tri-state rate per mile

[redhotxpress]

i heard from a tri-state team that tri-state has lowered the rate per mile for loads under 5,000 lbs to $1.10. another team said they didn't know anything about it. just wondering if it's true and how that might affect other expediting companies.

 

[fastrod]

Sounds like a desperate move from a company in trouble. Is this the price they are paying there drivers or the price they are charging there customers? Ether way it does not sound good.

 

[goingbroke2]

When I drove for them, I averaged about $1.07 per mile before fuel sercharge for all loaded miles, but they paid $1.20 on the quallcom. The reason is because the loaded miles were usually up to 15% less than actual because that is the way they got paid by their customer is what they used to say to me when I asked about it. I heard they wanted to get rid of those customers so who knows.

 

[Jefferson3000]

The difference in mileage comes from Household Movers Guide, or HHM. Basically it works by air miles, or "as the crow flies" rather than practical truck route. Most likely using Rand McNally software. If you have a laptop or GPS on board, I would punch up the door to door route before accepting and ask the dispatcher to make the correction in loaded miles.

As for Tri-State actually changing their docket pay per loaded mile, I would taking to your contractor rep at the company. Otherwise, you're probably just going to get lots of rumors.

Drive Safe!

Jeff

Driver for 15 years
O/O for 13 years
OOIDA #829119

 

[davekc]

They were advertising $1.20 per mile. I agree with the other post of calling to verify as I don't see their rates listed anymore.
Maybe they did reduce them?








Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[cargojock]

I've been reading the posts for several months as I've had time, and finally decided it was time for me to sign up and contribute when I saw this one.

As a fleet owner with trucks leased on to Tri-State, I can definitely tell you that they have NOT lowered (or changed in any way) their rates, regardless of load weight. The rate for a D unit remains $1.20 per mile.

My guess is that this misunderstanding resulted from the team you spoke with not understanding that sometimes a D unit may be offered a C load. I've only seen this happen a couple of times and only in the Northeast. My guess (I've never asked since it has happened so infrequently) is that these loads may be offered because there isn't a more appropriate truck in the area. When such a load IS offered to a D unit, the load offer is very clear as to what the pay rate is, and of course the drivers are free to refuse without penalty.

I did have a team take one of these loads recently because even at a $1.10 a mile, it was a good paying load - good fuel surcharge and got them to an area they wanted to be in. That particular load was actually a van load (only 100 lbs and a couple small free standing units not even on pallets), so I imagine there was no van available and they offered it to my drivers at what was actually a higher rate than the load would normally have paid because they were the only truck of any size in the immediate area.

As far as loads actually requiring more miles than the load pays, that is, indeed, a result of routing. I have found that when my drivers use a variety of software and tools to carefully plan their actual routes, they can come very, very close to the miles paid. With a little practice, it only takes a few minutes to do it. "Working smart" and utilizing good planning pays off!

Dave, I'm not sure why you were unable to find Tri-State's current rates on their website - I just checked and they're definitely there and definitely unchanged.

As was suggested by a couple of people, any time you have a question about a specific company's policy, the best way to insure you get an accurate answer is to contact them directly. That's the best way I've found to avoid rumors of things like "desperate move of a company in trouble". With so much truly valuable and helpful information posted in these forums, its a shame to toss unfounded rumors about ANY company into the mix - rumors never benefit anyone, not the drivers or the companies. Needless to say, I can't speak for anyone's bottom line but my own, but if Tri-State is in trouble, its certainly not evident on my end! Business is good!

 

[fastrod]

Cargojock I am glad to hear tri state is doing well. The desperate move from a company in trouble line was not a rumor. Rate cutting is a sign of a company in trouble. The rumor was that tri state was cutting rates. You posted that they are not so that rumor was laid to rest. Once again I am glad to hear tri state is doing well.

 

[cargojock]

Sorry fastrod! I guess I didn't word my post very well. I didn't intend to imply that you were stating or starting a rumor by making that comment. What I meant was that people sometimes take a statement like yours, and then combine it with the initial statement that Tri-State may be cutting rates, and the result suddenly becomes a rumor running rampant. My purpose was to caution people against reading too much and/or the wrong things into ANY posts, particularly when it comes to something that should be strictly factual in nature.

I agree with you that if any company actually was cutting rates it could be a sign of trouble. Unfortunately, I suspect that if it happened it would be more than a sign of just a particular company in trouble, though - its my guess that others would quickly follow, regardless of the reason the first company made the move. Think about airlines cutting fares. One does it and the rest follow within days. Rate cutting could very quickly become a sign of an entire industry in trouble, or at least a situation where all those who work in the industry might quickly find themselves in trouble, so in this instance I'm glad to be able to let everyone know it isn't true. For the sake of all of us out here on the road, we'll hope it doesn't happen with any companies!

 

[davekc]

I was only referring to their ads here at EO. I haven't looked at anything on their website.








Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[Dynamite 1]

well we are not t-state anymore but do still have some contacts inside . yes last week for about 24 hours there was a change in rates . they decided or should properly be stated as dave (ceo) decided that they should seperate the rates. so loades of 5000# or less were going to be offered at 1.10 per mile but true d units would be able to turn these loads down without being put on t-states 8 hr. time out. after just a very miniscule amount of these loads were dispached the word was out. as it was told to me, it went over like a fart in church, so imediatley the next morning a email was sent out to stop at once. some of the fleet owners were to say the least not happy and voiced their displeasure along with some o/o and it actually seemed to matter so he stopped it. this is not a poke at t-state this actually did happen. if you did not know of this then it did not affect you before it was taken out of play, but then if you did not know at all or by now did not have the truth of what happened you should stay a little more connected to the rest of the fleet to keep up on these issues. that is not a slam on anyone that did not know just friendly advice. they do some pretty screwy things sometimes. as for the statement on the mileage discrepencies, we did see that happen especially on empty moves and dh miles, however the loaded miles started being done using pc miler so they were getting better. hope this clears up the rumor of whether this happened or not. problem avoided, good luck to all of you.
p.s., how is the 5% administrative fee on comdata advances affecting all of you now that a month or so has gone by. would be interested in hearing some dollar amounts that this has cost to date if anyone has this info in their records. thanks and once again good luck to all.

 

[davekc]

What is an eight hour time out?








Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[Dynamite 1]

dave, at t-state if you turn down what they consider a viable load they drop you to the bottom of the board you are on and you stay there for eight hours. they will give you a load if you are the only truck on that board but all other units that come in during that eight hour period go in front of you accordingly. you do not get time out or slapped on the hand (just a few funny names we gave it) actually it is called refusal status if the load is less than 250 mi. and you are a team unless you are the only team then they slap, the dh to pu is 30% of the loaded miles or the p/u is 8 hrs out. that in a nutshell is what timeout is and how it is determined. there may be some modifications to this i am unaware of but i think thats it, as i previously stated we are not there anymore. thanks, dynamite1/tnt

 

[bernieh48]

Well we left Tri-state about a month ago and all we were getting offered was loads at $1.10.

 

[LDB]

So the 8 hour rule is just another name for forced dispatch. That's even worse than our go to the end of the line. At least we get to start climbing back to where we should have been immediately without sitting in the time out chair 8 hours.

Companies like to claim they don't have forced dispatch but they do unless they operate like Conway used to. If you are put to the back of the line for a refusal that's another form of forced dispatch. Take it or lose your spot. "No forced dispatch" means zero/zilch/nada penalty of any sort for a refusal. I understand the company position that you don't have a gun to your head making you do it but the penalty is there just the same.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
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Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[Dynamite 1]

thats the ugly little phrase that is never mentioned anywhere but in the contract/lease. which is another reason we are not there anymore. as you stated nil, nada like conway, we use to be conway so it was even harder to adjust to that rule. i dealt with the drop and climb back up like you have at p-trans, i started there, still not good but livable. after the fedex fiasco i dont see why any company would risk putting this in a lease and doing the opposite but then again i guess it is all in how you word it, as in no forced dispach but in certain circumstances an in order to service our customers we may need to enforce a 8 hr. detention (use to be 12 hr by the way) or something very similar. i would have to look at the lease to word it exact. but as istated i am very pleased to see the latest rule taken out of play we still have friends over there and i know this rate dropage would have affected everyones bottom line. i believe every companies freight pool consists of at least 40% of freight that is under 5000# if not more. a dime drop in rate for 40 of 100 loads adds up to a good little bit of revenue if say the avg. length of hall is around 800 mi. a load, or 10.00$ every 100 mi. to make it easier.that could have resulted in 4-5000.00$ a year in lost revenue plus lost operating cost because the rate per mi. after fuel would change also. so there you have it dave, just glad for the o/o that it went away. i know some are struggling and this would have made it even harder on them. would still like to here some numbers on the comdata thing though. good luck to all, tnt

 

[davekc]

Between time outs, excessive comdata charges and lowered rates, I don't know how some are making it. Sounds like alot of slow bleeding.

As far as forced dispatch, Conway had the best system. Panther has the "drop to the bottom bit" but I can locate my own load if we want.
So at least there is another option. The only dispatch systems that seem worth anything is either Panther or Landstar.
In that narrow thinking, I am looking at only the larger companies. There may be some smaller ones that have that same flexibility as well.
With regards to Conway, that system may have been part of their downfall. Way too many loads not covered and contracts go by the wayside. Customers aren't as accomadating with, "we will just give you are long gravy runs". They usually want you to run all of them, or provide a solution.









Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[TeamCaffee]

With FedEx we can refuse as many loads as we want and still keep our current position in line. The only way our current position is changed is if a less then 75 comes into the area and they will be put at the top of the list.

 

[davekc]

As long as there is a acceptance rate policy, there is still a penalty. I have never liked these because they don't refect that maybe one at 50 percent acceptance, could have been offered that ratio in bad loads.









Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[bernieh48]

Well at FedEx you might be able to turn down as many as you want and not drop to th ebottom of the board but you do get penalized if you don't keep up your 70% acceptance rate so that is still a form of forced dispatch just like Dave said.

 

[cargojock]

Nope, we never had any low rate offers during the time this was apparently going on, so we were unaware. None of it makes sense, though. The pay rate is part of the contract, and it is NOT based on load weight. Any changes in the contract must be signed by both parties, so to do something like this, Tri-State would have had to notify all owners and send them an addendum to the contract with a deadline for signature. Seems we weren't the only ones who knew nothing about this. My drivers and I have all had quite a bit of contact with other fleet owners and O/Os in the past few weeks - probably more than usual, in fact - and no one has said a word. In any case, I'm glad for everyone that this no longer appears to be a change being contemplated.

Can't help you out on the effects of the new ComData fee. We have never used it and neither have any of our drivers. We pay fuel and use Truckers Advantage (FleetOne), so our drivers don't need a lot of up-front money each week. (Frankly, I doubt I'd hire any driver who couldn't get along without an advance when we're paying fuel. Actually, that would probably be a concern to me if we had drivers paying the fuel, too. Just as operating off advances didn't seem to be a wise business decision for me when I started this business, I don't think its a wise decision for drivers, either. Our drivers have different means of paying their expenses on the road and doing their banking, but from what they've told me, none of them are paying any fees to receive or use their own money. That's definitely the way it should be!) Even though the ComData issue hasn't effected us or our drivers, I'm also be interested to hear how its effecting others and/or what they've done as an alternative.