I see it that we have to have our core customers and yep they are discount customers. We need to service these customers as well as the customer that calls up on the phone is a panic and does have the discounted rate. I am talking Surface here not T-Val or Refrigerated as I do not know about their offers. We have our bottom line and our bottom line just changed somewhat due to the new truck. The rate we need is not the same as everyone due to the nature of our business as well as our life style on the road and while at home.
Core customers or not, discounting rates to the customer should be disconnected to discounting offers to the contractors. I know I'm not wrong with this point but if they are willing to offer a contractor an all inclusive rate of $1.45 per mile but a outside third party a rate of $1.75 per mile, it raises the serious question on how they look at the relationship with the contractor not that of with the customer - an important point. Another important point is the madness of the dispatch system, as much as a lot of the cheerleaders want to tell everyone that it is alright, it begs a very important question about the management style of the group and how they view the contractor - as a child or as a business person. I wondered about if they view the customer the same way. With more than 10 offers in a day, all sub-prime offers and many below the operating level of contractors, it appears that they don't care not that they don't know what the fleet operating average rate is and how to select the right rate to maintain that number.
I feel as if I am beating a DEAD horse here in that when people talk about rates they talk about ALL miles not just loaded miles. I believe at Landstar you see loaded miles and then you calculate your dead head miles on your own correct? If we would compare apples to apples the rates on many loads would be great and acceptable to almost the whole fleet. We are not usually sitting on top of a load and our dead head is often in the hundreds of miles and that has to be taken into consideration. The dead head can kill a great load.
I understand the point but it isn't about the dh, it is about the company using the tools they have to move the trucks they have at a rate that allows the trucks to make money. Landstar is a different system, it has not one source for the contractor but over 1500 sources for the contractor. If one wasn't able to find work in that system, IF they wanted to work, then it is their fault - which I admit that I fell into that group.
One of the problems is the size of the fleet if we have to many trucks we do not get the offers as there are trucks sitting on the loads. Now the fleet is smaller and the dispatchers have to reach out further to find someone to cover the load. Now what if the load is a discount load? The Cherry Picker is sitting on the load and refuses it and they will not run that type of load for any price. Now the dispatcher is reaching further out or the load goes to an outside carrier and we all lose out.
I don't see the issue with fleet size and FedEx, their internal sources of work is greater than any other company on the planet but they can't move more than 60% of their trucks at any day of the week makes no sense at all. It isn't that they need to have trucks sitting on the loads but rather improvements in management to take a proactive approach to using internal sources to find work. CC seems to be still disconnected for some reason.
If in six years turning down fourteen loads or even more then one load a day was common heck yes I would be looking for a new carrier as the carrier is not able to cover our basic needs.
Turning down 14 loads in one day should be a good indicator of what's going on.
I am sure FCC is not the only carrier to have discount customers. I know that depending on how much of a discount a customer gets that FCC will take less of a cut to bring the rate per mile up. I see FCC's goal is to keep trucks moving as that is also how they make their money.
True but why does it have to affect the contractor while serving the customer?
I don't see that as any goal, it may be stated to the CC contractors but it isn't the case with the amount of work they have at any given moment and the small size of the fleet they have at CC
Why is it that discount customers get to protect their bottom line by negotiating lower rates but contractors cannot do the same by negotiating higher pay? Why is it that our carrier is happy to talk to us about serving the customer but is unwilling to take a loss on a load?
These are important questions that seem to be what I'm driving at (sure Phil you don't read my posts?).
