Short loads are they worth it?

[Bruno]

How does your company reward you with doing short loads? I know FedEx Custom Critical rewards their driver's for taking a load under 75 miles. You get so many points for DVA which only fare because you did a short load. You can take your less than 75 as it's called at FedEx and go out of service without losing it. I just wanted to see how everyone feels about it. Is it worth it if your not rewarded? My thoughts on loads under 100 miles should not be offered to teams unless they go to the top of the board. My reason for that it's not a money maker for a team if your campany is on a flat rate.

What I mean by that is, if your at lets say a $1.10 a mile and your offered a load that is 99 miles. Why would a team want to take a load that only pays them $108.00 if there is no reward for doing that load. Really even as a single driver I wouldn't take a run like this. If the customer calls with a short load and your company can't cover it because there is no reward like being put to the top of the board for it. Why would they call your company when they have a longer load. They are not, they are going to call the company that covered the short load. Just want everyone thoughts on this.

 

[Sparticus]

There are many times a 99 mile load would be helpful.

Have you ever moved any of your fleet 100 miles to get
to a better freight area? No need to answer, we already know.

So let's say that a load op is delivering into Chicago area,
it pays regular contract rate + reasonable fsc. Are your driver smart enough to take it or are they too stuck on themselves, being a TEAM.

Also consider this, Anywhere, USA, 3 trucks available:
#1 Team
#2 Team
#3 Solo
Dispatch receives a call for a 100 mile opportunity,
Team 1 has dwell time of 24 hrs
Team 2 has dwell time of 12 hours
Solo 10 hours and just got hours back
Is it fair for dispatch to jump 1+2 and dispatch solo?

With this method it would seem all short runs would go to solo's.
Doesn't seem fair to solo's, just because op is not good enough for the team.

the direct opposite could also happen,
#1 Solo
#2 Team
#3 Team
A 800 mile load comes available, is it fair to just skip the solo
and limit his/her ability to earn a respectable days earnings?

 

[Bruno]

There are many times a 99 mile load would be helpful.

Have you ever moved any of your fleet 100 miles to get
to a better freight area? No need to answer, we already know.

So let's say that a load op is delivering into Chicago area,
it pays regular contract rate + reasonable fsc. Are your driver smart enough to take it or are they too stuck on themselves, being a TEAM.

Also consider this, Anywhere, USA, 3 trucks available:
#1 Team
#2 Team
#3 Solo
Dispatch receives a call for a 100 mile opportunity,
Team 1 has dwell time of 24 hrs
Team 2 has dwell time of 12 hours
Solo 10 hours and just got hours back
Is it fair for dispatch to jump 1+2 and dispatch solo?

With this method it would seem all short runs would go to solo's.
Doesn't seem fair to solo's, just because op is not good enough for the team.

the direct opposite could also happen,
#1 Solo
#2 Team
#3 Team
A 800 mile load comes available, is it fair to just skip the solo
and limit his/her ability to earn a respectable days earnings?

Your missing my point. Why would a team or a single even do a short load under 99 miles if your not rewarded like going to the top of the board after you do this load. Mainly when it may be 8 am and they know they have a very good chance of getting a better load because it still early in the day.

Your talking about DVA with FedEx and DVA doesn't always skip a team truck for a short load because I did alot of less than 75 for FedEx as a team because they paid very well plus we was given alot of points for DVA. The point I'm making is, Why would someone that is on a flat rate of $1.10 a mile take a 99 mile load if they can't go to the tope of the board after they did the load. And yes it is fair to skip a solo driver for an 800 mile load. This is expediting and most loads over 550 miles a solo driver can't do legal if they get caught in traffic for an hour. If you are running solo get a co-driver then you don't have to worry about being skipped over.

 

[Sparticus]

Your missing my point. Why would a team or a single even do a short load under 99 miles if your not rewarded like going to the top of the board after you do this load.

Bruno, your missing my initial point. Only a Moron or TEAM Moron would pass on a load delivering into a prime freight area, like Chicago. I would rather go loaded (AKA Paid) to a major area without an under 75 or 100 than sit idle 100 miles away from a good area hoping for a better offer to come along.

 

[Bruno]

Bruno, your missing my initial point. Only a Moron or TEAM Moron would pass on a load delivering into a prime freight area, like Chicago. I would rather go loaded (AKA Paid) to a major area without an under 75 or 100 than sit idle 100 miles away from a good area hoping for a better offer to come along.

No I didn't. Only a Moron would sit 100 miles from Chicago in the 1st place. But your crazy if you think I'm going to tie my whole day up on a load that takes me to Chicago when I can deadhead to Chicago in less than 2 hours and get a load picking up ASAP then wait until 9 pm to pick up a 100 mile load to Chicago that may not deliver until the next morning. You would make only $110.00 in 24 hours and I would make $1100.00 for a total 1100 miles if we each was paid $1.10 per mile and my run was 1000 loaded miles. I'm not going to tie my truck up all day to help my company if they can't reward me by putting me at the top of the board after I did them a favor and did a load that really didn't make any money for the truck or my co-driver. Do one every weekday and come back and tell me if you can make it on $500.00 in a week be fore you pay fuel, tolls, co-driver and a truck payment. You wouldn't keep a co-driver very long if you only paid him $100 a week.

 

[FIS53]

I do lots of short runs and for me yes they are worth it for the most part. Not all are as too much time loss involved, but overall I keep near the freight area and made a little. So even with a little dh to get back if the shortie takes me out of the best area it usually doesn't matter for me as the run paid alright (some as high as $8.00/ mile) due to minimum charges. I know we all love the long hauls when paid by the mileage but sitting for 12 hours and not making anything when I could have run 2 shorties and made say 150 makes more sense as I pulled in something for the time. Unfortunately not all companies can keep a truck at the top of the list when given a shortie or reward due to taking a shortie. I do get rewarded now and then but usually it is because it was a pain call as well as a shortie or I pulled the company's bacon out of a situation.
Don't put down the shorties, as right now we need even those to keep money coming in!
Rob

 

[jaminjim]

plus we was given alot of points for DVA.



Whats that mean?

 

[x06col]

Bruno, is this a roast goose question??

Yer "not gonna tie your truck up to help the customer or company"??

Yer correct. They prolly won't call with the 800 miler if ya can't cover the 100 miler.

Aino roast goose.

 

[LDB]

Panther and Fedex both give something extra for their short loads so I'm not sure what the point is. Additionally, Fedex pays quite well for a lot of their short loads. There is no single answer to the question. The answer is different for solos and teams as well. A solo has to consider the additional factor of starting the 14 hour clock and risking getting no other loads for the day. For a team, taking a short run only uses the time it takes and has no effect on subsequent loads. A 99 mile run doesn't qualify as a mini or a less than 75 in Panther or Fedex. It would be tough to accept for $109 plus fsc even for a team unless the fsc is extremely high, extremely. On the other hand, for $3xx or possibly more it's an easier answer. It depends on your carrier and how they pay but since your question only addresses C unit rate at a fixed rate company the answer leans more toward no than it might elsewhere.

 

[Turtle]

Excuse me, but...

At Panther, a mini (less than 100 miles) gets you a First Out after you deliver. That means you go to the top of the board.

OK, sorry to interrupt. Back to whatever you were talking about.

 

[LDB]

Yes, a mini at Panther is a first out but I believe that's 77 miles or less. At 78 miles it's a regular run at regular contract rates. The number may be a little different than that but it isn't 100 miles unless something just changed.

 

[Turtle]

Dated 10/7/07 in a fleetwide, and posted to the Driver Web...

I am pleased to announce a new Driver Council Action Item release related to First Outs. First outs are now prioritized in the dispatch program so all FOs show at the top of the dispatch screen. First outs are sorted by POD time and date so when there are multiple trucks with FO status, the offers are based on a true First in/First out system. The biggest change is that you will no longer lose First Outs status for turning down:

- a mini (CV 75, ST 100, TT 175 miles)

- a load that is 8 hours in advance or 24 hours in advance on weekends.

- a reduced rate load

- or being pulled from a load due to being held up on a previous load due to shipper/consignee error

- or load cancels

The rest of it snipped.

FYI, in practice, even cargo vans get minis for anything under 100 miles, and not just for loads under 75 miles.

 

[LDB]

Even worse for the contractor then. That means a 99 mile load is a dollar a mile, not the $1.20 contract rate for a D unit. Considering the fact that a shipper is likely to not get a truck on the dock for less than $400-500 it's a nice windfall to the carrier.

 

[Turtle]

Yup. Once I had just delivered after a long load, so I was unavailable, sleeping. Another Panther van on the other side of the lot turned down a mini. The load went to the bid boards, and a third van, an independent, sitting very near me, bid 5 times what it would have paid a Panther van, and got it. And the carrier still likely made money on the load.

 

[x06col]

Amazing! Ain't it? I guess being "outside" the box ain't all bad.

 

[Bruno]

Dated 10/7/07 in a fleetwide, and posted to the Driver Web...

I am pleased to announce a new Driver Council Action Item release related to First Outs. First outs are now prioritized in the dispatch program so all FOs show at the top of the dispatch screen. First outs are sorted by POD time and date so when there are multiple trucks with FO status, the offers are based on a true First in/First out system. The biggest change is that you will no longer lose First Outs status for turning down:

- a mini (CV 75, ST 100, TT 175 miles)

- a load that is 8 hours in advance or 24 hours in advance on weekends.

- a reduced rate load

- or being pulled from a load due to being held up on a previous load due to shipper/consignee error

- or load cancels

The rest of it snipped.

FYI, in practice, even cargo vans get minis for anything under 100 miles, and not just for loads under 75 miles.

I was told last night that has changed it goes by money not miles. If they load pays more than $99.00 to a D unit it's not a 1st out anymore. If you go out of service you lose that 1st out also.

 

[davekc]

Well...if they strategically make sense, then yes. If they are before noon, they are certainly considered. It just depends.
What we won't do is waste a whole day on one.
Remember,
"Businessman first, driver second"

 

[Bruno]

Well...if they strategically make sense, then yes. If they are before noon, they are certainly considered. It just depends.
What we won't do is waste a whole day on one.
Remember,
"Businessman first, driver second"

Good point Dave. I know I would rather have a 1st out as reward for doing loads under 75 miles. You remember how that works Dave. I have no problem with a truck going ahead of me if they just did a load thet was under 75 miles to service the customer. Like I said before do you think the customer is going to call us for long loads if we can't cover the short ones. We as driver's an owner's want the custome to keep coming back.

 

[davekc]

There has to be a balance of servicing the customer and remaining profitable at the same time.

 

[Bruno]

There has to be a balance of servicing the customer and remaining profitable at the same time.

Yes I under stand that too. But it works out for the fleet the next time that customer calls with that 1500 mile load because we did that 65 mile load too. I guess what I'm saying is that we should never say no to a customer. But drivers are not going to do a short load if there is no reward like a less than 75 status. It should be based on miles not money. If a Dr unit does a 71 mile load and there rate is 1.65 per mile. If they will get $117.15 for the load with no 1st our or less than 75 why do it. Then the company has to broker the load out to another company because nobody will do it. By doing that the company that you brokered the load out to may do a bad job, upset your customer, offer to do your loads next time cheaper and so on.

I have no problem with a truck getting a 1st out as a reward taking care of the customer on a short load.