Accessorial pass through

[CharlesD]

We're seeing a lot of folks, brokers mostly, wanting to pay pretty weird amounts for detention, layover, dry runs, and what not lately. I get the impression that the entire amount isn't being passed through completely and people are skimming off the top every stop along the way. People that had in the past paid $50 an hour are now wanting to pay $35. Now either they negotiated a new rate with their customers, or they're still charging them the $50 and deciding to skim $15 off the top before passing it through to the carrier.

Thoughts? Should a broker or a carrier make anything off accessorials, or should the entire amount go straight through to the driver? We don't keep anything from detention or dry runs, but it seems now that quite a few brokers and carriers are keeping some of those charges. I've always thought certain types of charges should just pass through.

 

[Treadmill]

My carrier takes a cut of a dry run as well as detention. I think this is the norm among large carriers.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

We're seeing a lot of folks, brokers mostly, wanting to pay pretty weird amounts for detention, layover, dry runs, and what not lately. I get the impression that the entire amount isn't being passed through completely and people are skimming off the top every stop along the way. People that had in the past paid $50 an hour are now wanting to pay $35. Now either they negotiated a new rate with their customers, or they're still charging them the $50 and deciding to skim $15 off the top before passing it through to the carrier.

Thoughts? Should a broker or a carrier make anything off accessorials, or should the entire amount go straight through to the driver? We don't keep anything from detention or dry runs, but it seems now that quite a few brokers and carriers are keeping some of those charges. I've always thought certain types of charges should just pass through.

The way a certain carrier explained to me is.....The carrier is losing your services that that amount of time that you are tied up on that load....hence they want a piece of the action...and there is the cost to the carrier to bill that extra and they want some compensation....That said....I don't believe it should be 30-35% of the fee either....

 

[CharlesD]

I understand the logic behind a carrier losing the services of a truck for a period of time, but how does that apply in a brokering type of situation? Also, it's just with some that I've seen the amounts they want to pay decrease in the last couple years. It makes me wonder if they're actually getting less or just taking a larger percentage.

So you're saying that I'm being overly generous by passing all of that through?

 

[danthewolf00]

I really dont think a carrier should get a piece of my money for ME hand loading/unloading or detention pay just like fsc it should pass thru untouched to the drivers.

 

[Turtle]

The carrier has to negotiate (or contract) and collect any assessorials, so it's not unreasonable for them to get their 62% or whatever. The carrier has no incentive to negotiate and collect hand unload or detention fees, for example, if 100% of it is passed to the truck.

 

[Ragman]

. . . The carrier has no incentive to negotiate and collect hand unload or detention fees, for example, if 100% of it is passed to the truck.

Maybe so, but in the spirit of goodwill, they should do so.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I just happen to believe 38% fee is a little high....

 

[Turtle]

I just happen to believe 38% fee is a little high....

It's not as high as the 58% of 95% that some carriers pay their contractors for the linehaul and assessorials. That ends up paying the contractor about 55%, with the carrier taking 45%.

My (and your) carrier takes 30%. I can live with that. I'd rather have 70% of something than 100% of them not even getting anything out of the customer.

 

[CharlesD]

It's not as high as the 58% of 95% that some carriers pay their contractors for the linehaul and assessorials. That ends up paying the contractor about 55%, with the carrier taking 45%.

My (and your) carrier takes 30%. I can live with that. I'd rather have 70% of something than 100% of them not even getting anything out of the customer.

It is a weird numbers game a lot of the time. We pay our drivers a higher percentage than you make, but you drive for a carrier with more of a base of direct customers than we have at the moment and those loads are paying higher. So your 70% is probably the same as the 80% our drivers get when all is said and done.

 

[mjmsprt40]

I ask only that the carrier be upfront and honest with me about it. I understand market fluctuations, and the FSC goes up and down as the price of fuel goes up and down. Knowing-- honestly-- what I'm working for is huge.

The last carrier I worked at before this one lost the honesty thing. I was paid percentage, but what that percentage actually was bore no relation to the contract I signed, and seemed to be whatever they felt like on any given day. The percentage itself was based on a fiction, because I'm pretty sure they weren't charging such abominably low rates to their customers.

This carrier I'm with now-- I know what I'm expecting, and I can tell you to the penny what my check will be when it comes two weeks from now, based on the mileage and the FSC. This guy is honest-- and that's why I've stayed with him three years now.

 

[Greg]

The carrier has no incentive to negotiate and collect hand unload or detention fees, for example, if 100% of it is passed to the truck.

Not sure I agree with "no incentive" argument. Their incentive SHOULD be to retain the driver(s). Driver morale is a big incentive. When drivers FEEL exploited or unappreciated they tend to look for "greener pastures", so to speak. No one likes to work for free, and not many will for very long without moving on.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

It's not as high as the 58% of 95% that some carriers pay their contractors for the linehaul and assessorials. That ends up paying the contractor about 55%, with the carrier taking 45%.

My (and your) carrier takes 30%. I can live with that. I'd rather have 70% of something than 100% of them not even getting anything out of the customer.

I think the carrier should get something...someone mentioned not working for nothing...neither should the carrier collecting money for us...As Charles said I think, it may take more then an hour and maybe 5-6 phone calls... to actually hunt down the direct customer to be able to bill for the extra......but 30% of my labour is just too high....I could go with 15-20%....

 

[xiggi]

I have no real problem with a carrier taking a cut. If it takes an hour of time to actually collect between dispatch, billing etc and those employees make 16.00 an hour the employer probably has 30.00 invested in real dollar outlay. So if the total charge is 100.00 driver gets 70.00 employee gets 16.00 employer pays health insurance, ssi share workman's comp etc they bank 0.00

 

[rollincoal]

I see what you're talking about from the brokers Charles. It almost seems like they've had a conference and agreed $35 an hour is what they're going to pay anymore. Rarely get the "what will you charge for detention?" anymore. You can head that off negotiating better detention before signing a confirm but for me it's a headache. If I suspect or know there will be some wait time I'll inflate the line haul because of it. That way their insult is a bonus. I'm sure the brokers skim it. As far as accessory pay goes we get 100% of stopoff pay, detention, TONU, unloading, surcharge if applicable. I'm not sure how contracts are spelled out now but I actually dictate to brokers what to break out for these accessory charges - it's not specified in my contract how much an extra stopoff pays for example. I have never taken advantage of that though.

That's how it should be with any carrier IMO. They make plenty of money off the linehaul not to mention repeat business. It's not a lot of money but there is just something wrong with a carrier taking part of the money I am being paid to fingerprint freight. Luckily being the first driver to lease on where I'm at these were things that were open to discussion and Bill being (having been for years) a driver himself at the time agreed with me 100% in fact the offer as it was laid out was driver gets all accessory - no negotiating that point at all.

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[cheri1122]

Not sure I agree with "no incentive" argument. Their incentive SHOULD be to retain the driver(s). Driver morale is a big incentive. When drivers FEEL exploited or unappreciated they tend to look for "greener pastures", so to speak. No one likes to work for free, and not many will for very long without moving on.

Exploited and unappreciated is exactly how I feel about not being paid at all for detention, because the customer "is allowed 2 [or 3] hours". My time is limited and monitored by federal law, so it strikes me as unreasonable to give it away for free. To add insult to injury, it's often because the shipper or receiver doesn't have sufficient docks/forklifts/personnel to load/unload trucks, so we are subsidizing their payroll savings.
I don't have a problem with the carrier keeping a percentage, because they also incur costs in obtaining & collecting it, but I do have a problem with customers who "won't pay" detention. If they're cheap, they deserve cheap service, not ours.

 

[rollincoal]

If the rate was solid from the get go you wouldn't get so frustrated. That's trucking. The choices are someone else gets frustrated with it, it sits on the dock, or you get a fair rate. Detention, whatever it may be, is just icing on the cake.

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[CharlesD]

I personally think detention needs to be higher, not only for the driver, but high enough to be punitive so these shippers and consignees would feel the pinch when they waste a driver's time.

 

[Turtle]

When I was with Con-Way NOW, detention was $50 per half hour, after one hour instead of two hours. Result? Detention time was an extreme rarity. Nobody wanted to be on the hook for 100 bucks an hour.

Then I went to Panther where they charge $35 an hour after two hours, which is pocket change. Result? Detention time happened with astounding regularity.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I personally think detention needs to be higher, not only for the driver, but high enough to be punitive so these shippers and consignees would feel the pinch when they waste a driver's time.

there are some shippers well known for holding a truck till the last moment of the 2 or 3hr of D Time....Those are the ones I'd like see all over at Bolt.....LOL