load boards
- Thread starter pinnacle1
- Start date
We do not use load boards to find additional work or loads toward home or a better area.
There have been very few days this year where we sat longer than we wanted to. Sometimes the break between loads has been most welcome. Maybe if big gaps between loads started to occur, we might take another look at load boards. But as things are now, if we put load board freight on the truck, the time spent on that would likely displace time we could have spent on a better load from our carrier. When load-board freight is on the truck, we are not available to haul better-paying freight dispatched by our carrier, so we believe it is best to wait for the good stuff.
That's our view formed in our circumstances. Others may find load boards to be useful, especially tractor/trailer drivers, since the boards feature more of their kind of freight (bigger loads than a straight truck can carry).
There have been very few days this year where we sat longer than we wanted to. Sometimes the break between loads has been most welcome. Maybe if big gaps between loads started to occur, we might take another look at load boards. But as things are now, if we put load board freight on the truck, the time spent on that would likely displace time we could have spent on a better load from our carrier. When load-board freight is on the truck, we are not available to haul better-paying freight dispatched by our carrier, so we believe it is best to wait for the good stuff.
That's our view formed in our circumstances. Others may find load boards to be useful, especially tractor/trailer drivers, since the boards feature more of their kind of freight (bigger loads than a straight truck can carry).
Your best bet is to find the areas in which you would use them, and then develop a relationship with those companies and or brokers.
A lot of those loads pay better than a leased carrier can provide.
The ones that think they don't pay, know very little about how to go about it.
Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
A lot of those loads pay better than a leased carrier can provide.
The ones that think they don't pay, know very little about how to go about it.
Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
yeah, know what you mean, but just asking because I see those advertisments in fleet owner, and say you had a long dead head and you needed to generate a few extra bucks, are these boards factual, or purely fictional. And ya'll are right, some of the rates are realy bogus, like hauling a TL 1500 miles for $600x(
It does take just a little know how and patience to find the right loads. There are plenty here at EO that do it. There are some that pay very well, and some that are a joke.
Phil,
One of your posts said you did three or four loads since the first of the month. Unless your running at three to four dollars a mile (not on a Fedex rate), I hardly think your idea is something to promote.
Now don't get too sensitive on me, I'm just calling them like I see them.
Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
Phil,
One of your posts said you did three or four loads since the first of the month. Unless your running at three to four dollars a mile (not on a Fedex rate), I hardly think your idea is something to promote.
Now don't get too sensitive on me, I'm just calling them like I see them.
Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
sixwheeler
Expert Expediter
does fedcc let drivers use brokers if you get tired of sitting? I knew panther did.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
>does fedcc let drivers use brokers if you get tired of
>sitting? I knew panther did.
No, not really. There are strict limitations when it was explained to me, like I can only use it once a quarter. I had a great load I found on Saturday morning from Utah to Jackson Michigan, reefer, temp control which would have ended up paying me $1.75 a mile with FedEx's cut. Talked to the broker and had it locked up - nobody even bid on it. Called FedEx and no one could help me book the load - the person who answered the phone was not a dispatcher, and even dropped my call when they were transferring me. I ended up giving up on it after an hour trying to find someone because the last dispatcher I talked to told me had to "do this during business hours".
I find that they have been good about relocating just above cost if you sit for a while (1 day to 5 days depending on the time of the year) but I think there needs to be a couple areas of improvement with the back haul program, nothing really huge just slight improvements.
You got to understand that Phil, even though he has good advice, is in a different situation than most of us, FedEx makes it a point to move the WG trucks around more to generate revenue or give them more latitude than us phebs in the fleet.
>sitting? I knew panther did.
No, not really. There are strict limitations when it was explained to me, like I can only use it once a quarter. I had a great load I found on Saturday morning from Utah to Jackson Michigan, reefer, temp control which would have ended up paying me $1.75 a mile with FedEx's cut. Talked to the broker and had it locked up - nobody even bid on it. Called FedEx and no one could help me book the load - the person who answered the phone was not a dispatcher, and even dropped my call when they were transferring me. I ended up giving up on it after an hour trying to find someone because the last dispatcher I talked to told me had to "do this during business hours".
I find that they have been good about relocating just above cost if you sit for a while (1 day to 5 days depending on the time of the year) but I think there needs to be a couple areas of improvement with the back haul program, nothing really huge just slight improvements.
You got to understand that Phil, even though he has good advice, is in a different situation than most of us, FedEx makes it a point to move the WG trucks around more to generate revenue or give them more latitude than us phebs in the fleet.
Your situation mirrors a experience I had five or six months ago for a EO member that had sat in CA for a week and was going to DH to Oh.
They called me while they were already in AZ. I found a load that was just under $2.00 a mile going to OH. I got the load booked for them and they wouldn't let him do it because it was a Saturday.
All they had to do is fax or email back a rate confirmation sheet and provide some basic details.
Long story short, it was a lost opportunity.
Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
They called me while they were already in AZ. I found a load that was just under $2.00 a mile going to OH. I got the load booked for them and they wouldn't let him do it because it was a Saturday.
All they had to do is fax or email back a rate confirmation sheet and provide some basic details.
Long story short, it was a lost opportunity.
Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator
kwexpress
Veteran Expediter
KW Express
o/o till i die
I dont use nothing but load boards cause when you balance it out over the whole year I run less miles for more money but it is alot more time consuming.on the straight truck I combine ltls going along the same route.for example this week I started the truck running on tuesday picked up 1 ltl out of chicago going to denver for $1900 or 1.90 per mile it only had a weight of 3,000# but they wanted it there by friday so my driver ran it straight and I didnt have time to put anything with it so he was empty thursday morning I loaded 5 skids of coffee 120 miles from denver going back to omaha $750 that wasnt so great but after fuel and driver I still managed a little profit for the 1 day trip and had him pre-dispatched out of omaha for friday for a delivery to south bend,IN on monday for $1,000 so for the week just using those low paying load boards my straight truck grossed $3,650 for six days. 2,328 miles so that comes out to an average of about $1.57 mile and I can do that 52 weeks a year so dont discount the value of internet load boards yes there is alot of cheap freight but like dave said you develope a relationship with the better paying brokers.
o/o till i die
I dont use nothing but load boards cause when you balance it out over the whole year I run less miles for more money but it is alot more time consuming.on the straight truck I combine ltls going along the same route.for example this week I started the truck running on tuesday picked up 1 ltl out of chicago going to denver for $1900 or 1.90 per mile it only had a weight of 3,000# but they wanted it there by friday so my driver ran it straight and I didnt have time to put anything with it so he was empty thursday morning I loaded 5 skids of coffee 120 miles from denver going back to omaha $750 that wasnt so great but after fuel and driver I still managed a little profit for the 1 day trip and had him pre-dispatched out of omaha for friday for a delivery to south bend,IN on monday for $1,000 so for the week just using those low paying load boards my straight truck grossed $3,650 for six days. 2,328 miles so that comes out to an average of about $1.57 mile and I can do that 52 weeks a year so dont discount the value of internet load boards yes there is alot of cheap freight but like dave said you develope a relationship with the better paying brokers.
>It does take just a little know how and patience to find the
>right loads. There are plenty here at EO that do it. There
>are some that pay very well, and some that are a joke.
>
>Phil,
>One of your posts said you did three or four loads since the
>first of the month. Unless your running at three to four
>dollars a mile (not on a Fedex rate), I hardly think your
>idea is something to promote.
>Now don't get too sensitive on me, I'm just calling them
>like I see them.
You are right in that some people do not know much about load boards. I am among them because we have not had the need to use them. I tried getloaded.com a few times when we were with a fleet owner that subscribed to the service, and found it to be more trouble than it was worth.
The recent post you refer to said, "By tomorrow morning, November 13, we will have completed three loads in November. Our monthly average is 12 loads. About half way through the month, our November revenue is about 25% of our monthly average. In a "normal" month it would be closer to 50% of our monthly average."
A subsequent post in the same thread said, "Thirteen days does not a trend make, especially in expediting, and one run can make all the difference. After our early-morning delivery today, we went out of service for a nap. At 10:00 a.m. we went back into service and started warming up the truck to deadhead as discussed above. Less than one minute after starting the truck we received and accepted a sweet run that delivers on the 15th. It evens out the month and we are feeling less revenue pressure than before."
It is now evident that November started slow for us but looks like it will finish strong. The November 13th delivery took us from NJ to MI. We then picked up in MI and went to OR. On the way to OR, we were predispatched to pick up in WA and go to the east coast. That is the run we are on now. We are predispatched to pick up after that delivery and go to the midwest.
Revenue-wise, we are now tracking an above average month, even if we end up with no freight over Thanksgiving. Run count-wise, we are slightly below average but expect to finish in our usual 11-13 runs per month range.
I have said it before and will reiterate it here. Because we are a a fully-credentialed team in a fully-equipped White Glove truck (CR-unit), we are often offered freight that many other trucks and teams never see.
When we learned of a load that delivered in central Oeregon, we did not think twice about accepting the offer. We have a very good history our west, even in remote areas. And as it turned out, we were dispatched out of the area before we even delivered. But other trucks that do not run the kind of freight we do with the carrier we run with might wait a week or more to get out of Oregon. For them, load boards might be an important resource.
>right loads. There are plenty here at EO that do it. There
>are some that pay very well, and some that are a joke.
>
>Phil,
>One of your posts said you did three or four loads since the
>first of the month. Unless your running at three to four
>dollars a mile (not on a Fedex rate), I hardly think your
>idea is something to promote.
>Now don't get too sensitive on me, I'm just calling them
>like I see them.
You are right in that some people do not know much about load boards. I am among them because we have not had the need to use them. I tried getloaded.com a few times when we were with a fleet owner that subscribed to the service, and found it to be more trouble than it was worth.
The recent post you refer to said, "By tomorrow morning, November 13, we will have completed three loads in November. Our monthly average is 12 loads. About half way through the month, our November revenue is about 25% of our monthly average. In a "normal" month it would be closer to 50% of our monthly average."
A subsequent post in the same thread said, "Thirteen days does not a trend make, especially in expediting, and one run can make all the difference. After our early-morning delivery today, we went out of service for a nap. At 10:00 a.m. we went back into service and started warming up the truck to deadhead as discussed above. Less than one minute after starting the truck we received and accepted a sweet run that delivers on the 15th. It evens out the month and we are feeling less revenue pressure than before."
It is now evident that November started slow for us but looks like it will finish strong. The November 13th delivery took us from NJ to MI. We then picked up in MI and went to OR. On the way to OR, we were predispatched to pick up in WA and go to the east coast. That is the run we are on now. We are predispatched to pick up after that delivery and go to the midwest.
Revenue-wise, we are now tracking an above average month, even if we end up with no freight over Thanksgiving. Run count-wise, we are slightly below average but expect to finish in our usual 11-13 runs per month range.
I have said it before and will reiterate it here. Because we are a a fully-credentialed team in a fully-equipped White Glove truck (CR-unit), we are often offered freight that many other trucks and teams never see.
When we learned of a load that delivered in central Oeregon, we did not think twice about accepting the offer. We have a very good history our west, even in remote areas. And as it turned out, we were dispatched out of the area before we even delivered. But other trucks that do not run the kind of freight we do with the carrier we run with might wait a week or more to get out of Oregon. For them, load boards might be an important resource.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Well... if you're complacent at being less than average for the month, then you're right - you don't need load boards.
-A bore is a person who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it. -Henry Ford
-A bore is a person who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it. -Henry Ford
panthercub
Seasoned Expediter
Do load boards ever have van frieght? Or anyone ever have any success finding van loads?
Daniel
Panther 12055
Daniel
Panther 12055
sixwheeler
Expert Expediter
Some of us are running solo trying to make a go of this thing, and I for one wouldnt mind being able to access my own loads,instead of sitting like a gerbil in a cage waiting for a food pellet red light,
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Six... I believe you can yell BINGO! 
-A bore is a person who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it. - Henry Ford
-A bore is a person who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it. - Henry Ford
FAMILYEXPDT
Seasoned Expediter
Just one backhaul example
11-02-07 SUMNER, WA CHETWYND, BC 777 3,187.50 3,187.50
Load boards are good if you know how to use them.
-charlotte
11-02-07 SUMNER, WA CHETWYND, BC 777 3,187.50 3,187.50
Load boards are good if you know how to use them.
-charlotte
easyrider2697
Expert Expediter
some cannot see the forrest for the trees.