[TotalTrans]

Question man here again. I have run across a few abbreviations and items that I have no idea what they mean. I assume that some of them may be this or that, but would appreciate it if someone could clarify them?

Thanks!

Tom

Air tabs.......for tires or wheels?
Centramatic balancers for tires?
What does BCO mean
VP Owner operators
Who is ACI and TEANA
JIT? Just in Time?

[jaminjim]

Total asked:
Air tabs.......for tires or wheels? Airtab Gallery Page #1
Centramatic balancers for tires? http://www.centramatic.com/What
does BCO mean....Business Capacity Owner for landstar
VP Owner operators...... no clue
Who is ACI and TEANA TEANA Expedite Alliance Of North America
JIT? Just in Time? .... yes

[greg334]

Originally Posted by TotalTrans

VP Owner operators

Value Provider

It is a term used out of context by some companies to show you are important within the food chain of the company and I know one company that uses it (or used to) - Express-1.

"value provider provides an added value to customers in terms of price, time and reliability" is one explanation.

[TotalTrans]

Thanks guys. This is a great help!

Here's more...........Please tell me if I'm getting anal here...

1. COMDATA Card. Charge card?
2. 100% fuel surcharge? Reimbursement for YOUR fuel charge?
3. CAB card E-mail?
4. IRP Plates?
5. Is PC miler the standard mileage reimbursement used by companies?
6. Satellite fees?
7. Fuel Tax back charge?
8. Detention Pay?
9. What is escrow pay for?
10. FAST program?
11. What is BCO?
12. What is 55% load on COM data card mean?
13. What is cross docking?
14. Single wide base tires. What are the advantages? Are they becoming more popular? Are the cost effective?
15. Why do so many companies have an open door policy? I understand that it can be a useful policy for the operations, but it appears that MANY companies have it and I get the feeling that folks out there are disgruntled allot. Alternatively, am I just reading into this?

Again, many thanks for all that respond. These are questions in order for me and the wife to educate ourselves to making sound decisions on this new career path........

[greg334]

Sorry there isn't a lot of detail, I am doing three things at once. Good questions by the way.


1. COMDATA Card. Charge card?
It is a service that provides a means of getting money from the company to you. Think of it as a debit card. There are other companies that do this but I found that Comdata has been the better of all of them, FedEx uses T-Chek which was a clusterf*ck right form the start and was a real hassle, one reason is they didn't properly migrate from Comdata to T-Chek and a lot of people were left flapping in the wind over a crappy website and poor customer service.

2. 100% fuel surcharge? Reimbursement for YOUR fuel charge?
Others will give a better explanation but it is generally an adjustment of the fuel to $1.25 (some use $1.20). Many companies will do this for all 'authorized miles' while others are only loaded miles and still yet some companies don't give anything at all.

3. CAB card E-mail?
It is a service provide by Qualcomm to have email access in the cab. I do that with my laptop, but when it came out, laptops were not in truck cabs as the norm.

4. IRP Plates?
Apportioned plates I think it the right term. I have to pay estimated taxes every year on the states I may think I am running in. Last year it cost me $857 for my plate. This is for trucks over 26k GVW.

5. Is PC miler the standard mileage reimbursement used by companies?
I think others can also provide a better explanation but PC miler is supposed to be a standard to figure out a general miles, the actual miles can be off as much as 20%. PC miler is a computer program by the way.

6. Satellite fees?
These are generally Qualcomm fees

7. Fuel Tax back charge?
This goes with the IRP and the apportioned plate thing in #4. every quarter I get in the mail a list of my taxes and how much I owe or if I get some money back (sort of). Leo actually has a very good explanation I think in this forum about how, where and when to buy fuel to reduce the tax burden.

8. Detention Pay?
This is what you may get for waiting, some companies provide it, others say they do but don’t while others say too bad.

9. What is escrow pay for?
This is to cover the company incase you decide to take off with the Qualcomm or get into an accident – one company will used the excuse to hole back pay just incase you decide you really like that qualcomm during your out of service time which shows micromanagement on the part of the company.

10. FAST program?
Free and Secure Trade Program which is used by a number of companies who regularly ship across the border. The process is simple but time consuming and to date I have had ZERO fast shipments.

11. What is BCO?
That is a Business Capacity Owner – Me! I am one of them and it is a Landstar only thing. Just another term for contracted owner/operator.

12. What is 55% load on COM data card mean?
It means that you get 55% of the amount of money you agreed to that is loaded on the debit type card before you complete the run.

13. What is cross docking?
This is a two part explanation –
1 it is when a load is transferred to another truck
2 when a company can’t trust an owner to finish the run

14. Single wide base tires. What are the advantages? Are they becoming more popular? Are the cost effective?
They are single tires in place of the dual tires. Regardless what others may think, there are a lot of advantages to having a single tire and as I proved, one such thing is not to replace both tires when one goes flat, which would have been the same amount of money if I had only a super single. The advantage is simple, there is a fuel savings. The question of being cost effective is rather up to the people using them, most will say yes. And yes they are becoming more popular.

15. Why do so many companies have an open door policy? I understand that it can be a useful policy for the operations, but it appears that MANY companies have it and I get the feeling that folks out there are disgruntled allot. Alternatively, am I just reading into this?

Well the open door policy can’t exist in our situation but does exist by the very nature of the relationship we have with the company. It is a selling point, just like the term bonus. The thing is it all really comes down to the company and the management of the company if someone like me (a Contractor) can call up the CEO and voice a complaint. In the case of one company, they have no mechanism to actually address issues and only appear to care when it suits them – this is from the company itself. While others, like Panther have a ‘drivers council’ that appears to do something along the lines of an interface to the management and for many it is a good thing. Speaking of driver’s council, I personally feel that if it exists, than it needs to appear, not hide.

The one thing that people forget is;

This is a business; you and I are contractors and are subject to work as the company sees a need for us. They don’t have to provide us any work or they can make offers until we are burned out. I tell people who want to enter into this business to select the company carefully, because regardless what others will say it is the company that makes or breaks you, no one else.

Many people think that there is some God given rights we have because we partner with a company, but there are none when you come down to it. I find one of the biggest problems is the dispatchers don’t realize that they derive the money they take home from our labor and only when I or you complete that load, they get paid.

The other thing along these lines is the idea that there is no favoritism happening in some companies, sorry if you believe that but there is at every company. Don’t be fooled by the statement that some make there can’t be or there is no way it can happen, favoritism happens at all levels and for different reasons.

[TotalTrans]

Many thanks Greg. This information is of great value to me as I continue to try to get out of the starting gate the right way! I have made a hard copy to refer to in the future and to help with the business plan I am working on.

Here's some more questions:

1. When you started out in the career, did you get your own authority initially and contract yourself to various carriers, or did you get on board with a company and operate their rigs to get a feel for the industry?

2. Do you have a business plan? If so, has been beneficial to you through your career and could you explain when you used it?

These questions are for anyone that wishes to contribute. Again, I am on a fact finding mission and want to ensure that I cover all the bases before I execute the go ahead.

To give you folks a little background about myself, I have driven OTR with Dick Simon over 10 years ago and still have diesel in my blood. I have been around trucks all my life and I enjoy driving very much, except here in Vegas, where all the no driving idiots migrate too, but I deal with it. My wife, of 33 years, and I want to be with each other more and I want to show here our great country from the ground instead of from35000 feet. She is British. I retired from the US Army in '92 and have dabbled in various jobs over the years and believe that being the total responsible individual of your company, you will be more financially successful. I like to work and am very organized. These attributes are the of the cornerstones of
success.

If any of you have any questions for me, please do not hesitate to ask. Again, many thanks to all of you that have and will help here.

Tom

[Moot]

Originally Posted by TotalTrans

Here's some more questions:

1. When you started out in the career, did you get your own authority initially and contract yourself to various carriers, or did you get on board with a company and operate their rigs to get a feel for the industry? Tom

I think most members here would recommend driving for a fleet owner that has trucks leased to an expedite carrier. This will give you a feel for the industry and help you make a more informed decision as to what truck to buy when the time comes. This is different than OTR truckload driving.

You really should do some reading. Especially the two newbies forums. Many of your questions have been answered there.

Originally Posted by TotalTrans

2. Do you have a business plan? If so, has been beneficial to you through your career and could you explain when you used it? Tom

My business plan was to make van loads of money. In over 11 years that particular business plan has not been beneficial to me. It might be time to roll out plan "B".

[Jefferson3000]

ACI = Most likely Air Cargo International, a now-defunct commission who helped define local airport pickup and delivery costs within a given market. There has been no published rates by ACI in about 8 years, but they still attempt to rule the world from their grave.

[Jefferson3000]

Most expedite carriers own NO vehicles for you to drive. They have either owner-operators or you could drive for someone who does own a leased on vehicle. In starting out, I would recommend driving for an owner, then later progressing to owning your own rig. There is always time for your own authority later, if you decide you want all the benefits, freedom, AND big headaches that it provides. I am saddened when I see people with no experience hop on the road with their own authority, and yet have absolutely no idea where freight comes from.

[greg334]

Originally Posted by TotalTrans

1. When you started out in the career, did you get your own authority initially and contract yourself to various carriers, or did you get on board with a company and operate their rigs to get a feel for the industry?

I can only speak for myself. I don't have an authority, I don't have the discipline to deal with it at this point so I depend on being contracted to a company.

This is the third company I have been contracted to, I learned something important with each of them and contrary to some, moving around does expand your experience and knowledge.

This work has few companies who have their own trucks, so I would not expect one to be hired in. The consensus is to work for an owner which can be a good thing but again look for a company first, then the owner.

Originally Posted by TotalTrans

2. Do you have a business plan? If so, has been beneficial to you through your career and could you explain when you used it?

Yes I have one and yes it has been beneficial at times but some times it has not. I used it to secure funding and to mark the path of progress but outside of that, it has not been effective. See I don't look at this as a mainstay of employment but as a stepping stone to other things so unlike the experts who focus on defining success, ROIs and all that with the emphasis on money and paying things off, I don't look at this as anything more than a means to a goal. I think that makes sense.

The other thing, I recommend is to establish a relationship with a lawyer and an accountant. These two people, if used wisely will help you chart your career and help you with a real exit strategy and if you ever need help will be there for you. I do not recommend a tax preparer but a real CPA (an EA who has experience too will do).

[Crazynuff]

Just a note on the ComData card . There is a charge every time you use it and the charges can add up to a substantial amount . (They are accepted as debit cards at WalMart also ) . I had direct deposit to transfer money from Comdata to my business account and used the debit card from my business account for purchases .

[greg334]

Originally Posted by Crazynuff

substantial amount

?? I think that depends on the company. When FedEx had Comdata, my fees were not as bad as I thought, but when they went to T-Chek, it screwed up everything and my fees increased a lot but now my fees for Comdata in june was $4. I used it a lot and wrote 7 checks.

[Crazynuff]

Good point Greg . Comdata fees may be one of the questions to be asked when checking out carriers as well as info on how fuel surcharges are paid .

[x06col]

Greg, are you getting tutoring fees we don't know about??? Or, are you just severly bored?

[greg334]

Originally Posted by x06col

Greg, are you getting tutoring fees we don't know about??? Or, are you just severly bored?

It is the latter, can't get back on the road until Wednesday at the earliest........