Panther tractors...$1.30 a mile?

[easyrider2697]

TRACTOR TRAILERS I got a interesting phone call yesterday from driver relations, Panther called and asked me if I was interested in changing my contract to the new contract they were offering...the new contract is $1.30 a mile for all miles, deadhead included....what this means is 1.30 a mile for dh and 1.30 a mile for all loaded PLUS fsc...not too bad in my opinion...what do you guys think? This should really help those that are on the .35cpm for deadhead, even though you lose a little on the loaded...according to panther if you are running at more than 17% deadhead it will pay off better. One thing that really made it interesting was the fact that if you ran the new contract for a few weeks and did not think you made a good choice, you can call back and change back to the original contract terms....kinda a trial and error process....anyway if you might be intrested, contact your team leader or driver relations to got more info...NOW this info is for tractors, I do not think it is available for any other units at this time.

 

[greg334]

I got a stupid question;

what is the FSC you get in a tractor?

And how many of you panther E units are there, I saw three today more than I have seen of straight trucks.

 

[Fr8 Shaker]

With Panther I would be a little leery, I can't recall anytime that panther was looking for a way to pay a driver anymore then they had too. I would also guess that there is a catch in there somewhere too, Like after you deliver you can only go to where they tell you to go and wait. Any place else they probably won't pay the d/h. Experience tells me you don't get something for nothing!

 

[terryandrene]

I suspect a that an owner that knows his trucks' cost per mile will have no problem in determining whether to make the deal or no deal decision.

 

[davekc]

I think the determining factor would be how much DH you have.
Same as the FSC program in that you can go on or off it when you want.
If it was offered to me in a straight, I would decline because our rate is higher than that without that much DH.
But....you can try it, and if you don't like it you can switch back.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

What Dave said, not to mention, you would be at their mercy for approved empty moves. I wouldn't give them that much say in what I do after I drop. What if you get a first out? Would they pay to move you to the area YOU want to be in? Doubt it.

If you are doing more than 17% dh now, then how much of that is paid by Panther? If it's 17+ paid, then it would be worth it. If not, then no.

Think of it this way... if everyone would make out better on this new program, Panther would lose money. In other words, they wouldn't be offering it.

 

[x06col]

A buck thirty all miles in a tractor?? How can that be appealing to you?? I wouldn't even consider that rate for, watsit-- a New York second. But, like Dave types, we do waaayyyy beter'n that with straight trucks, and you can always change your mind.

 

[nightcreacher]

From experiance,flat rate is only offered to help the botom line of the company.That rate looks good considering your dead head pay at 35cpm,but bottom line,$1.30 all miles wont pay the bills,after co-driver pay,thats less than A buck per mile,unless your running with your wife,or cheap help.Good luck,It didnt work here at FECC,those that went flat rate,wanted paid like the rest of us on percentage.Without sharing my pay,I do make better than the $1.30 all miles before FSC

 

[davekc]

I think .35 cents for DH is for vans. Straights are .50 to .75
I think tractors are .75 or higher? After the first 100

Take that back.....I think vans are .25? for DH

 

[mcclain]

That is a question to ask yourself. You should know your expenses, your deadhead and what you want or need to make to cover your expenses and put some money in the bank.

If you don't know your expenses in running your truck/business then you might want to consider driving for someone and let them worry about it.

Or, download the spreadsheet from our buddies at OOIDA and really learn what it cost to run your truck.

Its no surprise to me that Panther is stepping up again to take care of their ops and to give them some choices.

 

[Turtle]

Yeah, vans are .25 after the first 100 miles. That wasn't too bad when fuel was $2 a gallon, but now, on a 150 mile deadhead to pick up a load, those first 100 miles of self-eaten deadhead can mean making or losing money on a load.

On 150 miles, 50 of it gets paid $12.50, but that works out to about 8 cents a mile for all DH miles. Back when fuel was $2 a gallon and my Sprinter fuel cost was .09 per mile, that's not bad. But now, at a cost of .21 per mile, 13 cents a mile for all 150 miles is a bit too much to eat unless the loaded FSC is enough to cover both the loaded and the deadhead miles. It's only $19.50 I'm eating in that case, but $19.50 here and $19.50 there, it adds up. And that's only the fuel cost per mile, it doesn't take into account the overall total CPM to move the van. To eat $19.50 on a deadhead, the FSC for the load would have to be enough to cover fuel on the load, plus enough extra to cover the unpaid deadhead. On 150 DH for 250 loaded, the FSC would have to be a minimum of $.31 to break even on fuel costs.

On the other hand, I'm picking one up in the morning that's 21 deadhead for 269 loaded. My rate per mile is .77 and the FSC is .59. That's $1.36 for loaded miles, or $1.26 for all miles. My fuel costs for the all miles is about $61, but the FSC will pay out $158, so that lets me eat a few deadhead miles every now and then to take a load that in and of itself might not look as good, but as part of the bigger picture it works.

 

[easyrider2697]

Lemme start with this..My contract is way better than this, so therefore I was not interested.

current fsc on the structured program is .64cpm

dh on most contracts it .35cpm and $1.45 loaded

empty moves and deadhead ARE not the same thing (if you dont know the difference, maybe your in the wrong buisness)

x06col, when those currently only making .35cpm deadhead and 1.45 a loaded mile and deadhead for tractors is high, I could see where that would be appealing.

 

[MR.SNAPPY]

I think a question I would want to ask is after I pod out of a load and say I deadhead 50 miles to a better area and the next load that comes across the QC and I refuse it. will I still be paid for the 50 miles.

 

[nightcreacher]

you better ask if after i pod out of load,are you going to send me to a layover spot with paid miles or am i on my own

 

[pjjjjj]

I think a question I would want to ask is after I pod out of a load and say I deadhead 50 miles to a better area and the next load that comes across the QC and I refuse it. will I still be paid for the 50 miles.

Would you even know for sure if you would be paid for the 50 even if you DO take the next load offer?

 

[easyrider2697]

I guess some of you do not understand what deadhead is, deadhead is the amount of miles to go get a load from the point where the load is offered.....not where you decide to go after a load, not where decide to relocate to or anything like that....just the amount of miles to go get the load from the point you were at when the load was offered. Any other miles, relocation, empty move, or unpaid miles, are just that, but they are not deadhead, so those miles are not included in this conversation.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Sorry for not knowing YOUR definition of deadhead, Easyrider. But some of us consider dh as ALL empty miles, not just the hundred or so miles to the shipper. Some companies will move you after you drop, which is what I thought Panther did.

Just because most of us aren't ejumakated in Panther Philosophy 101, doesn't mean we can't make it in this biz. There ARE more fish in the sea, ya know.

 

[x06col]

Well, putting it that way, then bout two thirty would be equitable, considering what is being charged the customer. Other miles, for poops and grins, to a truck stop, or sumpin else should be on you for sure.

On a side note, it's been a long, long time since i've seen so much freight available. Seems to be a real shortage of capacity. Do you all have them parked, and on vacation????

 

[nightcreacher]

Here we go,i'm confused again,I thought dead head was anytime you ran with out a load.YOu deliver,send pod in, then you dead head.Its either dead head to layover,or deadhead to pick up,or your dead heading home,but if you dont have a load on, its dead head.Now in yor new plan,i take it the all miles paid, will be all authorized miles,ie;deliver chicago layover chicago,dead head to truck stop,no miles paid.does that sound right.You want to know if what your being offerd is good?its simple,Take what you have done the last 3 months,and change the pay to the new plan,if you make more its good,if you make less its bad.Bet you will find the old way is better

 

[OntarioVanMan]

That is a question to ask yourself. You should know your expenses, your deadhead and what you want or need to make to cover your expenses and put some money in the bank.

If you don't know your expenses in running your truck/business then you might want to consider driving for someone and let them worry about it.

Or, download the spreadsheet from our buddies at OOIDA and really learn what it cost to run your truck.

Its no surprise to me that Panther is stepping up again to take care of their ops and to give them some choices.

Must be a Panther fan eh? Panther or any other carrier only does what benefits THEM...they never ever give anything away.....
I'd fall off my chair in shock if ANY carrier ever fessed up and came up with a plan that ever was 100% in OUR favour.