debidoesdiesels
Expert Expediter
I just signed on to Panter II today. Where are the best areas to run to make money? What areas should I stay away from? Thanks
Panther II
- Thread starter debidoesdiesels
- Start date
iheartfaye
Expert Expediter
I have been with PantherII over a year albeit in a cargo van. What area do you live in because that can often be a good area to start? I live in Florence KY and do very well from home.
I have always done very well out of the Ft Wayne area and very recently I am doing very well out of Charlotte. Do not sit in a board though. For example, do not sit at the Fort Wayne Truck Stop off of I-69. Split the Fort Wayne board with another close area. That goes for any area. Generally I am on at least 2 boards if not 3 or more.
I have also done very well out of the Chicago area but the traffic is horrible.
I make it a habit to leave Michigan empty just to get out of there. What can often happen is that with so many vendors all in Michigan you can literally run all day from mini to mini and have very little to show for it. Also, it can be tough to move up in board position because of all the minis that others are running, getting a first out as a result.
Unfortunately, you are starting at the slowest time of year. Do not be discouraged though as things will start to pick back up when Easter hits. Generally it is a good idea in expediting to have all of your 1st quarter bills paid in advance because 3rd and 4th quarter will be very profitable.
Also, take all the negatives you hear with a grain of salt. I am sorry to say that I avoid other P2 drivers because they are invited to the top-secret conspiracy meetings where the company plots how they can be as unfair to the drivers as possible. Some of the stories and garbage that the others relate are really pathetic and I don't waste my time being around those people. You will be able to quickly tell which drivers are honest and are profitable because they run their business efficiently and which drivers to run from.
I have always done well with P2 while I run into others that do nothing but complain. Typically, these drivers do not go to Canada, they sit in parking lots with 5 other P2 trucks, and they wait for the perfect load to come across the qc before they roll.
You will do very well if you remain positive and continue to be an eager student.
Oh yeah, I also use Microsoft Streets & Trips. Everytime I get a load I create a 10 minute drivetime zone around the shipper. When I drop a load now, I can look at my map and quickly see the highlighted areas where I have gotten loads and I split the distance between them (staying within 50 miles of course). This has been very helpful when I am deciding where to stage myself.
Brian Cunningham
P2 since 11/04
Cargo Van
I have always done very well out of the Ft Wayne area and very recently I am doing very well out of Charlotte. Do not sit in a board though. For example, do not sit at the Fort Wayne Truck Stop off of I-69. Split the Fort Wayne board with another close area. That goes for any area. Generally I am on at least 2 boards if not 3 or more.
I have also done very well out of the Chicago area but the traffic is horrible.
I make it a habit to leave Michigan empty just to get out of there. What can often happen is that with so many vendors all in Michigan you can literally run all day from mini to mini and have very little to show for it. Also, it can be tough to move up in board position because of all the minis that others are running, getting a first out as a result.
Unfortunately, you are starting at the slowest time of year. Do not be discouraged though as things will start to pick back up when Easter hits. Generally it is a good idea in expediting to have all of your 1st quarter bills paid in advance because 3rd and 4th quarter will be very profitable.
Also, take all the negatives you hear with a grain of salt. I am sorry to say that I avoid other P2 drivers because they are invited to the top-secret conspiracy meetings where the company plots how they can be as unfair to the drivers as possible. Some of the stories and garbage that the others relate are really pathetic and I don't waste my time being around those people. You will be able to quickly tell which drivers are honest and are profitable because they run their business efficiently and which drivers to run from.
I have always done well with P2 while I run into others that do nothing but complain. Typically, these drivers do not go to Canada, they sit in parking lots with 5 other P2 trucks, and they wait for the perfect load to come across the qc before they roll.
You will do very well if you remain positive and continue to be an eager student.
Oh yeah, I also use Microsoft Streets & Trips. Everytime I get a load I create a 10 minute drivetime zone around the shipper. When I drop a load now, I can look at my map and quickly see the highlighted areas where I have gotten loads and I split the distance between them (staying within 50 miles of course). This has been very helpful when I am deciding where to stage myself.
Brian Cunningham
P2 since 11/04
Cargo Van
Bravo to Brian for the great advice that may apply to drivers from many of the other reputable carriers.
You don't say what kind of unit u will be running. Or if U are a single driver or team. We have a t/t with Panther and do very well in Oh, Pa, In, Il, Ky, Tn, Mi, Ms, Nc, Sc, Ga, Al, Tx, Wi, Mo, Mn, Ia and Va. We don't Take Emty moves unless we are in a bad area. Ask drivers when u see them. Most will help but there are a few that will not give u the time of day. Be careful and good luck.
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
How does a guy know, or, how can he find out exactly where the boards are, and where do they intersect? I have usually gone to the carrier's suggested location, and it ususlly works out to another load, but I am always asking questions and trying to learn. I drive a van with a two headed panther on the sides.
Thanks. :+ :+
Thanks. :+ :+
greg334
Veteran Expediter
>How does a guy know, or, how can he find out exactly where
>the boards are, and where do they intersect?
Well the way I saw it was that there really is no real regional board where there are intersections of freight but different brokers have different boards. The thing I took away with my education at NLM was simply the ones who benefits from a board that takes bids on the freight are (in order); the customer, the broker, the independent, the carrier and the driver. With 3000 loads on the board that day, it was 10 AM and a slow day from what I was told, the qualified carriers bid on 60% of those loads and the other 40% were offered to the unqualified carriers at that time. This was somewhat a typical day. Oh yea one thing I heard but did not confirm was the fact that even though the carries did negotiate with the companies through NLM for the contract to haul freight, it did not mean that every company was offered all the loads from that customer. Kinda odd but there are reasons that I assume have to do with performance, et cetera.
Just remember one thing that I was told, no one company has exclusive rights to loads most load boards and regardless who says other wise, expediting is like every other freight hauling part of the industry; everything depends on the customer and their needs, not ours.
OH well, back to my rum and coke. Happy New Year.
>the boards are, and where do they intersect?
Well the way I saw it was that there really is no real regional board where there are intersections of freight but different brokers have different boards. The thing I took away with my education at NLM was simply the ones who benefits from a board that takes bids on the freight are (in order); the customer, the broker, the independent, the carrier and the driver. With 3000 loads on the board that day, it was 10 AM and a slow day from what I was told, the qualified carriers bid on 60% of those loads and the other 40% were offered to the unqualified carriers at that time. This was somewhat a typical day. Oh yea one thing I heard but did not confirm was the fact that even though the carries did negotiate with the companies through NLM for the contract to haul freight, it did not mean that every company was offered all the loads from that customer. Kinda odd but there are reasons that I assume have to do with performance, et cetera.
Just remember one thing that I was told, no one company has exclusive rights to loads most load boards and regardless who says other wise, expediting is like every other freight hauling part of the industry; everything depends on the customer and their needs, not ours.
OH well, back to my rum and coke. Happy New Year.
iheartfaye
Expert Expediter
Old Prof,
As far as the boards go with P2 when you do your #8 300 mile search on your qc it will show you the boards within 300 miles and the average # of loads daily each board is currently getting.
The average # of loads you will notice can frequently change. Less frequently the boards themselves will change. For example, I believe Corbin KY (how I will never know) actually had enough activity during the summer to show up as a board. It is now gone. They generally stay pretty constant though and as you run you will just know where the closer boards are to you.
Again, using Streets and Trips I have a file called Boards and it works similarly to the file I mentioned before with the drivetime area around shippers.
I have created a 30 minute drivetime zone around all the boards that have shown up doing the 300 mile search since I started. This is another very good tool to use when deciding where to place yourself.
While there are always loads that do not fall withing a "typical" board radius, the system creates boards based upon the areas that have a predictable flow of shipping traffic.
Brian
P2 cargo van
since 11/04
As far as the boards go with P2 when you do your #8 300 mile search on your qc it will show you the boards within 300 miles and the average # of loads daily each board is currently getting.
The average # of loads you will notice can frequently change. Less frequently the boards themselves will change. For example, I believe Corbin KY (how I will never know) actually had enough activity during the summer to show up as a board. It is now gone. They generally stay pretty constant though and as you run you will just know where the closer boards are to you.
Again, using Streets and Trips I have a file called Boards and it works similarly to the file I mentioned before with the drivetime area around shippers.
I have created a 30 minute drivetime zone around all the boards that have shown up doing the 300 mile search since I started. This is another very good tool to use when deciding where to place yourself.
While there are always loads that do not fall withing a "typical" board radius, the system creates boards based upon the areas that have a predictable flow of shipping traffic.
Brian
P2 cargo van
since 11/04
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
I have found, and the dispatchers concur, that the boards for Panther are highly unreliable. Dropping in NYC, we were repositioned by the computer to Albany. Anyone with knowledge knows that there's little, if anything, in Albany. We cruised to Hartford and got a load out a day later picking up near West Point.
Only experience will tell you where your truck has the best chance to get a load. Follow the pattern of previous runs.
A few hints for Panther... Connecticut is best in New England; Milan, TN instead of Nashville; Georgetown or Florence, KY; anywhere in the Lansing-Kalamazoo area will get you better runs than Detroit (usually); Grand Rapids gets you a lot of short Chicago runs; Lafayette, IN is hot.
Only experience will tell you where your truck has the best chance to get a load. Follow the pattern of previous runs.
A few hints for Panther... Connecticut is best in New England; Milan, TN instead of Nashville; Georgetown or Florence, KY; anywhere in the Lansing-Kalamazoo area will get you better runs than Detroit (usually); Grand Rapids gets you a lot of short Chicago runs; Lafayette, IN is hot.
iheartfaye
Expert Expediter
>I have found, and the dispatchers concur, that the boards
>for Panther are highly unreliable. Dropping in NYC, we were
>repositioned by the computer to Albany.
As an add-on, remember that the P2 system does not always see past state lines. For example all the truckstops in greater Memphis are in West Memphis AR. The system may ask you to move to Memphis TN not seeing the trucks in West Memphis AR. Same thing if the system asks you to move to Florence KY, it is not necessarily seeing the trucks sitting across the river in OH or IN. There was supposed to be a fix in the works for this but I am not convinced of that.
Remember as far as the boards being accurate. A daily average is not taken over a 24 hour period. A board that has an average of 1 load a day may have 7 loads on Friday and none the rest of the week (this is an extreme example, but using it to make the point). This equates to an average of 1 load a day.
Brian
>for Panther are highly unreliable. Dropping in NYC, we were
>repositioned by the computer to Albany.
As an add-on, remember that the P2 system does not always see past state lines. For example all the truckstops in greater Memphis are in West Memphis AR. The system may ask you to move to Memphis TN not seeing the trucks in West Memphis AR. Same thing if the system asks you to move to Florence KY, it is not necessarily seeing the trucks sitting across the river in OH or IN. There was supposed to be a fix in the works for this but I am not convinced of that.
Remember as far as the boards being accurate. A daily average is not taken over a 24 hour period. A board that has an average of 1 load a day may have 7 loads on Friday and none the rest of the week (this is an extreme example, but using it to make the point). This equates to an average of 1 load a day.
Brian
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
Thanks, guys. My trusty van and I already use the #8 300 mile radius message. I have a dedicated Wally World Atlas with the cities marked in yellow hi lite with the average numbers penciled in. I still use the suggested relocation. It has worked so far. I haven't done enough repeat loads to have formed a pattern. The next time I go out I will go through my Pro bills and try to determine a pattern. Probably get another Wally World Atlas and mark pick ups on the maps.
Thanks. :+ :+
Thanks. :+ :+
Hi
Just keep taking the suggested repostions for now.But to help you later on after you get more experience keep track of all your #8's.This way when you get somewhere that has no suggested repostions you can go back through and check them.Example:New Philly OH is a board sometimes and sometimes its not.So if you deliver in that area and the all the other boards are full you can snag a load out of there ahead of Akron and Wooster boards.
Also I found that if the computer suggest a place that isn't a board I go there immediatly because the computer knews of the load already.Example: a customer calls every Thursday for 1 or 2 van loads,thats not enough freight to warrent being a board but it's a guarrenteed load.
Talk to everybody!Even if you think their negative or obnoxious, you can learn alot from other peoples mistakes.Just remember your incharge of your business and their incharge of theirs.Good luck.
Just keep taking the suggested repostions for now.But to help you later on after you get more experience keep track of all your #8's.This way when you get somewhere that has no suggested repostions you can go back through and check them.Example:New Philly OH is a board sometimes and sometimes its not.So if you deliver in that area and the all the other boards are full you can snag a load out of there ahead of Akron and Wooster boards.
Also I found that if the computer suggest a place that isn't a board I go there immediatly because the computer knews of the load already.Example: a customer calls every Thursday for 1 or 2 van loads,thats not enough freight to warrent being a board but it's a guarrenteed load.
Talk to everybody!Even if you think their negative or obnoxious, you can learn alot from other peoples mistakes.Just remember your incharge of your business and their incharge of theirs.Good luck.
creekindian33
Expert Expediter
i feel sorry for u y did u go to panther? there is no good place panther they have to many trucks u will sit anywere u go but stay away from fl ur best bet is to find ur owen good brokers
If you have any ability to find your own freight it doesn't really matter how many trucks they have in a given area.
Stop your whining and be alittle proactive.
Creekindian all you have done since you have become a member is cry about Panther.
If they are that bad, why are you still there?
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
Stop your whining and be alittle proactive.
Creekindian all you have done since you have become a member is cry about Panther.
If they are that bad, why are you still there?
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator