Cargo Van Is anyone else slow right now?

Heather Jones

Rookie Expediter
My dispatch as been very unlucky on getting bids these last couple of weeks. They have also told me that it is very slow right now and more so in the Midwest. Is anyone else having this same issue? Also, what is the normal Avg that a cargo van (non-extended and not a sprinter) makes per mile. I just want to make sure that the .79 per mile (with fuel surcharge) is within the right range. I am new to this and I am just learning. So, I will probably have a million questions.
 

JohnWC

Veteran Expediter
Right now .80 to 1.30 shorter ones pay better it's a game right now being where nobody else is expiditing game
 

mjmsprt40

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
I'm in a different branch of this-- hotshot in a van-- right now I'm doing 1.03 a loaded mile. .90 is the base, .13 FSC.

.80 a mile--- even if you have no dead-head you can just barely make it.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Short wheelbase cargo van, about 80 cents is what you're gonna run in to with many carriers, unless you're with one of the larger, more reputable carriers.

July is always slower for expediting. Many auto plants and suppliers are down for retooling or are running reduced shifts.

Cargo van expediting is never busy. When cargo van driver start threads (and it's always vanners who start them) asking if anyone else is slow the answer is invariably yes.
 

wvcourier

Expert Expediter
I kinda figure that, but like I said I am new to this and am not sure what is a good deal. Could you please tell me what would be good?
Ive only done 14 runs with Universal, but so far only 2 was at the Contracted rate(might just been lucky) last run was 1.05 mile from Michigan to Alabama 845 miles. Ive been with 4 different carriers recently, and can tell you Grass is not Greener anywhere else(for C/V) The good thing about Universal is the minimimal deductions, and Deductions add up very quick especially when its this slow.
 
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Unclebob

Expert Expediter
Owner/Operator
79 cents for van is reasonable if it covers all of you miles. If you have to deadhead to pick up the load on your own dime that might not be a very good deal. Or if you have a long dead head to get out of where you dropped in the middle of nowhere.
 

Heather Jones

Rookie Expediter
Ive only done 14 runs with Universal, but so far only 2 was at the Contracted rate(might just been lucky) last run was 1.05 mile from Michigan to Alabama 845 miles. Ive been with 4 different carriers recently, and can tell you Grass is not Greener anywhere else. The good thing about Universal is the minimimal deductions, and Deductions add up very quick especially when its this slow.
I have done one run from Romulus MI to Warren MI to Plymouth MI for the second skid, then to Berea KY dead head was 38 miles for the first pickup, total miles loaded was 412 and it was @ .79 . I have been sitting since Thursday.
 

Heather Jones

Rookie Expediter
79 cents for van is reasonable if it covers all of you miles. If you have to deadhead to pick up the load on your own dime that might not be a very good deal. Or if you have a long dead head to get out of where you dropped in the middle of nowhere.
They pay for my deadhead after so many miles. I believe it is 100.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
You will sit in a cargo van. Vanners will typically average about 3 loads a week over the course of a year. You may have 5 or 6 in a week, or you make have 1 or none, but overall it's about 150 loads a year, give or take about 25 loads. Because most of those loads can be done in a day, you will be sitting more than not.

Two weeks ago I only had 2 loads, but both were particularly long loads and took nearly 5 days to complete, so I didn't sit much that week.

Last week I sat 5 days. In the same place. I delivered very late Saturday night to North Charleston, SC, didn't get a load Sunday (no surprise there) or Monday (not really a surprise either since Mondays are often dead in expediting), but I didn't get one Tues, Wed or Thurs, either. Got calls on a few loads we ended up not getting the bids on. One was 150 DH to Georgia going down to well south of Sarasota, FL that paid 88 cents a mile all miles, and u noted the problem of the additional 300-400 mile DH to get back out which would have made that load pay less than 50 cents a mile when all was said and done. They bid the load a couple hundred dollars extra age we didn't get it. I was not upset by that.

But finally on Friday I got a load from North Charleston to Madawaska, Maine, the northernmost town in Maine. 1500 miles is a good week, especially since it didn't pay 79 cents a mile, it paid more than enough to cover the 400 DH back to southern Maine, making the total at 93 cents a mile including the backend DH.

Patience is a virtue. Especially in cargo van expediting.
 

Heather Jones

Rookie Expediter
You will sit in a cargo van. Vanners will typically average about 3 loads a week over the course of a year. You may have 5 or 6 in a week, or you make have 1 or none, but overall it's about 150 loads a year, give or take about 25 loads. Because most of those loads can be done in a day, you will be sitting more than not.

Two weeks ago I only had 2 loads, but both were particularly long loads and took nearly 5 days to complete, so I didn't sit much that week.

Last week I sat 5 days. In the same place. I delivered very late Saturday night to North Charleston, SC, didn't get a load Sunday (no surprise there) or Monday (not really a surprise either since Mondays are often dead in expediting), but I didn't get one Tues, Wed or Thurs, either. Got calls on a few loads we ended up not getting the bids on. One was 150 DH to Georgia going down to well south of Sarasota, FL that paid 88 cents a mile all miles, and u noted the problem of the additional 300-400 mile DH to get back out which would have made that load pay less than 50 cents a mile when all was said and done. They bid the load a couple hundred dollars extra age we didn't get it. I was not upset by that.

But finally on Friday I got a load from North Charleston to Madawaska, Maine, the northernmost town in Maine. 1500 miles is a good week, especially since it didn't pay 79 cents a mile, it paid more than enough to cover the 400 DH back to southern Maine, making the total at 93 cents a mile including the backend DH.

Patience is a virtue. Especially in cargo van expediting.
I don't mind DH has long as it don't eat me up. I worked for CTA for 6 years and it was always the same route. So, I guess when I decided to go this way I thought it would be a little sitting but not this amount. Maybe I should have got my CDLs and drove dad's semi and let him sit at home lol. Although, I am a little leery of backing that thing up. LMAO I am not going to give up. I was never a quieter and the more I learn is the more I see this is how it is. Thank you for the info!
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
People coming into expediting after years in regular trucking, the hardest adjustment they have is the sitting, especially those who leave a tractor trailer for a cargo van. They cannot fathom the amount of sitting, even after being told how much they'll sit. When they experience it, many cannot handle it.
 
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Treadmill

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
People coming into expediting after years in regular trucking, the hardest adjustment they have is the sitting, especially those who leave a tractor trailer for a cargo van. They cannot fathom the amount of sitting, even after being told how much they'll sit. When they experience it, many cannot handle it.
Also they have a hard time adjusting to all night driving as to been driving during day time hours and having the night to take their 10 hr break. I've run across a few of them.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
In a CV you WILL sit a lot!.......better get used to it....get a hobby or something...I latch hook carpets...I pass many a hour/day away
 
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