Expedite Trucking Forums - View Single Post - Expedite companies in Canada

kree8ive · 01-16-2006, 10:42 PM

Bigslick, thanks for the info about Adco. I don't know why I didn't pick up on it before, but I suddenly noticed last week that the rates Adco shows in their recruiting ads say "To USA From Canada". This begs the obvious question, how much do they pay coming back to Canada? It doesn't seem like there's a definitive answer to that question.

I have an old Adco recruiting ad from a few months ago that shows a mileage rate of $1.15-$1.20 per mile for straight trucks and then lower down says 75% commission for straight trucks. I assumed that you could choose whether you wanted to run on the mileage pay system or the percentage pay system when you signed on. Their newer ads show a higher mileage rate ($1.57 for straight trucks) and make no mention of commissions.

When I spoke to Adco in December, I was told they paid $1.57 per mile for straight trucks and wasn't told anything about a different rate for return loads. I specifically asked about empty miles during that call and was told you get $0.75 per mile after 50 miles. When I called back last week, I was told $1.65 from Canada to USA, $1.10 from USA to Canada, and $0.60 for empty miles.

Now Bigslick has told us he was getting $1.57 per mile from Canada to USA and 75% commission from USA to Canada with no pay for empty miles. I'm guessing the $1.65 figure I was told last week is $1.57 plus $0.08 fuel surcharge. What about the $1.10? Are they replacing the 75% commission with a mileage rate for return loads? Or is $1.10 an "average" of what the 75% commission works out to? Who knows? It sounds like they're going to implement empty mile pay, but as Bigslick says "no one in dispatch knows how much or how it works".

He also brings up a good point that you never really know whether you're truly getting your fair share on a percentage system since you never see the invoice showing the freight rate. It all comes down to trust I guess. From what I've read, percentage pay was the norm in the trucking industry until the 1980s when a lot of guys started worrying that they weren't getting an honest share of the pie. Now, most of the industry has transitioned to mileage pay. It removes the suspicion and might make your budgeting a little easier, but it also eliminates the chance to "cash in" on a more lucrative load. Personally, I wouldn't mind a percentage system as long as the rates were high enough to keep my slice of the pie respectable (and competitve with mileage rates from other carriers).

As for being on call 24/7, I guess that's the nature of expediting. It's not something I've ever had to deal with in the truckload end of the business where things were scheduled in advance.

Dispatchers owning trucks is a concern for me because there is definitely a chance that their trucks will get the better paying loads. Adco's recruiting ad says "guaranteed 8000 miles" for company drivers (I assume that's per month). Is that the company drivers in the dispatcher owned trucks? Is there a guaranteed minimum mileage for owner operators? Apparently not.

As for me, I never did get all of my questions about Adco answered but I've basically been turned off by the effort of trying to get the answers from them. Their ads say "Contact Graham at 647-...". Every time I got him on the phone he said he was "too busy" to talk to me and I should call the other number and talk to David. I would try that and get David's voicemail. Between David and Graham, I left about a dozen voice mail messages between November and January and neither of them returned a single call.

01-16-2006, 10:42 PM	#17 (permalink)
kree8ive Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Halton Hills, ON, Canada. Rating: Not Rated Posts: 13	RE: Expedite companies in Canada - information Bigslick, thanks for the info about Adco. I don't know why I didn't pick up on it before, but I suddenly noticed last week that the rates Adco shows in their recruiting ads say "To USA From Canada". This begs the obvious question, how much do they pay coming back to Canada? It doesn't seem like there's a definitive answer to that question. I have an old Adco recruiting ad from a few months ago that shows a mileage rate of $1.15-$1.20 per mile for straight trucks and then lower down says 75% commission for straight trucks. I assumed that you could choose whether you wanted to run on the mileage pay system or the percentage pay system when you signed on. Their newer ads show a higher mileage rate ($1.57 for straight trucks) and make no mention of commissions. When I spoke to Adco in December, I was told they paid $1.57 per mile for straight trucks and wasn't told anything about a different rate for return loads. I specifically asked about empty miles during that call and was told you get $0.75 per mile after 50 miles. When I called back last week, I was told $1.65 from Canada to USA, $1.10 from USA to Canada, and $0.60 for empty miles. Now Bigslick has told us he was getting $1.57 per mile from Canada to USA and 75% commission from USA to Canada with no pay for empty miles. I'm guessing the $1.65 figure I was told last week is $1.57 plus $0.08 fuel surcharge. What about the $1.10? Are they replacing the 75% commission with a mileage rate for return loads? Or is $1.10 an "average" of what the 75% commission works out to? Who knows? It sounds like they're going to implement empty mile pay, but as Bigslick says "no one in dispatch knows how much or how it works". He also brings up a good point that you never really know whether you're truly getting your fair share on a percentage system since you never see the invoice showing the freight rate. It all comes down to trust I guess. From what I've read, percentage pay was the norm in the trucking industry until the 1980s when a lot of guys started worrying that they weren't getting an honest share of the pie. Now, most of the industry has transitioned to mileage pay. It removes the suspicion and might make your budgeting a little easier, but it also eliminates the chance to "cash in" on a more lucrative load. Personally, I wouldn't mind a percentage system as long as the rates were high enough to keep my slice of the pie respectable (and competitve with mileage rates from other carriers). As for being on call 24/7, I guess that's the nature of expediting. It's not something I've ever had to deal with in the truckload end of the business where things were scheduled in advance. Dispatchers owning trucks is a concern for me because there is definitely a chance that their trucks will get the better paying loads. Adco's recruiting ad says "guaranteed 8000 miles" for company drivers (I assume that's per month). Is that the company drivers in the dispatcher owned trucks? Is there a guaranteed minimum mileage for owner operators? Apparently not. As for me, I never did get all of my questions about Adco answered but I've basically been turned off by the effort of trying to get the answers from them. Their ads say "Contact Graham at 647-...". Every time I got him on the phone he said he was "too busy" to talk to me and I should call the other number and talk to David. I would try that and get David's voicemail. Between David and Graham, I left about a dozen voice mail messages between November and January and neither of them returned a single call.