and telling the owner would make what difference? He'd pull a load out his butt? It was the Christmas season...some carriers took a hit....sounds like yours did...
sorry about your situation...
where are the loads
- Thread starter oops79
- Start date
and telling the owner would make what difference? He'd pull a load out his butt? It was the Christmas season...some carriers took a hit....sounds like yours did...
sorry about your situation...
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Why?
Because it is in their best interest to do so. Unless it is a flat rate contract, the company has to be the one who has to look at the contractor as a service provider, not a partner. The contractor is the more important item in the chain, not the company. Work can come from any number of sources and if one takes out the internet, the load boards and all that other easy access to revenue, it leaves the company with sales as its only source. The problem is many of these companies are nothing more than paper pushers, they get the right paper, they get approved by a board for access and then they get work that way - no real "hit the pavement and make sales calls".
Partnership - another BS term. If it was a partnership, then the door for information flowing both ways would be wide open. Not too many companies will allow a peak into their world, and only a couple will allow the contractor all the way in. It is like being a commodity, partnership is a feel good word, not really meaning anything.
If the company was to make anything over $250, then it is good, but $388 there is a lot of room there and the 4 cents should not be an issue. The real issue is their ability to move the truck while in Laredo, there is work out of these all the time, but many of the companies don't know where to find it because they depend on load boards.
Because it is in their best interest to do so. Unless it is a flat rate contract, the company has to be the one who has to look at the contractor as a service provider, not a partner. The contractor is the more important item in the chain, not the company. Work can come from any number of sources and if one takes out the internet, the load boards and all that other easy access to revenue, it leaves the company with sales as its only source. The problem is many of these companies are nothing more than paper pushers, they get the right paper, they get approved by a board for access and then they get work that way - no real "hit the pavement and make sales calls".
Partnership - another BS term. If it was a partnership, then the door for information flowing both ways would be wide open. Not too many companies will allow a peak into their world, and only a couple will allow the contractor all the way in. It is like being a commodity, partnership is a feel good word, not really meaning anything.
If the company was to make anything over $250, then it is good, but $388 there is a lot of room there and the 4 cents should not be an issue. The real issue is their ability to move the truck while in Laredo, there is work out of these all the time, but many of the companies don't know where to find it because they depend on load boards.
I agree..there was wiggle room for the carrier on that load...
what you don't like being referred to as a commodity?*LOL*
how about volume pricing? hahaha....you know where to find that work....
what you don't like being referred to as a commodity?*LOL*
how about volume pricing? hahaha....you know where to find that work....
this started before the holidays.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
OVM, I think you need to actually spend time out of the van and into the real world.
There is some things we are not, like we are not partners and we are not commodities, but we are the capacity the company needs to be in business and provide the key service to a customer.
Many companies tend to look at us as not important, a couple are clear on that fact but overall the problems many of us have is not about understanding what the company does but what they can provide us that fits into our needs and goals.
Is it that we want just a dispatching service or do we want to have more interaction that allows us to be on the same page and become more efficient and more proactive in capturing customers and the accompanying freight?
A few companies put up a great facade that when you dig, you end up finding a lot of bad things out which are counter productive to many business needs that a contractor has.
There is some things we are not, like we are not partners and we are not commodities, but we are the capacity the company needs to be in business and provide the key service to a customer.
Many companies tend to look at us as not important, a couple are clear on that fact but overall the problems many of us have is not about understanding what the company does but what they can provide us that fits into our needs and goals.
Is it that we want just a dispatching service or do we want to have more interaction that allows us to be on the same page and become more efficient and more proactive in capturing customers and the accompanying freight?
A few companies put up a great facade that when you dig, you end up finding a lot of bad things out which are counter productive to many business needs that a contractor has.
I know we are NOT a commodity!! nor a partner...just grease that makes the wheels turn...
the owner doesnt have a clue about his trucks. when the company sold 600 loads to another broker in one day we have a problem. ready to make a change just not sure where to go. with this company they are playing favorites mac 19 means nothing. its who you know ******. when a service truck has to be called to put fuel in truck. itts there dime not mine.
i have seen both sides of the picture, o/o and dispatcher and both need to make money to survive and stay in business. the one thing i wont do as a o/o is run a load and lose money and i dont expect my carrier to leave me set because i wont run a load for a rate that will cause me to do so. if i set cause of a lack of freight, well thats that. if freight is slow and my carrier bids a load and i need a few pennies to not lose money , i expect them to pony up. they have more than one revenue source. i only have one. i call that the best contractor retention source they have. the carrier is never losing money on every truck at the same time. i do have a minimum that i will run for and that ensures that my business will stay in business. and that figure is not grossly inflated. just enough to ensure survival.
as far as setting, the just of it is sometimes it happens. and yes, freight started to slow down 2 weeks before xmas. i spent 4 days in laredo before xmas and that never happens. always in and out if i wanna be. but the time of year it is and the border closings that happened the week before xmas all have a impact on freight. as do the larger carriers who can afford to buy loads at a low price to move their trucks. they bid low, pay their trucks their rate to get them out and back to earning money. other carriers dont have the luxury of bidding at a dollar or less and paying a 1.30 or more to the truck. it just happens. thats why this business of expediting is so hard to be successful at. i do truly hope that you are able to hang on and weather the storm.
as far as setting, the just of it is sometimes it happens. and yes, freight started to slow down 2 weeks before xmas. i spent 4 days in laredo before xmas and that never happens. always in and out if i wanna be. but the time of year it is and the border closings that happened the week before xmas all have a impact on freight. as do the larger carriers who can afford to buy loads at a low price to move their trucks. they bid low, pay their trucks their rate to get them out and back to earning money. other carriers dont have the luxury of bidding at a dollar or less and paying a 1.30 or more to the truck. it just happens. thats why this business of expediting is so hard to be successful at. i do truly hope that you are able to hang on and weather the storm.
Jefferson3000
Expert Expediter
I'm trying to figure out what expedited carrier has 600 extra loads to broker in a day. Sounds like truckstop banter to me.
That would be my take or there is a phantom carrier holding all the loads.
Scuba
Veteran Expediter
Run for fuel money so you want a driver to tell you I am worth nothing my truck is worth nothing but if you cover my fuel i will make you money. This is a serious question are you nuts? you do know that no one can stay in business covering fuel. Do you tell the company that you dispatch for that all you need is to make enough to cover your fuel to get back and forth from home to work. It's a **** shame that people will take any load offer " because it covered the fuel" Why should the trucker be the only one in the supply line that doesn't make any money to move the freight. I would rather let the freight sit on a dock and the company go out of business as far as i am concerned if they won't pay a fair rate to move their freight. I would rather leave an area without a load than to work to make others a profit at a loss to myself.
I wouldn't read too much into it. That is coming from a a guy that claims there is only a handful of teir 1 companies at nlm. There are quite a few but probably less than last year because they have turned into pretty cheap freight. In fact, I can't remember the last time we ran one. Got offered a few, but turned them down because of reduced rate and or FSC. Most of those companies are running over 50 trucks as well.
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some dispatchers just don't get it...at some point we need a new truck..and where does that come from? There are enough out here already just wearing out their equipment, time will catch up to them...
that is the one thing i hate to hear any dispatcher or anyone for that matter say. isnt it better to keep the truck moving than sit still. well the answer to that question is NO. i will not just put miles and wear and tear on my truck without at least making the minimum profit i have set up to keep me in business.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Dale,
I get them from the phone, I don't accept loads from the qualcomm because it is unsafe. I never understood why a company would even do that and it was frustrating for me to have to find a place to stop and then look at the offer then call in anyway - just call me.
I have something like 2200 agents who can use my capacity, I get calls from all different ones. The last specialized load I did before the holidays came from a TL agent and it turned out to be the best load of the year. I could tap brokers but I would be working with one agent and there is always a price to be paid.
As for moving the truck all the time, there is enough freight out there to be had in almost every area of the country. The real problem is this idea there are load planners, I have yet to find anyone who can predict loads at the companies I have visited or been part of. BUT this doesn't mean that they can't try harder, they may not want to.
I digress ...
If I am sitting in St Louis and there is something in Dayton, then I will look for something to get me near Dayton that pays fuel plus expenses - I don't care about FSC or any breakout of rates, it is about revenue. This doesn't mean the Dayton run will not offset the cost of the DH, but rather it adds to the pot. A lot of people can't do that, they work for a company who doesn't look at the chain of loads as profitable and most of the larger companies can't think outside the box. This is where Panther has the advantage in my opinion, they allow the booking of a load by the contractor (the last I heard it is still this way) and it is a good thing.
CharlesD
Expert Expediter
That would be me. I still have about 400 left for today if anyone's interested.
75 large straight loads from Kent, WA to Honolulu
100 small straight loads from Anchorage, AK to Saint Petersburg, Russia
50 van loads from Phoenix, AZ to Shanghai
175 Sprinter loads from Milwaukee, WI to Munich, Germany
They're going fast though. You'd better contact me ASAP with your best rate.