Very Disappointing numbers

[greg334]

Fedex couldnt put them on company trucks if they wanted to because the customers demand our trucks for this type of freight ..they want temp controlled , pads, straps, special handling , extra security, t-val for pharmaceuticals, etc. etc. ...none of which company trucks like fedex freight can provide and alot do not want their high dollar freight thrown in with alot of other general freight in the same truck therefore want exclusive use.

Frank,
I would normally agree with this but in fact there are trucks in the surface fleet that have all that being former WG trucks and used as WG trucks when they don't get WG trucks to cover the load. Straps, Pads, special handling, etc....

The problem with the idea that only WG trucks handle high value freight is not true, I know this for a fact.

As for Pharma loads, the same thing is true, I had several loads with both end product and Envirotainers.

I hauled a lot of stuff without the qualifications that some speak of with reverence. Amazing that I tried several times to get my SF86 processed through FedEx but alas it never got sent. I tried to get some additional training but never got to and no one can ever say it is available to all who wants it, they are selective and it does not have to do all with stats.

 

[nightcreacher]

frank ,what greg says is true,last year I did 88 w/g moves,most were pfizer loads at w/g rates,Im on a load now,that is high value,would be from a customer that both fed ex freight and ground service,its not a discount,but it did go somewhere I normally wouldnt be cought dead in,Oregon,but its holiday weekend and what else was there to do,either sit in sacramento,or get 1 more load for the week

 

[ATeam]

Diane and I have been hauling White Glove freight with straight trucks, both reefer and dry box, for nearly five years. In that time, I have come to believe two things about WG straight trucks and the work.

The first is that WG straight trucks and the people who drive them comprise a value-added package that the carrier and owner-operators together present to our customers.

No one I know gets rich by hauling just one type of WG freight. WG work is not just lift gate work, or reefer work, or inside delivery work, or pad-wrap work, or HAZMAT work, etc. You don't add a truck feature or driver credential and expect that alone to carry you through. Some loads require both a lift gate and a security clearance. Others may require a reefer and pads. Still others may require nothing more than a dry box truck and a couple of straps. And with all loads, dispatchers and customer service agents play a key role. While we are hauling the stuff, others are communicating with customers about thier critical shipments.

Because of this mix, it is difficult to calculate when a particular component like a reefer or a liftgate will pay for itself. The same applies to time, money and deadhead miles you invest to acquire driver training, credentials and equipment certifications. The credentials and components are used in conjunction with each other, and you may sometimes go a whole month without using one or more. It's not about the pieces. It's about the package.

The second thing is more an observation than a belief. Months before we even entered the industry there was and continues to be a constant stream of comments from drivers and owner-operators saying what was wrong with White Glove; why people should not hope or want do it, why the people who are doing it should not be doing it, and how White Glove work was destined to disappear from the marketplace, how high-end freight is destined to go onto non-specialized trucks, and how all of this will doom people who own highly-specialized rigs to be stuck with expensive trucks that cannot earn the money to pay for themselves or be used in othe applications.

In that time, not only has FedEx Custom Critical White Glove Services continued to soldier on, it has developed new markets for WG contractors to service. Not only that, but a significant competitor has emerged in Panther Elite Services, further demonstrating the viability of the high-end market and expanding contractor opportunities in it.

As economic, competitive, technological, regulatory and company forces continue to flavor the mix, contractor opportunities to serve this market will ebb and flow. What may have worked two years ago may not work at all now. And what may work two years from now may not even be on peoples' minds today.

Still, good money can be made in this sector by contractors that serve the market with an open mind and configure themselves and their equipment to meet customer needs.

 

[greg334]

Yawn…… to early in the morning for a sales pitch........

 

[nightcreacher]

Well stated Phil,Guess I better get moving,have to deliver in 4 hours and i'm 24 miles away

 

[davekc]

After all that, are folks now to assume that they can add a WG truck with all that new business?
Might be of value or benefit to current operators that have been on a waiting list for quite some time.
If not, why promote something that no one can get in?

 

[FJK1954]

Phil - I couldnt agree more. thanks ..frank

 

[fatboy]

Since Jan 1st,2008 through today we have averaged 1.6 temp controlled loads per month in our ER-unit. Granted, we've not taken our trailer to be recertified for T-val. But, in talking with several of our T-val friends we're told thats also been slow. Sounds as if we've not missed much there. We should have still been getting temp assured freight. I think we hauled more in our Dr-unit.

It kind of leaves one wondering about justifying the cost and upkeep expenses to operated an ER-unit

guys get it tvaled,or go back to a dr unit or just leave the fed and go somewhere else if ya aint happy there

 

[nightcreacher]

If Ive said this once I've said this a million times,If your not happy with what you do.instead of knocking that person or carrier,just quit,or step back,and see what your doing that may be causing the problem.i know a lot of ER people that are not having any problems,when i had my reefer,the FSC was paid differently,it was paid the old way,percentage of load,so the reefer trucks did get more than the dry boxes,but what I said before,FSc or no FSC,its the bottom line,is the load going to keep me in the black,or cause my profits to go red.

This is for anyone thinking of going to a reefer unit.i dont know revenues in straight trucks,but in a nutshell here is what you should think before buying that $90000 trailer..You must take what you are making mow,minus the FSC,then add the cost of up keep in the trailer,thats payment,insurance,tires,and servicing the trailer and the reefer unit,plus the Tval tests every year.Now if it costs 20000 bucks a year for the upkeep of that trailer,then your revenue better be at least 20000 bucks a year more than what your making with your dry box.and then, all that is doing is braking you even.You have to realize,there are many loads,both in W/G and surface,expedite that you wont be able to do ,because of the specs of that trailer,size and weight.In 1999 when i went to a reefer,thats how i determined,if it was going to be worth the investment.I was making $180000 a year pulling their trailer,i went to $220000 pulling the reefer,it turned into a good move.Before i would go into a new reefer now though,I'm not sure you can make enough that you can justify the move. There are many more ER units now than when i had mine,so this was just a word of caution.

Streaker 1,if your still reading EO after our conversation,good luck in your next move,but I think you may always have a problem with that truck

 

[greg334]

Maybe I misunderstood this when I was at FedEx but when I was told that I was to get an inspection from Carrier for my reefer unit, Carrier said it was separate from the T-Val process.

The inspection started out at $350 and could have been as high as $600 depending on if they have a problem or not (oh and a half day). The T-Val was another $450 with another half day. If you have a temp recorder that is separate from the reefer controls, it is another item that has to be checked.

Now I don't remember if this t-val was an annual thing, but the inspection was to be done every year.