Wheres the expedite freight?

goldstar

Seasoned Expediter
Your comment "some are" thats what we are seeing as well what does it take with CC to ne one of those. Heck last week we ran at .90 per mile with all the deadhead . If we didnt have the option of running other companies freight we would have lost big time last week, what I dont get about CC is if you do a rate quote from their website the numbers dont match the 59.5% were getting offered?
 

unorthodoxneon

Expert Expediter
Its slow out there right now. I've been sitting in detroit since friday. Yes i'm solo but they wont offer me anything but the same load 5 times to canada which would end up costing money for both me and the truck to do. I dont have any money tobe handing out freely so i turned it down. I'm 3rd out and havent heard anything and its 3 o'clock... Things are bad it seems... Atleast in the world of solo's.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
>Your comment "some are" thats what we are seeing as well
>what does it take with CC to ne one of those. Heck last week
>we ran at .90 per mile with all the deadhead . If we didnt
>have the option of running other companies freight we would
>have lost big time last week, what I dont get about CC is if
>you do a rate quote from their website the numbers dont
>match the 59.5% were getting offered?
==========================================
It won't because your not getting 100 percent of the FSC from that customer.

Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
It seems as if November has not started out with a bang like we hoped it would. Oh well there is still hope for December.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
By tomorrow morning, November 13, we will have completed three loads in November. Our monthly average is 12 loads. About half way through the month, our November revenue is about 25% of our monthly average. In a "normal" month it would be closer to 50% of our monthly average.

That would usually not be a concern as the months tend to even themselves out. But with the long Thanksgiving weekend coming up, November might be thin. We'll see. The good news is October was above average. If November turns out to be weak, strong October numbers would sustain our monthly average year to date.

Don't break a streak, some expediters say. While the temptation to do so was there in October, we did not. The way November is shaping up, it's a good thing we kept leaning into it in October.

We are not predispatched on another load. We deliver tomorrow in an OK but not great area. Our normal routine would be to stay put for 24 hours and wait for load offers to come, and if none do, deadhead to a busier express center. As slow as things seem to be in the last dozen days, we may deviate from our strategy and immediately deadhead to a busier express center 300 miles away. Using FedEx Custom Critical's VRU system, we will check the truck activity and freight activity in various express centers tomorrow to decide.
 

Streakn1

Veteran Expediter
Qualifications of the team and availible equipment on the truck may be playing a part in this teams revenue potentual.
 

raynchk

Seasoned Expediter
Beats me. I signed on with Nations and have had a whoppin' 2 loads since 11/05. Sigh.. Seems lately I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time. There were 3 of us with sprinters (and payments) at orientation. One of the other guys is still sitting in Atlanta waiting for a load, the other got a couple of short runs and went back home to FL in disgust.

Talked with a dispatcher buddy of mine last night (from another company) who's been around the biz for a long time. He's thinking there is a strike looming... because of high fuel costs and the way some companies are quick to play with fuel surcharge.

If economic slowdown continues, I think we're going to see lots of change, lots of turnover.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Maybe it is not time to make that investment in that super sleeper just yet?
====================================
Ummm???
You could always rent the space out.











Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Dave, I am wondering about renting space on the side of the sleeper for advertising, I didn't look at my contract but panther's may allow it.

I seen a few Panther trucks going down the road with the name of the owner's company and the web site twice the size as the panther signage.

One could effectively make the side of that apartment on wheels a good advertising platform with the est. 120 sq ft of surface area on each side. You know you could get two of those OLED signs made for mobile applications, mount them to the side of the sleeper and change the ads while driving down the road.

You could pay for that sleeper in no time, maybe?:+
 

arrbsthw

Expert Expediter
I haven't seen anyone on here complaining because they can't make
the payment on their "Super Sleepers" or apartments on Wheels as you
call them.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Might be too embarrassed? But I am slowly starting to see them show up on repo and auction lots.
Might be some bargains for those that want to invest in mobile rental housing.

Greg,

Rental signs might be something to consider?








Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Well I talked to someone on his way out of this business the other day and he was trying to find someone to take over the $2200 payment but won't come here and post it - he is really embarrassed that he could not make it. He has one of those $65K sleeper on the back and is going to let the bank take it to get out from under the payment.

Too bad he followed someone's advice on buying the truck.....
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
>By tomorrow morning, November 13, we will have completed
>three loads in November. Our monthly average is 12 loads.
>About half way through the month, our November revenue is
>about 25% of our monthly average. In a "normal" month it
>would be closer to 50% of our monthly average.
>
>That would usually not be a concern as the months tend to
>even themselves out. But with the long Thanksgiving weekend
>coming up, November might be thin. We'll see.

Thirteen days does not a trend make, especially in expediting, and one run can make all the difference. After our early-morning delivery today, we went out of service for a nap. At 10:00 a.m. we went back into service and started warming up the truck to deadhead as discussed above. Less than one minute after starting the truck we received and accepted a sweet run that delivers on the 15th. It evens out the month and we are feeling less revenue pressure than before.

That leaves the Thanksgiving holiday to worry about. We plan to run. In past years we have had good runs over Thanksgiving 50% of the time. The more trucks that go home for Thanksgiving this year, the better it is for us. Y'all have a blessed Thanksgiving. Don't worry, if there is freight to haul, we'll service the customer. :)
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
>Too bad he followed someone's advice on buying the
>truck.....

It is also too bad that he either never heard, or heard and ignored, the advice repeatedly offered here in the Open Forum and other EO publications about not buying more truck than you can afford and preparing for the slow times by building your financial reserves.

Greg's friend's story illustrates why it is unwise for any expediter to advise another expediter to buy a truck of any kind. I have never advised anyone to buy a truck and I never will. If someone buys a truck on your advice, and later loses the truck, he or she will be more willing to blame you than himself or herself. That is a situation easily avoided by never advising someone to buy a truck.
 

jaminjim

Veteran Expediter
Greg said; Well I talked to someone on his way out of this business the other day and he was trying to find someone to take over the $2200 payment but won't come here and post it - he is really embarrassed that he could not make it. He has one of those $65K sleeper on the back and is going to let the bank take it to get out from under the payment.

================================================================
If that guy is running as a solo, then he's a little on the crazy side. If on the other hand if he is a H/W team with a 65K sleeper, and a $2,200. a month payment he must have put down a pretty nice down payment. If it is a H/W team, all he needs to do is be an EX Fedex, come to PII where we have streets paved in gold.

$2200. is a very large truck payment, but there are people making it with a larger one than that. I would think there is something else causing him to fail.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
He was running a team not husband and wife, but a team and Phil the advice came from somewhere else but parallels advice given here. He followed it and I can say that a few of us also followed some we shouldn't have.

He is the reason I am say that the carrier is the one you have to depend on more than yourself when it comes down to it. But I know some will say otherwise, so I will leave it alone.

The funny thing is, I think Dave is 100% right, you all may see some opportunities come up for mobile rental properties.
 
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