Where's the Panther freight?

[FLWildman]

I remember when I went to Panther orientation.....they said "At the end of the day we have over a million dollars in cargo that we cant cover because we dont have enough units to cover it all". Now the way I see....where is all that freight? When you leave a team sit for 5 days because you're out west or send a team on an deadhead excursion back north only to be number 7....where's the freight? I dont understand if Panther has all that freight why units have to sit for days not making a dime why keep adding units,twice a week?

 

[Lawrence]

You may not like this answer - but any of the dispatchers that read EO can chime in and will back this information up.

Can a carrier turn away a "million dollars" in freight because of a lack of trucks all the while you are empty "out west or up north" - the answer is YES. It's all a numbers game so to speak, when that shipper calls for a load originating in Minneapolis that carrier may not have any units available for several reasons - trucks out of service, they're all dispatched out, the driver rejects the load offer etc., etc. All while you are sitting empty somewhere else. That load opportunity is now added to the list of missed opportunities. So much of this business is being in the right place at the right time. With some experience and reading on EO - you can get a better handle on where to layover and for how long.

One suggestion right out of the gate is - don't layover ANYWHERE for 5 days. Ever! At best keep it 24 or 48 hours. I see you have 1 post - welcome to EO! Please take sometime and read the threads here an you can gleam some valuable information to help you learn the nature of this business.

Best of luck!

 

[davekc]

Lawrence is exactly right. Many things go into the mix. What type of vehicle, qualifications of drivers, and when you say west, where is west? Secondly, you can broker your own load. Have you made that effort? And lastly, don't sit somewhere for a week as already mentioned. There is freight moving out of LA at a reasonable clip. May have to get where the freight actually is.

 

[cableguymn]

it's on my truck (no seriously.. I have a panther load on board right now)

The problem is I am in Minnesota, your out west.

you will learn the freight lines quickly and know where to go, where not to, and where to hang out. If you don't you will go broke.

Generally, anything west of the Mississippi should not exist in your world unless they are offering a back haul or tons of money. Don't trust anything not on your QC. Not saying dispatchers lie.. But they can misinform you.

Don't hate the dispatchers. They have a job to do. Get the loads they have on their board on to trucks. It's your job as the driver of the truck to make sure the load they are offering you will make you money or at a very minimum move you from an area with no freight to one that is generally good for freight.

 

[Moot]

You may not like this answer - but any of the dispatchers that read EO can chime in and will back this information up.

Can a carrier turn away a "million dollars" in freight because of a lack of trucks all the while you are empty "out west or up north" - the answer is YES. It's all a numbers game so to speak, when that shipper calls for a load originating in Minneapolis that carrier may not have any units available for several reasons - trucks out of service, they're all dispatched out, the driver rejects the load offer etc., etc. All while you are sitting empty somewhere else. That load opportunity is now added to the list of missed opportunities. So much of this business is being in the right place at the right time. With some experience and reading on EO - you can get a better handle on where to layover and for how long.

One suggestion right out of the gate is - don't layover ANYWHERE for 5 days. Ever! At best keep it 24 or 48 hours. I see you have 1 post - welcome to EO! Please take sometime and read the threads here an you can gleam some valuable information to help you learn the nature of this business.

Best of luck!

.

 

[scottm4211]

 

[Slo-Ride]

All of the above plus:
They really didn't lie to you. A million dollars worth of cargo isn't that much. It could mean just 1 or 2 loads where left on the docks at the end of the day.

 

[Rocketman]

I just cant help it.

This is FEBRUARY. Every freakin year, we have slow periods. MOST of the time, the first quarter is one of those slow periods. You probably need to get used to it if your gonna be in this business. Plan on it, be prepared for it....count on it. There WILL be slow periods. Sometimes, even when none of us expect it.

For the newbies reading this. This is what we keep telling you about. It's not just the old timers being harsh. It's reality in this business. If you cant prepare for it and adjust to it, you will fail. If you can adjust to it, you have a chance.

 

[moose]

I think Lawrence misses his road days...

 

[ChrisGa23]

Never go out west unless your ready to spend money dead heading back. Texas is sometimes good but that's a gamble. As far west I would go is eastern Kansas.

 

[Turtle]

Not every carrier is the same. I made a snotload of money out west with Panther. No one else out there.

 

[Newtothis]

Have you heard this message while on hold to Driver relations...

"Are you using your relocation tools? Sitting in a poor location is not productive or profitable, Panther Expedite wants you to be in the best possible location so that you can accept your next load, use macro 8 on your Qualcomm"... Etc.

I hated hearing that message after sitting for days at #1 on a board that wasn't moving, it was like salt in my wounds but you know I have already learned it is actually good advice. Use the macro and cut and run... Get out, don't sit.
These guys above are right about where the freight is at, its being in the right place at the right time especially during slower periods and learning which areas to avoid. If I take a load west of the Mississippi I am already planning my turnaround before I even get to the shipper. I've learned a lot from reading the posts on here.

 

[ChrisGa23]

Glad you did turtle. I had nothing but nothing the few times I tried it. I went out to Colorado a few times had pretty good luck getting back east.

 

[Lawrence]

I think Lawrence misses his road days...

It never really goes away.

 

[jjoerger]

Any place can be bad for loads anytime. I am have been in Knoxville unloaded for 48 hours.
Last week I was here for 3 hours before getting a load. The nature of expedite doesn't always follow that a spot that was hot last week will be hot again this week. If not loaded by 1800 I will move to where I think the freight will be.

 

[Zoli]

The problem is that they have to many trucks. And a lot of short loads. And finally when you get a 7-800 miles run they swap it... Not a good company for solo drivers.

 

[Turtle]

Glad you did turtle. I had nothing but nothing the few times I tried it. I went out to Colorado a few times had pretty good luck getting back east.

There was once when I was out there and after about 3 weeks I ended up with basically crap. But otherwise I'd go out there and spend 4-8 weeks west of the Rockies and do 2000 miles a week or more. Often it was in 800 or 1100 mile chunks, tho.

Last year Moot and I practically owned the Plains states (I mostly owned Iowa, couldn't get out of Iowa for about 3 weeks, but they kept me running back and forth across it). No one else was out there so we got everything that came up.

With Panther you really want to be where everyone else ain't. At Panther, Midwest Hell is just the worst. Too many short loads and too many other Panther vans around. 150 miles, sit three days at 12th on the board, 200 miles, sit 3 more days. Midwest Hell, it is. Get out to the fringes where nobody else is.

With Load 1, at least for the time being, Midwest Hell is bread and butter.

 

[highway star]

Forest Gump: "Lieutenant Dan, where are we going to find them?"

 

[OntarioVanMan]

There was once when I was out there and after about 3 weeks I ended up with basically crap. But otherwise I'd go out there and spend 4-8 weeks west of the Rockies and do 2000 miles a week or more. Often it was in 800 or 1100 mile chunks, tho.

Last year Moot and I practically owned the Plains states (I mostly owned Iowa, couldn't get out of Iowa for about 3 weeks, but they kept me running back and forth across it). No one else was out there so we got everything that came up.

With Panther you really want to be where everyone else ain't. At Panther, Midwest Hell is just the worst. Too many short loads and too many other Panther vans around. 150 miles, sit three days at 12th on the board, 200 miles, sit 3 more days. Midwest Hell, it is. Get out to the fringes where nobody else is.

With Load 1, at least for the time being, Midwest Hell is bread and butter.

I used to play out there too when with E-1....just the thought of coming east of the Mississippi...too many trucks, too low of rate...

 

[beachbum]

I read these boards every day to gleam little bits of info on freight lanes and how to use them, then again i've only been doing this with a van for 6 months and I have a hell of a lot to learn to be in the upper bracket revenue wise.

I've deadhead to the house from the west cost, but I just know its the cost of doing business every now and then. I also don't have a dispatcher only agents therefore I can relocate any time I want but I don't get anything for moving like some here get.