Has anyone seen this site? http://www.expediteloads.com/
Questions
- Thread starter Djcoak
- Start date
twodogsdaddy
Expert Expediter
Hey thanks for the question and all the responses. Once again it was very interesting,informative and civil. I love this place. Anyone who has anything to do with this sight albeit questioning, responding, moderating, sharing, advertising, joking, and all the behind the scenes stuff A very BIG THANK YOU!
One big thing to remember with Expediting in a straight truck. You really can't compare it to OTR.. it's more apples to oranges..:+
Which is more profitable...
an 80,000 pound, 70 foot long vehicle getting 5 mpg, getting paid 90 cents a mile ....and TOLLS on those 5 axles....
or..
A 33,000 pound, 40 ft, easier to drive, 10-12 mpg straight truck, getting paid $1.15 to $1.50 or more( White Glove, etc).. and only paying tolls on 2 axles...
OTR and Expediting may end up with similar gross income for the year.... but the Expediter will have less expenses, less wear and tear, etc.
I think that's the 'secret' that keeps expediters profitable, and keeps OTR drivers confused about why they do it.. it's not what you make, it's what you have LEFT!!!!
Dreamer
Which is more profitable...
an 80,000 pound, 70 foot long vehicle getting 5 mpg, getting paid 90 cents a mile ....and TOLLS on those 5 axles....
or..
A 33,000 pound, 40 ft, easier to drive, 10-12 mpg straight truck, getting paid $1.15 to $1.50 or more( White Glove, etc).. and only paying tolls on 2 axles...
OTR and Expediting may end up with similar gross income for the year.... but the Expediter will have less expenses, less wear and tear, etc.
I think that's the 'secret' that keeps expediters profitable, and keeps OTR drivers confused about why they do it.. it's not what you make, it's what you have LEFT!!!!
Dreamer
On this thread...
>Big ugly stickers pay extra percentage and pride in your
>ride in company identity leaves a "positive impression" with
>my customers. If your not proud of what you do and who you
>do it with maybe trucking ain't for you?
>Ok sorry and I don't mean to argue but they are not your customers, >they are the companies you are leased with.
>
The important factor you are missing here is that in fact, these customers are your customers, and your name recognition among customers is important. While the customer may deal with a pretty voice on the phone setting up the load, in their eyes, your truck and you are the company they deal with. When I tell people I drive for FedEx, I don't have to hide, and they can easily find my truck in the lot.
Another big difference with the big truck business is that here, the emphasis is not on having to put in 6000 miles every week, but on driving smarter and shorter to make your money.
Vernon in C2197
>Big ugly stickers pay extra percentage and pride in your
>ride in company identity leaves a "positive impression" with
>my customers. If your not proud of what you do and who you
>do it with maybe trucking ain't for you?
>Ok sorry and I don't mean to argue but they are not your customers, >they are the companies you are leased with.
>
The important factor you are missing here is that in fact, these customers are your customers, and your name recognition among customers is important. While the customer may deal with a pretty voice on the phone setting up the load, in their eyes, your truck and you are the company they deal with. When I tell people I drive for FedEx, I don't have to hide, and they can easily find my truck in the lot.
Another big difference with the big truck business is that here, the emphasis is not on having to put in 6000 miles every week, but on driving smarter and shorter to make your money.
Vernon in C2197
>On this thread...
>
>>Big ugly stickers pay extra percentage and pride in your
>>ride in company identity leaves a "positive impression" with
>>my customers. If your not proud of what you do and who you
>>do it with maybe trucking ain't for you?
>
>>Ok sorry and I don't mean to argue but they are not your customers, >they are the companies you are leased with.
>>
>
>The important factor you are missing here is that in fact,
>these customers are your customers, and your name
>recognition among customers is important. While the customer
>may deal with a pretty voice on the phone setting up the
>load, in their eyes, your truck and you are the company they
>deal with. When I tell people I drive for FedEx, I don't
>have to hide, and they can easily find my truck in the lot.
>
>Another big difference with the big truck business is that
>here, the emphasis is not on having to put in 6000 miles
>every week, but on driving smarter and shorter to make your
>money.
>
>Vernon in C2197
I agree that that there are less expenses and you actually make more per mile than MOST OTR trucks.
First off I want to know where this pretty voice is I can talk to!!!! I love women with a sexy voice....ok I digress
I agree with you, YOU are the company they deal with and the company is not fedexcc. You may represent Fed Ex but thats all, which is my point I guess I am trying to make. If I am driving my truck I would rather it have my business name on it since thats who I want the people I deal with to remember. I want them to know that Dave Coakley with Coakley Motor Express delivered thier freight on time and I represent fedexcc or whatever company I am with. I am not saying I won't take pride in it, I guess I just feel the big companies are trying to get free advertising and such on the side of my truck?
You don;t see guys who haul cars for Chevrolet have chevy stickers all over thier trucks. I know thats a bad example but just a point I am trying to make.
If I have a dirty truck, deliver late or am a complete slapass then that reflects bad on me mostly, I do take great pride in a job well done no matter who I work for.
>
>>Big ugly stickers pay extra percentage and pride in your
>>ride in company identity leaves a "positive impression" with
>>my customers. If your not proud of what you do and who you
>>do it with maybe trucking ain't for you?
>
>>Ok sorry and I don't mean to argue but they are not your customers, >they are the companies you are leased with.
>>
>
>The important factor you are missing here is that in fact,
>these customers are your customers, and your name
>recognition among customers is important. While the customer
>may deal with a pretty voice on the phone setting up the
>load, in their eyes, your truck and you are the company they
>deal with. When I tell people I drive for FedEx, I don't
>have to hide, and they can easily find my truck in the lot.
>
>Another big difference with the big truck business is that
>here, the emphasis is not on having to put in 6000 miles
>every week, but on driving smarter and shorter to make your
>money.
>
>Vernon in C2197
I agree that that there are less expenses and you actually make more per mile than MOST OTR trucks.
First off I want to know where this pretty voice is I can talk to!!!! I love women with a sexy voice....ok I digress
I agree with you, YOU are the company they deal with and the company is not fedexcc. You may represent Fed Ex but thats all, which is my point I guess I am trying to make. If I am driving my truck I would rather it have my business name on it since thats who I want the people I deal with to remember. I want them to know that Dave Coakley with Coakley Motor Express delivered thier freight on time and I represent fedexcc or whatever company I am with. I am not saying I won't take pride in it, I guess I just feel the big companies are trying to get free advertising and such on the side of my truck?
You don;t see guys who haul cars for Chevrolet have chevy stickers all over thier trucks. I know thats a bad example but just a point I am trying to make.
If I have a dirty truck, deliver late or am a complete slapass then that reflects bad on me mostly, I do take great pride in a job well done no matter who I work for.
Expediting and general freight are two completely different businesses. It is like comparing McDonalds to Red Lobster. Both are in the food business but are ran completely different.
As for signs on the truck, don't put them on if you don't like them. I think fedex will let you do that if you give up a half percent. Not sure if they still do that? We do like the expedite side of the business but net revenue through the years is about the same for both expedite and over the road trucks in our case.
Davekc
As for signs on the truck, don't put them on if you don't like them. I think fedex will let you do that if you give up a half percent. Not sure if they still do that? We do like the expedite side of the business but net revenue through the years is about the same for both expedite and over the road trucks in our case.
Davekc
Well I will add my 2 cents to this thread. The way I approach it is that I am a S Corp that has 1 vehicle leased to a carrier. This carrier is my SOLE customer and it is in my best interests to keep my customer happy with me. My customer wants their signs posted on the vehicle and pays a small advertising charge of .05% of the revenue to the truck.
My customer is not too demanding,they only wish to know up front if you are taking time off etc. The drug screening is paid by me as I am a so called independent Corporation. There are times when I get Poed at my customer and they probably get poed at me but all in all it works.
There is no way I would go into the big truck aresa.I like to park up front at the truckstops,the Walmarts,the Meyers etc. I also like getting loaded and unloaded usually within 15 minutes of my arrival.I feel for these guys who have to drop a trailer and wait 4 hours for the yard guy to pull it in to get unloaded. I have to pay to park at home with a 40 footer,a tractor plus a 53 foot trailer would require me to park about 15 miles away at the minimum.Where I park now I can walk to the truck,(in the daytime)..
My customer is not too demanding,they only wish to know up front if you are taking time off etc. The drug screening is paid by me as I am a so called independent Corporation. There are times when I get Poed at my customer and they probably get poed at me but all in all it works.
There is no way I would go into the big truck aresa.I like to park up front at the truckstops,the Walmarts,the Meyers etc. I also like getting loaded and unloaded usually within 15 minutes of my arrival.I feel for these guys who have to drop a trailer and wait 4 hours for the yard guy to pull it in to get unloaded. I have to pay to park at home with a 40 footer,a tractor plus a 53 foot trailer would require me to park about 15 miles away at the minimum.Where I park now I can walk to the truck,(in the daytime)..
Good points and all well taken. It's so much easier to express ideas when we don't get all defensive. Rich has pretty much the same ideas as I do it seems. I do like the idea of parking in most parking lots and I do like the point Glen brought up about using the truck as a "camper" (I didn't realize you could do that). Could you imagine telling and OTR dispatcher you'll be down for a week becasue you just feel like it?! They would flip!
Honestly I think the market is gearing more towards the expeditor type freight anyway. With the high price of fuel, anything over about 1000 miles is competing with trains and if it is not a rush order, it is cheaper to haul it that way. So it would seem that expediting would start to become the industry standard as America moves away so much from large OTR trucks.
Honestly I think the market is gearing more towards the expeditor type freight anyway. With the high price of fuel, anything over about 1000 miles is competing with trains and if it is not a rush order, it is cheaper to haul it that way. So it would seem that expediting would start to become the industry standard as America moves away so much from large OTR trucks.
>Not a problem! Discussion is good. You know what they say,
>if you don't use it you loose it? You get the point and in
>seeing your posts I believe you already understand the
>concept. Great question.. you did stir the pot. Drive safe
>and be profitable!
Yes I am good at stirring the pot. I work right now in my squadrons safety office and I have to stir the pot on a day to day basis to get the answers I need!!!
>if you don't use it you loose it? You get the point and in
>seeing your posts I believe you already understand the
>concept. Great question.. you did stir the pot. Drive safe
>and be profitable!
Yes I am good at stirring the pot. I work right now in my squadrons safety office and I have to stir the pot on a day to day basis to get the answers I need!!!
So you dont like those big ugly stickers huh? Your signs represent your company huh? Wow you are pretty smart guy it sounds but last time I check the sign on the truck gets them to call the company you are leased on. It is their name who got you a load it is their name who gets the customers to call not your little company name sorry.
>1. Pay
>Why does expedite pay so little?
<snip> In our experience (wife and me, team drivers) expediting pays quite well. We've met very few people in trucking that do better than dedicated expediting teams. While each sector of trucking (moving van, tanker, auto transport, etc.) has its star performers, I believe you'll find experditers as a group to be among the highest paid truckers on the road.
<snip>
All they are doing
>is letting you run under thier authority and taking care of
>the paperword which in my eyes is not worth me losing out on
>a dollar a mile!!!!
I see it differently. If Diane and I got our own authority and tried to book our own freight, we'd immediately complicate our lives and reduce our productivity. While we may be able to figure out ways to increase our gross, the extra time involved in fullfilling the obligations of having your own authority would cancel that out. We run with FedEx CC. FedEx CC has a nationwide sales force that can build a customer base no own-authority individual could ever match. That customer base gives us the ability to run nationwide and get into some very interesting and fun freight.
>2. Trucks
>Ok if I own the truck and I am making the payments, should I
>be able to dictate what goes on it? Why do I as a business
>owner want to advertise for a company with thier big ugly
>stickers all over my truck?
The company logo points have been made by others in this thread. Allow me to add one more that has not yet risen. As I write this, I'm sitting in a Flying J parking lot in Columbia, SC. The first thing we noticed was the 3 other FedEx CC trucks here. As often happens, the "FedExers" grouped up and talked shop for a while. We love that about FedEx. Nearly every day we have an opportunity to visit with our colleagues on the road. The handsome (personal opinion) logos on the trucks helps us find each other. It's an item of personal pride for us to be associated with FedEx. Having our own names on the truck or our company name would be meaningless to us. We already know who we are and what we're about. We don't need to advertise it on the side of a truck. Its preferable that the people we serve know that we're associated with FedEx. When they call to get freight shipped, they are not calling us, they are calling FedEx. When we arrive at the dock, we ARE FedEx. The same applies to all other drivers with all other carriers. They ARE the company they work for/lease to/haul for, etc. If it's important to you to brand yourself and present the value added services that you yourself offer - a very legitimate approach, by the way - then you should get your own authority and run your business under your name.
<snip>
>I just wonder if since it's such a
>small niche market if these companies feel you can't do this
>stuff on your own and want to take advantage of you.
As we see it, we're taking advantage of the opportunities this industry provides. We gave up a couple of very good white-collar jobs and a suburban lifestyle to become expediters. Having been on the road 15 months now, I can truthfully say there has not been a day where we regreted that decision.
We got into expediting to increase our income, spend more time together, simplify our lives, share a business project, and see the country. All five of these objectives have been met beyond what we dared hope.
We're independent contractors operating under contracts that provide mutual benefits to the contracting parties. No one is taking advantage of us. We're living our dream and being well compensated while doing so.
>Why does expedite pay so little?
<snip> In our experience (wife and me, team drivers) expediting pays quite well. We've met very few people in trucking that do better than dedicated expediting teams. While each sector of trucking (moving van, tanker, auto transport, etc.) has its star performers, I believe you'll find experditers as a group to be among the highest paid truckers on the road.
<snip>
All they are doing
>is letting you run under thier authority and taking care of
>the paperword which in my eyes is not worth me losing out on
>a dollar a mile!!!!
I see it differently. If Diane and I got our own authority and tried to book our own freight, we'd immediately complicate our lives and reduce our productivity. While we may be able to figure out ways to increase our gross, the extra time involved in fullfilling the obligations of having your own authority would cancel that out. We run with FedEx CC. FedEx CC has a nationwide sales force that can build a customer base no own-authority individual could ever match. That customer base gives us the ability to run nationwide and get into some very interesting and fun freight.
>2. Trucks
>Ok if I own the truck and I am making the payments, should I
>be able to dictate what goes on it? Why do I as a business
>owner want to advertise for a company with thier big ugly
>stickers all over my truck?
The company logo points have been made by others in this thread. Allow me to add one more that has not yet risen. As I write this, I'm sitting in a Flying J parking lot in Columbia, SC. The first thing we noticed was the 3 other FedEx CC trucks here. As often happens, the "FedExers" grouped up and talked shop for a while. We love that about FedEx. Nearly every day we have an opportunity to visit with our colleagues on the road. The handsome (personal opinion) logos on the trucks helps us find each other. It's an item of personal pride for us to be associated with FedEx. Having our own names on the truck or our company name would be meaningless to us. We already know who we are and what we're about. We don't need to advertise it on the side of a truck. Its preferable that the people we serve know that we're associated with FedEx. When they call to get freight shipped, they are not calling us, they are calling FedEx. When we arrive at the dock, we ARE FedEx. The same applies to all other drivers with all other carriers. They ARE the company they work for/lease to/haul for, etc. If it's important to you to brand yourself and present the value added services that you yourself offer - a very legitimate approach, by the way - then you should get your own authority and run your business under your name.
<snip>
>I just wonder if since it's such a
>small niche market if these companies feel you can't do this
>stuff on your own and want to take advantage of you.
As we see it, we're taking advantage of the opportunities this industry provides. We gave up a couple of very good white-collar jobs and a suburban lifestyle to become expediters. Having been on the road 15 months now, I can truthfully say there has not been a day where we regreted that decision.
We got into expediting to increase our income, spend more time together, simplify our lives, share a business project, and see the country. All five of these objectives have been met beyond what we dared hope.
We're independent contractors operating under contracts that provide mutual benefits to the contracting parties. No one is taking advantage of us. We're living our dream and being well compensated while doing so.
NB Trucker
Expert Expediter
Although I don't run a 'fleet' anymore, at one time I had 60 autohaul stinger trucks in my fleet, THOSE guys made some serious cash, but at a cost. Our workman's comp claims list was huge. I digress, however.
You mention telling an OTR driver manager you're taking a week off. If it is a company driver, we tell them to bring us the truck. 3 days, maybe 4, ok, but they're making up time elsewhere. We probably will save 'their' truck, but occasionally it will be loaned out and he'll get back into another unit. If that is the case, we try and make it a win/win situation. "C'mon bil, you know you didn't like that old FLD did you? Here's a nice 'newer' Volvo or A Columbia with fewer miles instead."
It all comes down to lost revenue. If the truck isn't moving in the OTR world as you well know, it isn't making money. Well, that's sort of the case, we're charging a lot of our customers detention time if they tie our trucks up more than 2 hours on either end of the load/unload equation near the appointment times.
We also have O/O trucks managed out of our terminal. I had a long discussion with one of them recently, and he said in effect, that as an O/O his net is just a little more than as a company driver, however he gets more control over his time. He can tell his agent (driver manager) that he's taking time off when he wants to, so long as he makes his payment on the truck.
That control is what being an O/O is all about. You're still at the mercy of freight, you're still living on the road, however you get a degree of control you wouldn't otherwise.
Excellent thread, I've learned a lot Thanks to all who have contributed.
You mention telling an OTR driver manager you're taking a week off. If it is a company driver, we tell them to bring us the truck. 3 days, maybe 4, ok, but they're making up time elsewhere. We probably will save 'their' truck, but occasionally it will be loaned out and he'll get back into another unit. If that is the case, we try and make it a win/win situation. "C'mon bil, you know you didn't like that old FLD did you? Here's a nice 'newer' Volvo or A Columbia with fewer miles instead."
It all comes down to lost revenue. If the truck isn't moving in the OTR world as you well know, it isn't making money. Well, that's sort of the case, we're charging a lot of our customers detention time if they tie our trucks up more than 2 hours on either end of the load/unload equation near the appointment times.
We also have O/O trucks managed out of our terminal. I had a long discussion with one of them recently, and he said in effect, that as an O/O his net is just a little more than as a company driver, however he gets more control over his time. He can tell his agent (driver manager) that he's taking time off when he wants to, so long as he makes his payment on the truck.
That control is what being an O/O is all about. You're still at the mercy of freight, you're still living on the road, however you get a degree of control you wouldn't otherwise.
Excellent thread, I've learned a lot Thanks to all who have contributed.