Wow!

ATeam · Mar 14, 2009

Wow! What a surprise!

I open the latest edition of the Weekly Fleet Bulletin to find a link to a list of FDCC approved freight brokers. Of the hundreds listed nationwide, 23 are near our home. Sweet!

Diane and I have only used the Home Run program once, and then as an experiment as much as something to get us home. Normally, when we want to get home, we just go out of service and drive. Booking our own freight strikes us as more of a pain in the behind than it is worth. The list opens new possibilities, or does it?

I'd be interested in hearing from other FDCC contractors about their use of the Home Run program and what difference, if any, this published list makes to them.

By the way, our going-home needs are different than most. We seldom make a special trip home with the truck. Sometimes one of us will babysit the truck while the other flies home to take care of whatever. We like it out here and just don't have the need to get home often.

Still, if the Home Run program is becoming easier or wiser to use, we would be intrested in learning more.

To those of you who use it, what say you?

layoutshooter · Mar 14, 2009

I would be more interested too. I almost always try to plan my home time to insure that I can get most of my truck maintenence at one time, get our dentist and doctors appointments and do some kind of "fun" thing all in one trip. I would love to get a load home as I need them. Layoutshooter

TeamCaffee · Mar 14, 2009

We have some friends that drive an E Unit and have used this lately. It is not just for home time it is also to help get you out of a less then desirable area instead of just dead heading.

This team delivered in Salt Lake City and their layover was Omaha. Right after they received their layover choice they received a C-Link question asking if they were interested in a back haul. The pay was listed for the backhaul and where it was going. They replied yes and then the backhaul team went to work to secure the load. They were thrilled.

The backhaul team is getting geared up and really starting to watch the trucks. You can call in and ask to talk to the back haul team to learn more about what they are doing and how you can use them.

They are in the office and watching out for us!

layoutshooter · Mar 14, 2009

Thanks for the info TeamCaffee!!! We HAVE to be home no later than the 31th of this month. Our tags expire on that day. We have payed the bill and the sticker is at the house. We just have to get there to get it. We then have doctor's and dentists and a really fun Ducks Unlimited dinner to work at on the 4th of April. Then on the 5th smoked venison tenderlions at my brother's house and back in service on the 6th. Layoutshooter

ATeam · Mar 14, 2009

I hope the backhaul team will feel sufficiently geard up to start telling contractors that we can now use self-booked freight to not only get home but get out of slow areas. I hope to hear about the details and rules from the powers that be.

FedEx Custom Critical helping their contractors book their own freight to get home and get out of slow areas? Imagine that!

All I need now is guidance on what the good load board are and an insomniac night clerk to work them while I get the sleep I need to safely transport our next load. Or, Linda, are you saying that the backhaul team is looking out for the trucks in the sense that they are actually finding the outside freight to haul?

Dreamer · Mar 14, 2009

I'm wondering what the chances are of finding van loads thru this dept.

Dale

TeamCaffee · Mar 15, 2009

You know Dale Vans were not in the discussion so the only way to know would be to call in.

I have seen this working both ways in the past month. A contractor signed up on a few broker sites and found their own load and FCC secured the load for them. Once FCC secured the load the O/O did not have to worry about being paid as FCC just took on that responsibility. The funny part was the load they found was a service that FCC uses and they did not need to spend the money to sign up on this site. From what we understand the backhaul team is signed up with many broker services so if you are not so inclined you do not need to spend the money to become a member.

layoutshooter · Mar 15, 2009

I would be a great help if FedEx posted an instruction sheet on the extranet. If they have I missed it. I can assure you all that I need all the help I can get in this matter. I kinda don't understand how it works. Layoutshooter

ATeam · Mar 15, 2009

If I had the need or desire to go home often, my thought would be to introduce myself to the near-home freight brokers on the approved list (23 of them in our case) and find out how to best work with them.

Realistically, they would not care much about us since our volume with them would be tiny. But if they are open to occasionally working with a truck that makes it easy for them to do so, it might be a way to snag a load or two home every now and then, without having to surf the load boards first.

Diane and I have done just that with one approved local broker before the approved list came out. The people working in that office have inbound freight coming from all over the country. We tried unsuccessfully to book freight through them the next time we wanted to go home. We told them of our location, availability dates and truck capacity, but no freight was quickly booked. Had we given them more time, it may well have worked.

It was for a funeral that we needed to get home and there was little time. We were in Los Angeles, a long, long way from home. Soon after we communicated with the broker, we decided to fly me home while Diane stayed with the truck. We of course let the broker know the truck was no longer available and thanked them for considering us.

Becoming known among brokers would take a little marketing work and then more to keep yourself on the broker's mind. This would be not unlike the way some Landstar Express America contractors (BCOs) market themselves to Landstar agents.

We have worked only one other time with load boards (GetLoaded.com) and a freight broker to book loads. It got us a load home through the FDCC Home Run program. The run essentially paid for the fuel.

When we step outside our White Glove, reefer, straight-truck specialty work to find alternative freight, it becomes quickly evident that E-units have more potential than straight trucks and expecially small-box straight trucks. The general freight industry is, after all, oriented around big trucks. Still, loads can be found, even for odd-ball trucks like ours. Specialty freight pays more. That's why we got into specialty work in the first place and we have all sorts of good reasons to stay on plan.

That said, I believe that if you have the time and desire, you might be able to develop self-booked freight into a worthwhile add-on to your FDCC contractor relationship; perhaps even more so now that FDCC is gearing up a backhaul department. Receiving a list of hundreds of freight brokers was a surprise indeed. Clearly, something is going on and I am eager to hear more from the powers that be.

I don't have the time and desire to work the outside freight world as some do. But with the economy changing for the worse, I will re-evaluate the opportunity when FDCC lets us know what's up.

There are individuals out there that work the load boards and self-developed networks to find freight for contractors like us in return for a slice. It occurs to me that -- if the FDCC backhaul program really is gearing up and really does allow us to use outside freight to not just get us home but also move out of slow areas -- the opportunity exists for someone to work at home and find freight for FDCC contractors who lack the time, skills or desire to find their own.

I could see a retired FDCC contractor having great fun and making some coin finding outside freight for FDCC contractors, like DaveKC finds outside freight for his small fleet. If such a person emerged and trust was established within the FDCC family, word-of-mouth would quickly spread among contractors that this is a guy or gal to call if you have no FDCC freight to haul and want to move.

Heck, the potential may even exist for someone to set up a full-fledged freight brokerage that specializes in finding outside freight for FDCC trucks.

On the other hand, if the FDCC backhaul department intends to be pro-active and do the freight finding for us, none of the above would be needed.

Just thinking out loud here. Waiting to hear more.

Receiving a list of hundreds of approved brokers was an attention getter indeed. It is too bad that Paul Harvey has passed away. Maybe he would be the one to tell us the rest of the story. A bunch of us are waiting to hear it, that's for sure.

mypie · Mar 15, 2009

Wow! We have been on the road a while now. In January my son returned to the States from Iraq and I've been trying to get to TX to see him, but it just didn't work out that way. Now, he is on leave at home until the 21st and he wants us to meet his new fiance' and his birthday is the 18th. We have been on a number of 10 day runs, and just can't seem to get home. On Monday when we deliver we were just going to deadhead home (over 765 miles) and listen to the owner complain about it - despite the fact that with as hard as we work and the $'s we bring in they have nothing to complain about.

We work for an owner, so we don't have access to the FDCC Internet site to get all this dandy info. Will backhauls be available to us too?

TeamCaffee · Mar 15, 2009

Do you get the weekly newsletter? If you do not send me a PM and I will send you the address of who you need to contact to start receiving this. Very handly thing to get.

mypie · Mar 15, 2009

TeamCaffee said:
Do you get the weekly newsletter? If you do not send me a PM and I will send you the address of who you need to contact to start receiving this. Very handly thing to get.

Oh, yes, a friend emails it to my husband. I will have to wrestle his password out of him and read up.

Thanks,
Mypie

ihamner · Mar 16, 2009

Hey Layoutshooter, you be our "test monkey" for those of us on EO. You need to get home and you need the team to help you so go for it and let us know if it works as simply as it appears and are you happy with the help you received on a backhaul.

Seriously, let us know how it goes so we'll know if the team is "on it."

layoutshooter · Mar 16, 2009

WOW, I have ALWAYS wanted to be a "Test Monkey"!!! I will try it if it becomes necessary and will pass on what ever happens. Anyone else interested in the "Test Monkey" program? The more the better!! Layoutshooter

ATeam · Mar 18, 2009

I checked with contracter coordinators today about changes in the Home Run program. The only significant change is the publication of the broker list on the Extranet. Otherwise the program is pretty much the same as before. It is designed to help contractors get home after being out on the road for a time (two weeks, I believe) and may occasionally be used to relocate from a slow area to a better one. The initiatiave remains mainly with the contractors to find freight, though some help for E and ER-units may be sometimes available from the backhaul department, as it is known in house.

Still, having a current list of approved outside brokers available is a big plus and welcome addition. It opens some of the possibilities I thunk out loud about above. I think a retired contractor sitting at home could have some great fun with this and make a little coin.

Wanted: Insomniac night clerk to help FDCC contractors find Home Run freight.

TeamCaffee · Mar 20, 2009

ATeam said:
I checked with contracter coordinators today about changes in the Home Run program. The only significant change is the publication of the broker list on the Extranet. Otherwise the program is pretty much the same as before. It is designed to help contractors get home after being out on the road for a time (two weeks, I believe) and may occasionally be used to relocate from a slow area to a better one. The initiatiave remains mainly with the contractors to find freight, though some help for E and ER-units may be sometimes available from the backhaul department, as it is known in house.

Still, having a current list of approved outside brokers available is a big plus and welcome addition. It opens some of the possibilities I thunk out loud about above. I think a retired contractor sitting at home could have some great fun with this and make a little coin.

Wanted: Insomniac night clerk to help FDCC contractors find Home Run freight.

We are all talking about two different contractor services here. One is the Homerun Program and one is the Backhaul Program. The Homerun Program has not changed, you call into a dispatcher or CC after you have been out two weeks and they will try and get you home.

The backhaul program is a work in progress. This service will work all over the country if you are not getting load offers are you are tired of waiting. The backhaul team has several brokers they use or you can use the approved broker list that is on the extranet. Drivers can also sign into this part of the extranet and see the approved broker list. You can then set up your own load call the backhaul team and they will finalize the load and send it to your truck. One of the ways you could help yourself is if you’re on the way to the middle of nowhere give them a call and ask them to check for backhauls out of that area.

As I said this is a work in progress. If the contractors are not interested in the service there will be no need to expand into the night hours or to the weekends. If we like and want this service we need to let the backhaul team know. The rates are not fantastic but they are better than the deadhead pay or just moving on your own.

You can call in to your CC or a dispatcher and ask to talk to the backhaul team to get more information. Give the backhaul team a chance and I think we can improve our bottom line.