Dallas

[jjoerger]

What's up with Dallas?
We delivered here on Thursday night expecting to get a load out on Friday. We accepted a lot of the opps but other trucks with more dwell time got them.
Nothing on Sat or Sun. But we figured that since we were at the top of the dwell time list we would surely get something on Monday. And we did, a good paying load to Virginia. 10 miles from the shipper the load cancelled. Not to worry, it's only 2 p.m.. Surely we will get something else today with dry run status. Nothing.
Now it's Tuesday at 1100 and still no decent loads.
Did Dallas die or is it too far west now?
Anybody else have this problem?

 

[dieseldiva]

We were in that area last week and got out but the problem was the same as it is everywhere now.....too many ridiculously low rate freight offers.

 

[layoutshooter]

We were in Austin and got out right away. Not a great run but we made a good profit. Was that way all last week for us. This week is starting the same.

 

[mrgoodtude]

We were there 10 days ago and had a good paying load opp going to Alberta (topside) problem was with all the talk about the flat rate trucks I didn't want to chance the deadhead 1500 miles to yet another dead zone..
Profit after D head to Minn or Spokane would have me in the red after time, fuel and the realization that a flat rater was pre-dispatched on such a small (but lucrative area).
Postscript we were put on ignore and deadheaded home after 4 days.
Not whining but this "flat rate tractor business" has me rethinking my whole strategy as well.
I really have enjoyed working with the Fed for the last 6+ years and you would have never made me believe in some mass exodus but I really am starting to scratch the ole noggin.
Drops Pom Pom's

 

[jjoerger]

We finally got out of Dallas last night with a run to Arkansas. Now we are in Memphis. (T/A in Earle, AR)
We are on >75 again and still not moving east. Maybe tomorrow will be the day.

 

[NTHEWIND]

We were there 10 days ago and had a good paying load opp going to Alberta (topside) problem was with all the talk about the flat rate trucks I didn't want to chance the deadhead 1500 miles to yet another dead zone..
Profit after D head to Minn or Spokane would have me in the red after time, fuel and the realization that a flat rater was pre-dispatched on such a small (but lucrative area).
Postscript we were put on ignore and deadheaded home after 4 days.
Not whining but this "flat rate tractor business" has me rethinking my whole strategy as well.
I really have enjoyed working with the Fed for the last 6+ years and you would have never made me believe in some mass exodus but I really am starting to scratch the ole noggin.
Drops Pom Pom's

That's what I predicted when they 'tried' the first Extra Lease Refer Trailers. What we're seeing is a very much of a decline the our average run miles. Very Very rare are we seeing anything over 1,000 miles. If we are even offered one we never get it. RARE that we are seeing anything over 500 miles. A couple of weeks ago we were Columbus on a Friday and EVERY load that was offered was either a C or D. For a late Monday pickup and not del. until the next day.
What I see is we are just being used to haul all the short runs, while everything thing else is going on flat rate units. In the short term those flat rate units are going to do well. (as can be expected) But what's going to happen when all the percentage trucks leave and not replaced? Lets see how they and the Fed are going to cover all those 100-400 mile runs that tie up the truck for two days.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Talking with other drivers not only with FCC it appears there has been a lull in freight.

As always right place right time keeps you moving.

 

[jjoerger]

Got loaded from TN to VA on Thursday night. Pre dispatched for a load from NC to NJ on Saturday and pre dispatched on a load from NJ to DE on Monday.
Once we crossed the Mississippi we started moving again.

 

[jjoerger]

Our new motto:

"Don't Mess With Texas"

 

[ATeam]

Talking with other drivers not only with FCC it appears there has been a lull in freight.

Talking with a Landstar Express America team today, they have been as busy as they want to be. In their dry box straight truck, their May gross revenue month to date exceeded ours (reefer straight truck). Their revenue per mile figure for all miles (loaded, deadhead, personal, whatever) is about $0.10 less than ours.

That team is friends with a Panther team that consistently grosses over $20,000 a month, including recent months.

Recruiters from two carriers are providing Diane and me with numbers either from selected trucks or from trucks in their top 25 performers. None has shown a decline in freight or revenue in recent weeks.

I do not believe that the slowdown in freight volume and/or revenue that Diane and I are experiencing is due to outside market forces. Nor do I believe that there is a "lull" in expedited freight across the board.

Truck tonnage, a broader indicator, is up for the first quarter of this year. Truck capacity continues to tighten.

This is an environment in which we should be making good money and not sitting much. We survived the Great Recession. For most of those who did, the benefits of being in the game and in demand are being realized. They are running more miles at higher rates.

It is deeply troubling to see our revenue decline when the marketplace has set the stage for it to increase. Our numbers do not lie and I am not one to make excuses for a company that is shifting freight we used to haul onto company-owned and flat-rate contractor equipment that is given preferential dispatch over us.

The numbers on our spreadsheet mean more to us than the logo on our truck. We are closely watching both.

As always right place right time keeps you moving.

That conventional wisdom worked in years past with FDCC, but with the introduction of preferential dispatch for flat rate trucks and their numbers growing, there are fewer and fewer right places to be.

 

[NTHEWIND]

Talking with a Landstar Express America team today, they have been as busy as they want to be. In their dry box straight truck, their May gross revenue month to date exceeded ours (reefer straight truck). Their revenue per mile figure for all miles (loaded, deadhead, personal, whatever) is about $0.10 less than ours.

That team is friends with a Panther team that consistently grosses over $20,000 a month, including recent months.

Recruiters from two carriers are providing Diane and me with numbers either from selected trucks or from trucks in their top 25 performers. None has shown a decline in freight or revenue in recent weeks.

I do not believe that the slowdown in freight volume and/or revenue that Diane and I are experiencing is due to outside market forces. Nor do I believe that there is a "lull" in expedited freight across the board.

Truck tonnage, a broader indicator, is up for the first quarter of this year. Truck capacity continues to tighten.

This is an environment in which we should be making good money and not sitting much. We survived the Great Recession. For most of those who did, the benefits of being in the game and in demand are being realized. They are running more miles at higher rates.

It is deeply troubling to see our revenue decline when the marketplace has set the stage for it to increase. Our numbers do not lie and I am not one to make excuses for a company that is shifting freight we used to haul onto company-owned and flat-rate contractor equipment that is given preferential dispatch over us.

The numbers on our spreadsheet mean more to us than the logo on our truck. We are closely watching both.

I was 'singing the 'Extra Lease Refer Trailer' Blues' from when I first talked with the guy charge (Dan or Don) years ago.
A couple of months ago I posted that our revenue was down, our runs were short.
While our millage rate is up slightly from last year, our gross is still down. I just checked our load stats. Out of 53 runs so far for the year, only 6 runs have been over 1,000 miles. And several of them involved long deadheads. Any runs that have been offered with any kind of miles, we accept and just don't get.
I called my CC to ask why are we not getting any runs over 1,000 miles. Response was something like 'We can only offer what the customer calls in' and yes the flat rate trucks have their own 'dispatchers' that pulls freight for them. You want to go on a flat rate?

We unloaded this morning in Corpus Christi. Went to Houston for layover. Usually Houston is great for us. The only load offer we got was a B load going to Corinth,MS at about $1.00 a mile. I accepted that because that would put us 80 miles from home. We did not get that load.

I have talked to several people in the industry and they are telling me that they are busy, things seem to be picking up.

Right now we're heading home.

 

[layoutshooter]

Yeah, we have been seeing a LOT of JUNK runs to say the least. A lot of shoddy work on their end as well. Not to mention the new "toys" we are required to use. This will all come back to bite them on the butt sooner or later.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

A couple of months ago I posted that our revenue was down, our runs were short.
While our millage rate is up slightly from last year, our gross is still down. I just checked our load stats. Out of 53 runs so far for the year, only 6 runs have been over 1,000 miles. And several of them involved long deadheads. Any runs that have been offered with any kind of miles, we accept and just don't get.
I

I just checked our numbers, in 2010 at this time we had 35 runs, (truck was in the shop most of Jan due to another truck running into us at the Baytown J ) of those 35 runs 15 were over 1000 miles and 3 were over 2000 miles.

So far this year we have 47 runs with 7 runs being over 1000 miles, and 1 over 2000 miles.


Revenue is up $5500. over last year, but all of that and more has gone to paying for the higher fuel costs.

I think it is safe to say that the flat rate trucks are really putting the squeeze on us all.

 

[jjoerger]

So far we've done 60 runs this year.
15 were over 1000 miles and 2 were over 2000.
Our average rate for all miles is only up $.06 over last year. Which means with fuel costs we are making less per mile.
Our run count over last years is down by 5 but our miles are up by 6000.

 

[ATeam]

I called my CC to ask why are we not getting any runs over 1,000 miles. Response was something like 'We can only offer what the customer calls in' and yes the flat rate trucks have their own 'dispatchers' that pulls freight for them....

"We can only offer what the customer calls in" is the explanation I received from some of the company people I talked to when researching this. Only one person at the company let on why the customers are calling for company-owned trailers. The reason is pricing incentives. Pricing incentives are being offered to customers to build lanes for the FDCC truckload business.

BR-unit drivers who have been part of sales presentations that they call "dog and pony shows" tell me this has happened before. One sat in the meeting and watched with is own eyes as price incentives were offered to customers to build the BR-unit business as BR-units were added to the fleet.

The intent was to shift freight onto BR-units at a price lower than than what the customer previously paid for other trucks. The intent was also to expand the company's overall reefer business in a way that benefited all contractors by bringing new customers into the company who, it was presumed, would use other trucks too.

The second part did not seem to work out. Diane and I have not seen a new FDCC customer in a long time. We are serving the same customers we have been serving for years.

Why would customers order a BR-unit when they ordered other trucks before? Because price incentives have been offered to do exactly that. Why would a customer now order an ER-unit when other trucks were ordered before? For the same reason.

The customers have not stopped shipping freight. They have changed their behavior in response to incentives offered.

With a Contractor Coordinator quickly suggesting the flat-rate option and preferential dispatch to a percentage-of-load contractor who calls in, the company trend toward flat-rate trucks is becoming increasingly clear; not just for ER-units as the company buys more reefer trailers, but for straight trucks too as flat-rate straight trucks are now being seen on the road.

From our point of view out on the road, the tendency is to see these changes as an indication that something has gone badly wrong at the company. We must also consider the possibility that from the point of view at company headquarters, things are going very well and exactly according to plan.

 

[ATeam]

Doing a quick Extranet check, and comparing two similar in-service time periods year over year:

April 1, 2010 - May 21, 2010:

Runs: 22
Pay per load mile: $2.67
Gross revenue (including fuel surcharge): $X

April 1, 2011 - May 21, 2011:

Runs: 21
Pay per loaded mile: $2.47
Gross revenue (including fuel surcharge): $X - $2,900

National average fuel price:

MAY 17, 2010 $3.09
MAY 16, 2011 $4.06

 

[TeamCaffee]

Phil it sounds as if we are talking to different types of drivers who driver different types of trucks.

We usually talk to dry box drivers and this is what we are hearing from these people from various companies.

 

[ATeam]

Phil it sounds as if we are talking to different types of drivers who driver different types of trucks.

We usually talk to dry box drivers and this is what we are hearing from these people from various companies.

I'm not going by driver reports alone. My belief that business is up across the board is based partly on company reports from two competing carriers about how their fleets are doing company wide. These carriers have few reefer trucks in their fleet. I forgot to mention that in my post above.

Business is good out there and if individual drivers are seeing otherwise, it is not due to a decline in general economic or general industry conditions.

 

[TeamCaffee]

I also do not only talk with drivers, but the drivers who are the bottom line.

 

[ATeam]

I also do not only talk with drivers, but the drivers who are the bottom line.

I do not get your meaning. What/who are drivers "at the bottom line?"