Where's da freight????

[speeder]

Geezzzzzzzzz..........what is happening out there? My husband and I team for Fedex CC driving a 53 footer. All we have been getting is afew short runs per week, if we are lucky! Is anyone else going through this???? Your response would be appreciated!
Sincerely, "Goin Broke"

 

[terryandrene]

Speeder:

At the other end of the size spectrum, Rene' and I have been off to an equally slow year in the B unit. Last year was our best ever with FedEx Custom Critical, but this year has been about as slow as we've seen. Our carrier is not alone in the doldrums as we're hearing the same from most all of the expediters we've recently met on the road and here on EO. We join you in looking forward to a major increase in opportunities for all.

Terry

 

[TJ959]

I'm with you guys. April was horrible and May just may be the worst month I've ever had. If I had a truck payment I'd be real worried. As it is, I sure don"t care for the hobby level wages I'm making at the moment. If things don't change, I will.

 

[speeder]

Terryandrene,
I appreciate your quick response! We started with FDCC last year and had a terrific year. In anticipation of a busy spring, we invested in a brand new truck to avoid any down-time or costly repairs. Needless to say, this unexpected slow down in freight (or maybe it is FDCC) in addition to a high truck payment, is leaving me with no other choice than to look to lease elsewhere. I am giving FDCC until the end of the week, because I truely like the company and its dispatchers, CC's, etc.
Wishing you and your partner the best of luck! and.........a terrific future with FDCC.
Sincerely yours,
A goin'broke speeder

 

[Marty]

Freight is extremely slow at the company to which I am leased but upper management has a solution that they are working on.
They are hiring many more drivers than what they had leased to them last year when things were busy. The idea is that the more vehicles they have in their fleet the more business they can attract.
Most of the major expediting companies have tried this approach at attracting business and all have failed. The good news is that this business practice doesn't cost the expediting company anything. It is only the poor souls who are leased on with them who lose out.
Fortunately for these companies there are always new people ready and eager to start their careers in the expediting industry and will naively swallow whole the lies propagated by the uncoscionable recruiters employed by these same companies.

 

[raceman]

Marty, you are very right with what you say. There is a line that is miles and miles long of people waiting to sign on. These companies can take you on and use you as a number until you walk away and then they just replace you with the next person in line.

That is what bothers me me about the stories folks are told upfront. They simply do not share the truth. I would rather have someone be honest with me and say " we are slow and feel we can get you about 800 miles a week and that may be it" than to hear" all is great we have more business than we ever have" Atleast with the first answer I can make an informed decision and decide if I can live on that. The second answer causes people to do stupid uninformed things and even put their family at risk.

I will not go on because it will change nothing but you are very right with your statments above.


Raceman
OTR O/O

 

[davekc]

Companies will continue to recruit if they lose any freight opportunities. This is essentially a cash only business. If you can't pay cash or close to it for equipment, you should wait. In addition, you need seperate cash reserves to keep you going.
With new trucks hovering around $100,000, no significant change in rates, and higher operating costs, many will be bailing in the coming months. This process has already started.
Look at all the FedEx owners in the classifieds looking for drivers. That speaks volumes about their freight opportunities. Yet they still recruit. And it is not just Fedex, they are all doing it.
Pretty much a repeat of 2000, except much higher operating costs.

Unless you can find freight from other sources other than your carrier, you can expect some lean months ahead. We haven't even arrived at the slow season yet.

Davekc
owner
20 years

 

[terryandrene]

Let me be a devils advocate for a moment and offer an appetizer for thought on the too-many-trucks; not-enough-freight comments that I've heard repeated nearly daily during my 16 years with Roberts Express/FedEx Custom Critical. I think my comments are indicative of all the reputable and well managed expedite companys about which we are all familiar.

All of us expect to get a load offer every day that we are available and when we get no calls it must be because "There's too many trucks and not enough freight" I firmly believe that the carriers have the same wish for us. That is, that they had exactly the right mix of trucks for an identical number of customers that would call with specific truck size requirements on any given day. That is, in St Louis for example, a dozen different customers would call my carrier and request the dispatch of 3 vans, 5 straight trucks, and 4 Tractors. Wouldn't it be great for everyone, if expedite carriers could precisely forecast the number of trucks their current and potential customers would require in every major city on any given day. Not only that, But no carrier can precisely predict how many of us will choose to be in any particular location, how many of us will choose to go out-of-service, how many of us will breakdown nor how many of us will be out-of-hours when that customer calls.

All of the carriers continuously attempt to successfully determine their truck needs based on historical usage, anticipated requirements and many other industry trends. This must be a monumental data juggling act that will never produce finite results that will precisely satisfy us, the carriers, or their customers.

I suspect that all of the carriers are looking further ahead than most of us generally think. In order to be ready for the anticipated (by all of us) busiest season beginning about August, the recruiters must be looking now to sign up the prospective O/O's so that they can get a truck, have it equipped and have a little experience prior to the August rush. We all know that recruiters, like car salesmen, engage in a certain amount of puffery to cast their product in the best light possible. That puffery occasionally causes some recruiters to be a little careless with the truth, as we believe it to be. Since we all recognize this recruiter/salesman trait, why is this a problem?

In summary, I don't have the answers, I just think we need to try to all continue to sort the wheat from the chaff, research, research, research and continue to get info from EO members and drivers met on the road to get the real and big picture.

Gotta go, Just got a call for 610 miler to Port Huron, Mi.

Terry

 

[RichM]

Unfortunately for my friend that 610 mile run cancelled and turned into a 140 mile run. Ain't Expediting grand..x(

 

[jackdixon_2000]

I never have been able to figure why some people seem to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time or are just lucky?
In my 6 years at FECC I have always done well, even in 2000 when we had the glut of trucks. But I am also very proactive with the VRU and don't hesitate to move from a crowded area to one where they need trucks. In other words my DH does go up when things are slower. My revenue for all miles drops but I stay busy.
I am in a bit of a different situation being that this year I have mostly stayed on the west coast other then a brief stint from April 25 to May 14 runnin back east.
But I do also own another truck who runs solo back in the midwest and he has averaged about $2000 a week gross consistently.
What I find puzzling is people talk about run offers all the time with hundreds of miles dh. That kinda tells me there are not lots of trucks sitting around, it seems?
With FECC we can check express centers anywhere and see how many trucks are available and how many have moved for any day of the year.
I find this quite helpfull in determining where to move. It also helps give you a pulse on the way things are moving. I just got thru running a few express centers at 4:30 edt and will post the results.

 

[jackdixon_2000]

This is from the VRU at 4;30 EDT 5-31-05
City Units checked in Units dispatched
C D E C D E
Memphis 0- 0- 1 0- 4 5
Atlanta 0 0 0 2 7 4
Newark 0 0 0 1 14 5
Phil. 0 0 0 1 1 0
Dallas 0 0 1 1 1 1
Houston 0 0 0 0 2 1
Orlando 0 1 1 0 2 1
Tampa 0 0 0 0 0 0
Miami 0 0 2 0 0 1
Charlotte 0 2 0 0 7 1
minneapol 0 1 2 1 0 1
E G Vlge 0 0 0 0 3 1
S Holland 0 0 0 0 3 2
Bfd Park 0 0 1 0 0 3
Sacramnto 1 0 0 0 0 1
Oakland 0 0 0 1 1 0
San jose 0 0 0 0 2 0
S S Frisco0 0 0 0 2 0
L. A 0 0 1 0 2 1
Ontario 0 2 0 0 1 0

 

[miko]

I expected the last week beeing slow, but averaged the same what I did the previous weeks. Thats not too bad for a slow week.
I dh back from Kentucky because it was Friday and did not got stuck in that traffic jam on I-75 because it was on the other side.
So I got trough Chicago in an awesome time and made it home to get a good nite's sleep in my own bed. Then I spent time with my wife, cought up on yard work, enjoyed a cold beer and some BBQ on the patio and even went fishing. Thinking it would be busy today was wishful. Even the dispatch had the nerv to joke with me, which only happens in a leap year. So I got oil change, shopping and paperwork done and look forward to hopefully at least 2 good loads this week.

 

[jackdixon_2000]

One thing that has always irritated me a bit is always hearing that there is no freight in Calif. Its true that there are a fair amount of short runs and up and down the coast but there are plenty of runs back east if you play yer cards right. I just ran the whole west coast at 5:30 PST. Here is the activity. Hopefully I am not revealing info I should not publish? If so let me know
City Units Available Units Disp Loads Disp...
----------------------C----D----E--------C---D---E-----C---D---E------South San Francisco---0----0----0--------0---2---0-----0---0---0------
Reno------------------0----6----2--------0---3---1-----1---1---0------
Oakland---------------0----0----0--------1---1---0-----1---0---0------
Sacramento------------1----0----0--------0---1---1-----1---0---1------
San Jose--------------0----0----0--------0---2---0-----5---0---0------
Bakersfield-----------0----2----0--------0---2---0-----0---0---0------
Los Angeles-----------0----0----0--------0---3---3-----3---2---2------
Ontario---------------0----1----0--------0---2---0-----2---2---2------
San Diego-------------1----0----0--------0---2---0-----0---0---0------
Phoenix---------------0----8----3--------1---3---1-----1---1---1------

Note: Reno trucks could be in Ore, Wa, Id, Ut, Mt or Wy also and Phoenix trucks could be as far away as Salt Lake City

Again, I like playing with numbers and maybe others might like seeing real world figures. Let me know if you like seeing this kind of info or should I not post this???
I will try posting this now and see if it shows up better then the last one. 2100 PST 5/31/1005

 

[jackdixon_2000]

Shucks, came out all screwy again, well, guess I will give up that project. Gotta get on over to Sacramento for a load in the morning

 

[ATeam]

>In my 6 years at FECC I have always done well, even in 2000
>when we had the glut of trucks. But I am also very proactive
>with the VRU and don't hesitate to move from a crowded area
>to one where they need trucks. In other words my DH does go
>up when things are slower. My revenue for all miles drops
>but I stay busy.

We don't have 6 years in at FedEx but our experience is the same. Our first fleet owner (a married-couple team) had a bias against deadhead. They coached us to wait for the freight to come to us. That coaching sometimes kept us waiting days at a time (sometimes up to a week!), especially when we found ourselves out west. Knowing better now and running for fleet owners that know better too, we seldom hang around a slow area for more than a day or two. If the freight does not come to us, we go to it. Granted, that is easier for a team to do than solo drivers because a team has more driving and on-duty hours to use.

The result is the same as Mr. Dixon's. Our revenue for all miles drops but we remain busy...AND PROFITABLE, though less profitable than we would be if we had zero deadhead and $3.00/mile freight with every load (every expediter's fantasy). The expense side is important too. A good business plan will address expenses as well as income, and project the same for good times and bad.

A D-unit team once told us us about a month they had where they were in service 100% of the time for an entire month, turned no loads down, and got only three loads in that time period. We build a similar scenerio - only for several months - into our plan and are prepared if such times come to us.

Even in good times, drivers should be prepared for an extended period of little or no income. Something as simple as a severe ankle break from stepping into a pot hole can take you off the road without warning.

On another topic, while it may be true that some carriers continue to recruit drivers and add trucks no matter what the market will bear, it is NOT true of FedEx CC in the current business cycle.

For several months now, FedEx CC has NOT been adding B units. I've also heard from owner/operator friends of ours and confirmed with our recruiter that FedEx CC has curtailed certain recruiting incentives (referral bonuses) for certain other truck types as well. I'm not a FedEx CC spokespoerson. If you have questions about that, it would be best to contact your FedEx CC recruiter who can provide first-hand, official information.

To me that signals two things. 1. We may indeed be seeing the beginning of slow times ahead. Add in high fuel prices and we may be in for a heck-of-a shakeout (along with millions of others when sustained high fuel prices and the effects of record federal deficits slow other industries down too). 2. While they continue to recruit some drivers and certain kinds of trucks, at least one carrier (FedEx CC) is taking care to NOT expand it's fleet beyond what the market will bear.

That is good news for those of us that plan (and have a plan) to weather the storm.

 

[TJ959]

I'm not with FedEx but I'm running real slow right now. This business has it's ups and downs and it's sometimes hard to adjust. No-one made any big promises to me or led me down the garden path. Things are just slow and I have a talent for ending up in a bad spot to load out of. I'm sure my company is still recruiting because they still have to cover all their bases. If they didn't they would loose customer confidence. So the answer for me is to hang on until things get better or make a change. But it sure isn't going to do me any good sitting around feeling sorry for myself.

 

[davekc]

ATeam wrote
On another topic, while it may be true that some carriers continue to recruit drivers and add trucks no matter what the market will bear, it is NOT true of FedEx CC in the current business cycle.

I am not quite sure what you are looking at? But they are running ads all over including EO. They may have a hold on van recruitment, but are actively seeking everything else. Most of the other companies are the same.
With regards to Fedex trucks locally; I see numerous ones sitting for days. Of course there could be a variety of reasons, but it is a interesting observation. That combined with all the Fedex owners looking for drivers in the EO classifieds signals that many are struggling. However, the slowing economy is effecting all of the companies in some fashion.
It will get better for those with patience.
Davekc
owner
20 years

 

[ATeam]

As I said in my post, contact your FedEx CC recruiter (the one that serves your area) for details. He or she will tell you exactly - and officially - what kind of trucks are being added now and what are not. The number is: (800) 944-8690.

 

[RichM]

Last week I met 2 FDXCC D unit teams. One started 2 weeks ago,the other 4 weeks ago and both teams were contacted to see if they wanted to add trucks to the fleet. So while A Team believes that FDXCC is not adding trucks the facts speak otherwise.All companies recruit heavily during this time in order to have an adequate fleet in place for the 3rd and 4th quarters.

 

[ATeam]

>Last week I met 2 FDXCC D unit teams. One started 2 weeks
>ago,the other 4 weeks ago and both teams were contacted to
>see if they wanted to add trucks to the fleet. So while A
>Team believes that FDXCC is not adding trucks the facts
>speak otherwise.All companies recruit heavily during this
>time in order to have an adequate fleet in place for the 3rd
>and 4th quarters.

Come on, guys! Give me a break. I'm not making this up. Call your recruiter and find out the facts yourself from an official source. My information comes from a copy of a letter sent by FedEx CC to my fleet owner that my fleet owner shared with me. I'm not sharing the details of that letter here because it is not my place to do so. I provided the FedEX CC telephone number so anyone that wishes can make the call and learn the facts.

Kindly note that I did not say FedEx stopped adding all types of trucks. My words were, "For several months now, FedEx CC has NOT been adding B units. I've also heard from owner/operator friends of ours and confirmed with our recruiter that FedEx CC has curtailed certain recruiting incentives (referral bonuses) for certain other truck types as well."