Self Imposed Deadhead

[OntarioVanMan]

I consider some DH a business investment....sometimes you have to invest a few bucks to get into a better position and then thats where the infamous ROI comes into play...

Just like any other business...we are no different. DH is the cost of doing business. And you have to control those costs as well.

 

[dcalien]

ROI is that ruining one's income, or running outta ideas?

 

[Turtle]

ROI is the Return On Ideas, or,
your Return On Insanity.

In the case of many a fleet owner, it's simply the
Reign of Ignorance.

 

[dhalltoyo]

It is when you recieve zero compensation to move your truck; then your self-imposed deadhead becomes "Really Outrageous Insanity".

If the loaded mile rate is equal, I can not understand why anyone would lease to a carrier that chooses not to be a business partner as evidenced by their unwillingness to share any cost that will ultimately gain a mutual benefit.

Business is a "two-way" street.

I know a nice lady who waited in Fort Smith, Arkansas for five days. Finally, on a Friday afternoon, she deadheaded home to Nashville. She was fairly new at the time and had only been leased to one carrier. It took one year of trying to get her to switch carriers before she made the move.

The next time she was in Fort Smith, Arkansas, she delivered, slept for 8 hours and called dispatch after the 12th hour. They offered to relocate her to Memphis. The compensation to move covered the fuel cost. In fact, the cpm to relocate was the same as the fixed rate FSC for loaded miles she had been receiving at the previous carrier.

How ironic!

Now she is as happy as can be.

 

[pjjjjj]

In the case of many a fleet owner, it's simply the Reign of Ignorance.

Ya but, can ya take a field bath in that rain?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

There's many a carrier won't pay to move a van...I could wait till they offer up pay OR move on my own dime...choices choices...one could also go broke waiting to get a paid move.
The van world can be brutal.

 

[dhalltoyo]

When folks stop doing business with those who won't be a business partner, then we won't be having this discussion.

Make sense? Nuff said?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Most carriers want vans to wait 3-4 days and then they'll pay ya to move.....when you say business partner...Is it on your terms or thier terms?...And I am not referring to get paid to get out of non frieght lanes..I am talking say Nashville and move to Louisville..about 150 miles....hardly any carrier will pay to get out of Nashville because it's usually good for loads MOST of the time..BUT sometimes it's dead...
Getting paid everytime you move sounds more like your terms rather then a partnership where sometime you move unpaid...I always remember it's MY business not thier business...

 

[rickd]

When folks stop doing business with those who won't be a business partner, then we won't be having this discussion.

Make sense? Nuff said?

So Rev., what company are you with?

 

[ericmoss37]

ROI is the Return On Ideas, or,
your Return On Insanity.

In the case of many a fleet owner, it's simply the
Reign of Ignorance.

My drivers have there taxes paid in by me, so that saves them $4000.00 a year. Second they do not pay for fuel. ( I give them Wright Express cards). Third they do not pay for any tolls. I think they have a pretty good deal.

 

[jaminjim]

Eric, most I think are taking exception to your saying 10 miles as written in stone, as most here know that is not always the best strategy, nor always the most practical. Just curious why you state that you are saving your drivers $4K per year by filing for them, I assume that you are estimating that number, but would you please share what assumptions you have used to come up with that savings.

 

[pjjjjj]

My drivers have there taxes paid in by me, so that saves them $4000.00 a year. Second they do not pay for fuel. ( I give them Wright Express cards). Third they do not pay for any tolls. I think they have a pretty good deal.

Not saying your drivers don't have a pretty good deal, relatively speaking, however that $4000 in taxes which you are paying on their behalf, is still 'their' money. It doesn't save them anything, except having to come up with it all at once at tax time. They of course, also receive other benefits, because they are 'employees', rather than self employed contractors. In your case, you get to call the shots because you're willing to pay them as employees, and I assume they're getting paid whether they move or not. How does this work, do you pay them hourly? Do you have to pay overtime? Paid vacation? Do you have to allow them to stay under a certain amount of hours worked in a week? Or are the employee rules different in the trucking industry?

 

[dhalltoyo]

Most carriers want vans to wait 3-4 days and then they'll pay ya to move.....when you say business partner...Is it on your terms or thier terms?...And I am not referring to get paid to get out of non frieght lanes..I am talking say Nashville and move to Louisville..about 150 miles....hardly any carrier will pay to get out of Nashville because it's usually good for loads MOST of the time..BUT sometimes it's dead...
Getting paid everytime you move sounds more like your terms rather then a partnership where sometime you move unpaid...I always remember it's MY business not thier business...

Again, you stated "most" carriers. That is exactly the problem! They will remain the "most" as long as O/O's continue to sign with them.

I can drop off in Nashville, sleep for 8 hours, spend another 4 hours doing maintenance, or paperwork, or reading or whatever, and ask if I can be moved to a board that has no vans. Usually, no one sits in Louisville, but it is a transfer point for north/south freight and they like to keep a unit on that board. Obviously, this scenario is based upon the fact that I actually know a little bit about my business and the carrier's as well. 90% of the time I can make that move and I'll be compensated for the mileage. In fact, I'll get same FSC rate as you get for loaded miles.

OK, I make the move and then I have to sit for another 12 hours, without refusing any load offers, to be compensated for that move. That is not a problem, because I am moving to position myself based upon my knowledge of where the carrier's freight is most likely to be acquired. The carrier is satisfied, because transfer loads usually net them more profit (distance factor) and Nasville is a hit or miss board.

As long as I can provide enough information to make the move mutually beneficial to both parties it has never been a problem. I have enough grace not to ask anyone to do something that I would not do myself. Whenever I contact the carrier, I always try to consider what I would do if I were sitting in dispatch area.

Plain and simple...I am not sitting anyplace for 3 days. 12 hours is usually my limit and occassionally, if I need the rest, I'll hang for 24 hours.

Fixed FSC's, no compensation to move, sitting for 3-4 days...why do you stay? It only took me 4 months, as a newbie, to figure out that I was not a business partner with them. Nice people, no doubt, but nice don't pay the bills...well, maybe their bills, but not mine.

God is so good to me....all the time.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I usually always say "most" because not all carriers fit into the same mold...And we also don't stay 3-4 days...but I run into quite a few that have been sitting for 4-5 days and the carrier won't pay them to move and they won't move unless they are paid...the ole Mexican standoff....no one wins them battles.
I can count several times being in Laredo and some vans been there a week and no offer to get paid to get even moved to Dallas....

Don't get me wrong David..I am not disagreeing with your logic...BUT the majority of carriers don't offer up paid DH to a van as quick as they do for C or D unit.

 

[ericmoss37]

The $4000 dollars was calculated by FedEx Ground when they decided to push toward compliance with federal and local laws. I should correct myself. It's costing me as an employer a extra $2000 a quater because I don't 1099 my local drivers at FedEx Ground and now my drivers at Panther. What happens is employers pay a percentage of income tax for their employees. In 1099 cases the worker pays all the tax and the employer pays none. Now that Fedex Ground does not allow any more 1099's due to lawsuits they are paying:

1. First Van = 0 dollars because your a contractor and you run your own truck.
2. Second Van $5000 a year paid quaterly.

3.Third Van $6,000 a year paid quaterly.

4. Fourth Van $7,000 a year paid quaterly.

Total $18,000 a year.

I worked with other contractors and we figured out to hire four people as employees that it would cost about $4000 a year meaning the $18,000 a year raise that FedEx was touting there horns about just paid off newly found expenses.

My drivers get paid like the rest of the expediting industry. My drivers get .45 cents per loaded mile. They average between $500 and $650 a week depending on the week. My local Ground drivers have 100% touch freight twice a day and they load there own trucks. They do a bit better, but also do a lot more lifting and running. They make between $500 in the rural route to $800 in the city.

You can't pay by the hour in this industry because most people sit on the weekends. Even J.B Hunt pays by the loaded mile.

 

[Turtle]

My drivers have there taxes paid in by me, so that saves them $4000.00 a year. Second they do not pay for fuel. ( I give them Wright Express cards). Third they do not pay for any tolls. I think they have a pretty good deal.

Perhaps "Reign Over Ignorance" is more accurate than "Reign of Ignorance." I did not mean to suggest that fleet owners were ignorant, but rather that many drivers are.