone and you've got like 800 miles to show for it. But, they're all right there in those precious "freight lanes" that they talk about in orientation and over the phone. Got to get back to those freight lanes, many drivers say. Yeah, there are a bazillion vans sitting there, right smack dab in the middle of the freight lanes, all complaining about only getting one short run a day or every other day. Well, duh. That's why I don't much like Detroit, as I mostly get offered minis, or worse, minis across the border. Oh, sure, you get a First Out after one of those, then you can sit there along side of 17 others who got First Outs after their mini, too.

Or, you can do like I do, and maybe take one of them, cause the loads gotta be covered and all that jazz, plus you do get the First Out, which you don't lose when you turn down another mini, and then turn down load after load after load, Acceptance Rate being a non-issue, until I get a load offer that I like. I've turned down 8 in one day before. Several times. I don't care. I'm neither a cherry picker, nor a fool, as both will eventually get you into trouble. I like that my acceptance is usually in the 90-100% range, but my Acceptance Rate is was down on the list of things to worry about. Profitable or not is the main thing. If they load's not profitable, or isn't a means to get me to a place where I can be profitable, I'll refuse it.

There are places where you can run several minis in one day, though, if you're the only one around. Provided the loads are there to begin with, of course. You can't do that in the midwest where you'll deliver and then sit for two more days just to get another mini, or drop to the bottom of the board looking up at #11 on a 3-a-day board. No thanks. Get me outta Dodge.

You know that bullseye? Stay out of it.

People say there are too many vans and Panther should quit hiring. Well, that's not really the case. Part of the problem is Panther's insane mentality of promoting fleet owners for cargo vans, cause if you're on a 60/40 split in a cargo van, anything less than about 500 miles isn't worth getting out of bed for, especially if it's one that you'll deliver and then have to sit another day or two before you get the next load. A solo that owns his own van can afford to take a 200 mile run, but if you drive for someone else, you can't.

There's too many vans, not enough freight! Yeah, that's true, in the freight lanes. Part of the glut of vans is because there are too many of them for the freight in certain areas. People luv those freight lanes, cause they're close to home, I guess, and there is always lots of loads there. You can look at the boards, and people see 8 a day - 16 vans, next closest board is 6 a day - 11 vans, the list goes on and one, most of them showing twice as many vans as there are loads. People say there are too many vans. Well, yeah, people are turning down loads at a rate that they need twice as many vans to cover half as many loads.

People who rarely get out of the freight lanes see that, nothing but that, and think there are too many vans. But, you get away from all that and see boards with 3 a day - 0 vans, 2 a day - 1 van, 2 a day - 0 vans. That list goes on and on, too.

It's like Leo says, be in the right place at the right time. Lost in the middle of that bullseye is rarely the right place, regardless of the time. There are simply too many people who live there, are sitting at home in-service, waiting on a load.

 

[blizzard2014]

What group am I in lol. lets see the bad speller group. lol

I blame Bill Gates for allowing rednecks to buy computers and log onto the internet!! lol. But, then again, i'm a redneck from the western part of the United States.

 

[blizzard2014]

The average expedited load, team or solo, is about 300 miles. That's it. And since there are far fewer really long runs in the first place, that should tell you that there are a snotload of short runs. That being said, if you keep getting offered short runs, mini's in particular, then you're in an area that has mostly short runs. Leave. Get out. Go. Or that's all you'll get.

If you accept a lot of minis, trust me, dispatchers know that, and they'll start throwing mini after mini your way until you refuse more than they can throw at you. I've seen it time and time again, and in rare moments when dispatch supervisors have let their guard down they have said as much.

You used to run 1200-2500 miles a week as a solo, or so you said. Well, you didn't do that by accepting nothing but short runs, nor did you do it by sitting in an area that is bloated with short runs. You'll get the loads that come up, team or solo, and if you're in an area that's loaded with mini's, that's what you'll get. Did you not notice any of this the whole time you were a solo driver?

One of the problems with most minis is, as you have noticed, they come out of an area that is loaded with minis, and go a short distance to yet another area loaded with minis. Or not even minis, just short runs. Wooster to Chilicothe, deadhead to wait a day, or two, then Dayton to Defiance, wait a day, or two, then Van Wert to Bucyrus, then wait a day or two... pretty soon the weeks' gone and you've got like 800 miles to show for it. But, they're all right there in those precious "freight lanes" that they talk about in orientation and over the phone. Got to get back to those freight lanes, many drivers say. Yeah, there are a bazillion vans sitting there, right smack dab in the middle of the freight lanes, all complaining about only getting one short run a day or every other day. Well, duh. That's why I don't much like Detroit, as I mostly get offered minis, or worse, minis across the border. Oh, sure, you get a First Out after one of those, then you can sit there along side of 17 others who got First Outs after their mini, too.

Or, you can do like I do, and maybe take one of them, cause the loads gotta be covered and all that jazz, plus you do get the First Out, which you don't lose when you turn down another mini, and then turn down load after load after load, Acceptance Rate being a non-issue, until I get a load offer that I like. I've turned down 8 in one day before. Several times. I don't care. I'm neither a cherry picker, nor a fool, as both will eventually get you into trouble. I like that my acceptance is usually in the 90-100% range, but my Acceptance Rate is was down on the list of things to worry about. Profitable or not is the main thing. If they load's not profitable, or isn't a means to get me to a place where I can be profitable, I'll refuse it.

There are places where you can run several minis in one day, though, if you're the only one around. Provided the loads are there to begin with, of course. You can't do that in the midwest where you'll deliver and then sit for two more days just to get another mini, or drop to the bottom of the board looking up at #11 on a 3-a-day board. No thanks. Get me outta Dodge.

You know that bullseye? Stay out of it.

People say there are too many vans and Panther should quit hiring. Well, that's not really the case. Part of the problem is Panther's insane mentality of promoting fleet owners for cargo vans, cause if you're on a 60/40 split in a cargo van, anything less than about 500 miles isn't worth getting out of bed for, especially if it's one that you'll deliver and then have to sit another day or two before you get the next load. A solo that owns his own van can afford to take a 200 mile run, but if you drive for someone else, you can't.

There's too many vans, not enough freight! Yeah, that's true, in the freight lanes. Part of the glut of vans is because there are too many of them for the freight in certain areas. People luv those freight lanes, cause they're close to home, I guess, and there is always lots of loads there. You can look at the boards, and people see 8 a day - 16 vans, next closest board is 6 a day - 11 vans, the list goes on and one, most of them showing twice as many vans as there are loads. People say there are too many vans. Well, yeah, people are turning down loads at a rate that they need twice as many vans to cover half as many loads.

People who rarely get out of the freight lanes see that, nothing but that, and think there are too many vans. But, you get away from all that and see boards with 3 a day - 0 vans, 2 a day - 1 van, 2 a day - 0 vans. That list goes on and on, too.

It's like Leo says, be in the right place at the right time. Lost in the middle of that bullseye is rarely the right place, regardless of the time. There are simply too many people who live there, are sitting at home in-service, waiting on a load.

What exactly do you men by "working the fringes?" Are you talking about working the outer areas of the boards in the freight lanes? Or are you talking about deadheading from Columbus all the way over to Boston because you know there are never any vans up on the east coast and your chances of getting a long load will be greatly increased? I too used to work for panther and I know how to get loaded by working the panther system.

One really good trick is being "Canada certified" and hanging out in Nashville or Birmingham alabama; as there are a lot of Canadian loads that come out of those areas. Heck, you can be number 11 on the board and get loaded up just hours after you pull into one of these areas.

Then there is the infamous "trolling method" where you drive around aimlessly and end up getting pinged for a load because you are the closest van to the shipper. I have trolled out of ST. Paul in the middle of the night on a Saturday and received a load offer picking up in WI on a monday morning that was over a thousand miles!

How about using my method of never deadheading out of canada unless you absolutely have to. I used to deliver in canada and go to the Fifth Wheel truck stop in Milton Ontario and sleep for eight hours and then wait a few more hours until it is 9 in the evening on the night that I had originally delivered before I would head back to the states.

I would have to say that out of 15 loads to Canada, I only deadheaded out 5 times and two of the loads I did get out of Canada were long ones. One went to Twin Citiy Assembly in Minneapolis, and the other went to Nissan in Canton Mississippi. Both of theses loads were long; both of them had a 13 cent fuel surchargs "nothing to be desired" but I did get them and there was enough time built into them to allow for a 4 hour break.

I have even worked the famous "north to south to north loop " which is practically guaranteed miles. You simpy go to Chicago and wait there "turning down all of the minis and short caterpiller loads going out to Mossville until you get that "Caterpillar" load all the way to Fountain Inn SC. Once you have delivered in Fountain Inn, you are almost guaranteed to get a nice long load out of Greenville, or perhaps even Charlotte (there is a customer who ships a load out of Charlotte NC to Trevor City MI every day) that's 1000 miles and guaranteed $!

I like to call this the Suber paradigm; because my good friend used to get loads from down south up to chicago and then put himself on the hometime board (turn down all the bullcrap loads--- which did not affect his acceptance percentage because he was on the hometime board) until he got something back to SC, NC, OR GA! He used to average 1500-1800 miles a week for 7 months straight (then the conway merger hit and there were 20 cargo vans in Atlanta on a Monday morning and the era of the Suber paradigm ended)! Are these some of the tactics that you are talking about turtle?

 

[blizzard2014]

Oop's, I just gave away some of my trade secrets! I need that wand that they used to use on "men in black" to erase everyone's memory after they read this post!

 

[davekc]

These kinds of threads amaze me.
You likely won't like my opinion.
One of the greatest values of EO is to research the information BEFORE you jump in. Hate to be harsh, but the expectation of "team miles" because you are in a van is plain naive. No other way to put it. It doesn't matter what song and dance the carrier gave you, it isn't a reality. THIER reality is to cover loads.
A review of expedite load/bid boards will show you that there isn't a ton of van freight verses the amount of vans. Doesn't mean you won't get a load, but it is much different when looking at straight trucks and tractor trailers. Competition is heavy because there are so many. The expectation of doing doable what a solo does in a van isn't going to happen with any consistency.
If you want "team miles", get out of the van and into a straight or TT. Then if you can't achieve "team miles", broker your own freight. Simple as that. Getting out of the employee mentality does wonders.
Lastly, with regards to Panther return phone calls. Don't have a expectation of a call back. Information with regards to settlements or anything else that doesn't pertain to the current run is best handled via the drivers web or email to the person in the department you seek. Why get heartburn when you don't need to. We seldom talk to anyone up there. Everything for the most part is done by email. If one doesn't respond back, simply CC the person in charge of that department.
Outside of a current run, I can't think of much that I would need a answer on immediately? Another day or so isn't going to make much difference either way.

 

[Twizted1]

I think worring about my percentages has caused me some of this greif.My new motto is if we cant make money on it turn it down.I usually try to work with dispatch and would generally accept most of the loads.There have been plenty of the mosseville cat runs that I had to drive right back where I came from.Made 0 them days and put wear and tear on my truck for nothing.It also seems after a certain percetage they tend to throw you no loads or undesirable loads.same when you reach the fleet average.

 

[Turtle]

What exactly do you men by "working the fringes?"

For the most part, what you described. Staying out of the Midwest, working instead the outer areas.

"Or are you talking about deadheading from Columbus all the way over to Boston because you know there are never any vans up on the east coast and your chances of getting a long load will be greatly increased?"

Well, no, I don't think I'd deadhead from Columbus to Boston. Then again, I wouldn't turn a load to New England down, either, like many would.

"One really good trick is being "Canada certified" and hanging out in Nashville or Birmingham alabama; as there are a lot of Canadian loads that come out of those areas. Heck, you can be number 11 on the board and get loaded up just hours after you pull into one of these areas. "

Yep. But many will wait it out for a day in Nashville, then head to Bucyrus or some such silliness. Many won't even go to Birmingham.

"Then there is the infamous "trolling method" where you drive around aimlessly and end up getting pinged for a load because you are the closest van to the shipper. I have trolled out of ST. Paul in the middle of the night on a Saturday and received a load offer picking up in WI on a monday morning that was over a thousand miles!"

Albert Lee is a good spot for that. No loads come out of there, but you're often the closest to what does come out of wherever.

"How about using my method of never deadheading out of canada unless you absolutely have to. I used to deliver in canada and go to the Fifth Wheel truck stop in Milton Ontario and sleep for eight hours and then wait a few more hours until it is 9 in the evening on the night that I had originally delivered before I would head back to the states."

I'll stay put in Canada, same as anywhere else. I've waited many times until 9PM, then gone on to bed, only to be awaken either in the middle of the night or early next morning with a load. Same as anywhere else. I don't much like spending the weekend there, but I will, and will usually get loaded out of there on Saturday or Sunday, but if not then I almost certainly will come Monday.

I will often deadhead out from Windsor if I've delivered after a relatively long long and just want to go to bed. Nothing worse than picking up a load in Windsor and then having to wait 6 hours for the broker to quit dragging their feet to clear.

"I have even worked the famous "north to south to north loop " which is practically guaranteed miles."

Anymore, though, and anything over 900 miles and it's gonna swap, unless it's over the weekend or something. 900 miles, or 16 hours from the time you last moved your van, whichever comes first. This is especially true if the routing passes through the Midwest, where there are thousands of hungry cargo vans just waiting to pounce on you.

You have to be more selective these days on where it's going and the routing before you jump for joy on a 1000 mile run. I usually want to negotiate where it's gonna swap, otherwise, if I let them dictate that to me, they're in a position of dictating to me where to go and when to be there after I've already agreed to something else. I may accept a load going to Milwaukee, but not one to Effingham, if you get my point. I know one guy who got swapped out in Wytheville, VA on a Friday night. If the load had been offered up front to Wytheville, he'd have turned it down.

"Are these some of the tactics that you are talking about turtle?"

Yep. I don't necessarily want 1000 miles loads, tho. Give me a 500 mile load today, a 500 mile load tomorrow, same thing. I'm fine either way. I'm happy with a snot load of 300-400 mile loads, as long as I don't have to sit for 2 or 3 days between them. As a general rule, I won't deadhead in the same direction that paying freight would otherwise take me. If I deliver in the middle of Missouri, if it's between St Louis and Kansas City, Kansas City here I come. Same thing recently happened with El Paso or LA.

I was in Waco last weekend, Friday night, and there were at least 5 vans in Dallas. I got a call for a Dallas to Nogales run that one van un there turned down, it wasn't even offered to the others. I have no idea why not. I took it. Picked it up Saturday morning, delivered it Monday morning. I'd have taken it anyway, but I have an aunt who lives between Tucson and Nogales, so that worked out well.

After I delivered the computer wanted to empty move me to La Canada Flintridge (which is how Panther spells "Los Angeles" these days with the new boards). There was already one van sitting in Phoenix, in a zero-a-day board. Called in, zero loads out of anywhere in Arizona. No point in sitting around there then. A few loads out of El Paso, 2 hours closer than LA, but more loads in LA, even though I know most are minis. No vans in LA, tho, so that's where I go.

I wasted one day visiting a friend in Malibu (wasted is probably not the best word choice ), then spent the next day running minis all over town. Was a good day. Next day ran a couple more. Was also a good day. Turned down one from San Diego to San Diego, too much deadhead and it went to the Convention center, hand unload to a booth. Also turned down a load from LA to the Las Vegas convention center, which came with a pre-dispatch from Vegas to Ely. I think another van came in and accepted that one. He can have it. I accpted one from Anaheim to San Francisco, and am predispatched on a load from Stockton to LA for Monday.

Who knows what the rest of the week will bring. It's not just a job, it's an adventure.

 

[davekc]

I don't think they monitor run selection based on revenue. Or....like Leo, I have sat in dispatch and have never seen it. If I don't like the provided run, I will broker my own load. In my own case, I only look at profitability. I have no interest in acceptance ratings, board positions or any of that. If I had a truck that was hypothetically at 50 percent, I would only deduct that half of the provided loads were unprofitable.

Remember,

Businessman first, driver second.

 

[Twizted1]

These kinds of threads amaze me.
You likely won't like my opinion.
One of the greatest values of EO is to research the information BEFORE you jump in. Hate to be harsh, but the expectation of "team miles" because you are in a van is plain naive. No other way to put it. It doesn't matter what song and dance the carrier gave you, it isn't a reality. THIER reality is to cover loads.
A review of expedite load/bid boards will show you that there isn't a ton of van freight verses the amount of vans. Doesn't mean you won't get a load, but it is much different when looking at straight trucks and tractor trailers. Competition is heavy because there are so many. The expectation of doing doable what a solo does in a van isn't going to happen with any consistency.
If you want "team miles", get out of the van and into a straight or TT. Then if you can't achieve "team miles", broker your own freight. Simple as that. Getting out of the employee mentality does wonders.
Lastly, with regards to Panther return phone calls. Don't have a expectation of a call back. Information with regards to settlements or anything else that doesn't pertain to the current run is best handled via the drivers web or email to the person in the department you seek. Why get heartburn when you don't need to. We seldom talk to anyone up there. Everything for the most part is done by email. If one doesn't respond back, simply CC the person in charge of that department.
Outside of a current run, I can't think of much that I would need a answer on immediately? Another day or so isn't going to make much difference either way.

Again I have been doing this for 3 years now and have faired well as a solo driver.Maybee I just over expected,what a team should run.I mean 2000 a week in miles is around 2000.00 give or take gross,after fuel(figuire 600.00 respectivley,DH and relocating),200.00 food and supplies,truck payments and costs 200.00.leaves me a grandtotal of 1000.00, now split that 2 ways.You get my point? Its just not even worth it.I could go work at Mc Donalds and have half the aggervation.I truley feel a teams a team and should be ran like one.The vans are over populated yada yada yada.Let me ask you this how many van teams do they have 20-25?I guess they dont want to retain them either?Oh ya I forgot vans dont matter and they dont care to retain any of them, just use them up like the borg on star trek and throw them away or assimulate them lol.After they lose all there seasoned drivers whats next?I can tell you not to long ago I had to go save freight that was delivered to the wrong address by a noob.I guess thats what they want a crap load of new vans and drivers?Maybee they will figure it out some day?

 

[davekc]

Again.....it doesn't matter whether you are seasoned or not. You are too replaceable. That's the bottom line. Transferring a load only costs them roughly $50.00 a load. For every van, there are 20 behind you. Again, their interest is to cover loads.
McDonald's may be a better alternative depending on what your expectations are? Dunno?
If you want higher revenue, then put yourself in a place to achieve that whether it is in expediting or somewhere else.
The only expectations you should have are the ones you create.

 

[Twizted1]

Again.....it doesn't matter whether you are seasoned or not. You are too replaceable. That's the bottom line. Transferring a load only costs them roughly $50.00 a load. For every van, there are 20 behind you. Again, their interest is to cover loads.
McDonald's may be a better alternative depending on what your expectations are? Dunno?
If you want higher revenue, then put yourself in a place to achieve that whether it is in expediting or somewhere else.
The only expectations you should have are the ones you create.

That is what honestly really blows my mind.1 that they would rather transfer freight and pay for it.2 that they tell the customer that the truck is inclusive to the customers freight.3 everytime the freight is tranfered from truck to truck they risk damage to the freight (freight claims etc).4 Ill be willing to wager that they have to pay out a hand load to both drivers 25.00 each, half the time if not most.Talk about money to burn and risk higher insurance premiums?Let alone what some customers would think about their high doller freight being man handled at a cross dock by joe bob on a fork lift?
I just dont know you would think if you had a tool you would use it?????

 

[davekc]

To a carrier, it is about coverage and liability. Claims from transferring freight is pretty low. Most damage is done while in transit. They of course will use a team IF it is there to use. If not, then they go the other route.
With regards to transfers at a dock, they aren't paying drivers on a hand load. If so, then they aren't paying the crossdock fee. To them, it is still $50.00.
I understand you are trying to validate your argument, but I am telling you the REALITY of this business, not to beat up on you.

 

[LDB]

No matter what size unit you are in, whether team or solo, the carrier can't manufacture loads. They can only offer the loads that are phoned in. I know of a few van teams that were always running, some at Panther and some at other carriers. The same with solos. I know of lots others who weren't getting any load offers. The same with straight truck solos. Interestingly, one of the s/t solos was telling me on the phone about no offers as I was on my way to the office. When I got there I had the truck looked up and he'd had 8 offers in the last 36 hours and turned all 8 down.

The problem is the carrier is going to be condemned regardless. If they offer all loads regardless they'll be condemned for offering all those solo loads. If they offer nothing but "team" loads they'll be condemned for waiting so long between offers. They'll also be condemned for where they draw the line to differentiate "solo" and "team" loads. One of my s/t teams gets lots of miles and makes good money. They run at an 84% acceptance ratio. "Solo" loads and "team" loads aren't in their vocabulary. The only thing they know is "profitable" loads and "unprofitable" loads. Their settlements can have runs anywhere from 200 miles to 3200 miles because they aren't too good or too special or too whatever to take the 200 mile run if it winds up in a decent location and is profitable getting there. They're a h/w team so all the money goes into the same pot. That makes a significant difference.

 

[Twizted1]

To a carrier, it is about coverage and liability. Claims from transferring freight is pretty low. Most damage is done while in transit. They of course will use a team IF it is there to use. If not, then they go the other route.
With regards to transfers at a dock, they aren't paying drivers on a hand load. If so, then they aren't paying the crossdock fee. To them, it is still $50.00.
I understand you are trying to validate your argument, but I am telling you the REALITY of this business, not to beat up on you.

I do appreciate your honesty and your years of experiance,not only as a O/O,but as a fleet owner in panther also.I just bought another van and was considering puting it on with panther,but currently it just seems pointless.I have talked to other small fleet owners and they all say what a high turn over they have with drivers.It really makes me wonder the future of this industry in a whole.Maybee I should just split us up and run solo again?2 trucks doing 1500 or better,would produce the same result.I also will finish up my B class at the end of the year.I may just jump into a straight working for a fleet owner.

 

[Twizted1]

Again,
I do consider all runs and use some poor runs to relocate to better areas.Seriously If they called me right now with a mini and another one after that.I could do 4-5 a day thats 200.00-250 a day gross.The only problem is that would be all I would get for the day 1 mini at 50.00 for the day.And for a team thats not so good, even for a solo its poor.It honestly seems that a first out isnt even worth the QC messaging fees.First -out equals crap out in my book.my percentages are good I would rather move then sit days on end turning down every load thats not more then 300 miles.

 

[davekc]

I do appreciate your honesty and your years of experiance,not only as a O/O,but as a fleet owner in panther also.I just bought another van and was considering puting it on with panther,but currently it just seems pointless.I have talked to other small fleet owners and they all say what a high turn over they have with drivers.It really makes me wonder the future of this industry in a whole.Maybee I should just split us up and run solo again?2 trucks doing 1500 or better,would produce the same result.I also will finish up my B class at the end of the year.I may just jump into a straight working for a fleet owner.

If you are just talking vans, you would be better served to split up and run the other van as a solo, or sell it. That is somewhat sketchy advice as I don't know your financial situation.
You are certainly on the right track in completing your class B license. May want to also consider a "A" license as well? At that point, then I would look at the team driving.